Royal Oak lays off nine police officers

This should not come as a surprise to anyone. The city commission decided that the budget crisis would force them to lay off some city employees, including police officers and firefighters. However, the commission also decided that it would be best to avoid making any cuts to the police department before the Woodward Dream Cruise and Arts, Beats and Eats festival. Now that both are completed, nine police officers have been laid off, along with two firefighters.

The Royal Oak Police Department now consists of 64 officers, compared to 2003 when there were 103 officers. Along with the nine that were just laid off, three were laid off earlier this year. The layoffs are all part of a plan to decrease the city's budget as the city experiences a $179 million decrease in property values, which will significantly decrease revenue from property taxes.

Sources:

http://www.candgnews.com/Homepage-Articles/2010/09-15-10/RO-officers-laid-off.asp