Nearly 90 NJ Firefighters Could Face Layoffs

Nearly 90 New Jersey firefighters could be laid off as a way to resolve a city's budget problems.

Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh's tentative plan would fire 89 firefighters, the Paterson Press reports. That would be on top of the 112 police officers that could be laid off.

The Paterson Fire Department has 375 firefighters, and the potential cut would reduce the department by 25 percent. Kyle Hughes, head of Paterson's firefighters union, said the layoffs would affect firefighters who worked at the department for as long as five years.

“If they do this it would be catastrophic for the city,” Hughes told the Press. “Everybody is flat out worried.”

City officials also are considering of forcing as many as 800 civilian employees to take 10 unpaid furlough days by June. So far, no layoff plans have been officially presented to the Paterson City Council, according to the Press.