Linden, N.J. Approves Fire Department Layoffs

Requests were made on Tuesday by the city council of Linden to begin ordering cuts to 10 percent of the fire department’s personnel.

The cuts would save the city approximately $1.1 million annually, as they are currently looking at a deficit somewhere between $8 and $10 million for the next year.

“We were pretty shocked to learn that public safety was going to be the first to be sacrificed for cutting the budget,” said local union president Christopher Lukenda after the council’s vote. “Not only was it compromising the safety of my guys, but it’s putting the public at risk as well.”