By Greg Jonsson
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
| Related Resource: Law Enforcement and the Economy |
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — Twenty minutes after a killing in a Schnucks store Tuesday, Officer Kristopher Weston arrested a suspect he found hiding in some bushes.
A few hours after that, the mayor called Weston before the City Council to recognize him for his work. And less than five minutes after that, they voted to lay him off.
Weston’s low seniority put him among five police officers, five firefighters and about as many other employees who will lose their jobs at the end of the month as part of budget cuts unanimously approved at the emergency council meeting Tuesday. In all, 17 positions will be eliminated, all in the face of economic tough times that have hit the city hard, according to city officials.
Weston, 28, was born and raised in East St. Louis and said he always wanted to be a police officer. Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. said some disciplinary matters in the department may mean other officers will be fired for cause, allowing some of the officers in line for layoffs to stay on, so Weston was careful in his comments Tuesday night.
“It was nice to be recognized,” said Weston, who has 10 months on the job. “I’ll just leave it at that.”
Parks said it would be tough to lose any officers, and said the newer officers set to be laid off are among the best in the department.
“It hurts,” said Parks, who campaigned on public safety and quality of life issues and likes to tout reductions in serious crimes under his administration. “It does hurt, but there’s only so much you can do when you have fewer resources.”
The biggest economic hit to the city has come as the Casino Queen has struggled. The casino is a huge source of operating funds for the city, and revenue from the casino is down 15 percent from projections. Parks also said the city had miscalculated other sources of revenue.
The decision did not go over well with police officers and firefighters. A police union officer said officers planned to fight the layoffs. A firefighter suggested the city could end up paying more after legal action than it is saving with layoffs.
Residents at the meeting weren’t pleased, either.
“We’re talking about safety and that comes first,” said Barbara Henderson. “We’re cutting our own throats.”
She suggested pay cuts or furloughs to spread the pain instead of layoffs. Parks said those options had been considered but either couldn’t be worked out with unions or wouldn’t have saved enough.
“We can’t afford to lay off one policeman,” said Martha Young, a longtime resident of the city. “We need 25 more. We can’t afford to lay off one firefighter. ... It’s going to be like the Wild West out here if we let them go.”
In addition to the five police officers and five firefighters, the city will eliminate two support positions in the police department, one position in the city treasurer’s office, one position in the city manager’s office and the deputy liquor commissioner in the mayor’s office. That last position is held by Walter Hill, who has been on administrative leave since the FBI raided City Hall last month as part of an investigation into liquor licenses in the city.
The city will also make one position in the personnel department part time and won’t fill an assistant chief position in the fire department.
If the economy doesn’t pick up and other changes aren’t made, these won’t be the last layoffs, officials warned.
“This city is broken,” said Councilman Delbert Marion. “This city is going through changes it may not recover from.”
Copyright 2009 St. Louis Post-Dispatch