Greenwich Budget Board Backs Off From Police Cuts

GREENWICH, Conn. – After facing a strong rebuke from the Greenwich Police Department on its proposal to cut 10 police positions from the 2013-14 spending plan, the Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation stepped back from that initial proposal at a meeting Tuesday.

The board also backtracked on the redistribution of $600,000 usually used for overtime payments and police salaries.

In a letter to The Greenwich Daily Voice, Greenwich Chief of Police Jim Heavey detailed his objections to the proposed cuts.

"It is truly my fear that once these positions are removed, they will never be returned, and that the level of police service will be unavoidably reduced," Heavey said in the letter.

The 10 positions take time to fill because of the long training process that prospective officers must go through, he said.

The board will vote on the town and school operating budgets March 21.

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