City of York avoids police layoffs with new deal
Photo by Courtesy Paul Kuehnel/York Daily Record
York City Police were among those watching the mayor give her announcement at city hall today.
(York) — The city of York and the police union have reached a deal to avoid laying off 32 officers.
Mayor Kim Bracey says the four-year contract includes modifying the current pension agreement and having officers make contributions toward their health care plan for the first time ever.
“Collectively, this plan provides for a bottom-line savings to the city of York of approximately $2.2 million to the 2015 budget,” she says. “What this means is that we can adopt a balanced budget without a tax increase for the third year in a row.”
Bracey says the deal moves the city significantly forward toward a standardized health care plan among it public safety departments
She notes the city will still have to layoff nearly 35 other employees.
The mayor also called on state lawmakers to act on reforms to assist the commonwealth’s struggling cities.
“No amount of cutting will make our city more successful. We continue to buy time until our state government grows the courage to act decisively or the inevitable future fiscal crisis,” she says.
City Council is slated to vote on the 2015 budget tonight.
This story comes from the York Daily Record as part of a partnership with WITF.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
