The layoffs are only the latest result of the devastating budget strains that have crippled the nation's cities. In Camden attempts to cut spending to offset declining revenue, the city has begun implementing a plan, approved last month, to cut a quarter of the municipal workforce. Residents fear that the cuts will be a major blow to the already struggling city.
About 335 workers lost their jobs city Tuesday, said Mayor Dana Redd. That includes about half the police force, and a third of the firefighters. Ya, Camden is one of the most dangerous cities in the nation: An analysis of recent data from the FBI which holds the number two.
Layoffs turn Camden into a "hell", according to an announcement by the police union in a local newspaper, reports AP.
While Camden is facing serious challenges alone. After the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, the country's cities have seen their incomes shrivel. As a huge pension obligations expire - an estimate puts the unfunded liabilities of pension plans of the city in 574 billion - the cities are forced to make cuts, it seemed unthinkable just five years.
In Camden dismissed workers near Newark is dealing with the effects of firing more than 13 percent of its police force late last year. A recent increase in crime has left many Newark residents concerned that the layoffs have made their most dangerous city. The city contends, however, that the redeployments have ensured that the same number of officers are patrolling the streets of Newark.
Outside of New Jersey, other cities have also resorted to desperate measures apparently. Prichard, Alabama, has illegally failed to pay its pensioners. Hamtramck, Michigan, has repeatedly tried to enter bankruptcy. Detroit is considering a plan to deprive a fifth of their city basic municipal services like garbage collection and police protection.
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