Despite homicides, mayor says Schenectady police cuts loom
Two killings last week come amid fiscal shortfall
In 2019, there were three homicides in Schenectady, only one of them a gunrelated killing.
The year before, there were no fatal shootings in the city.
In the span of four days last week, two men were gunned down on city streets.
Police have refused to discuss motives or say if they have questioned any suspects in their investigations of the May 19 slaying of 48-year-old Fred Gentry in the Vale neighborhood and the Saturday shooting death of Duane Todman, 27, who was killed on the steps of a church in Hamilton Hill.
The homicides come amid a looming financial crisis caused by revenue loss during the coronavirus pandemic that Schenectady Mayor Gary Mccarthy has said may force him to lay off upward of 40 police officers unless the city receives federal funds as part of an aid package that’s stalled in the U.S. Senate.
The potential cuts, which could happen as early as next month, would also mean the loss of about three dozen firefighters and paramedics in the 114-member fire department. Other departments are likely to face job cuts too.
Mccarthy said the job cuts would plug a projected a $11.5 million budget gap caused by a dramatic drop in local tax revenue and a threatened loss of federal funding.
On Monday, the mayor insisted he may have to move forward with the layoffs. The pronouncement has touched off a fierce debate among City Council members.
Councilwoman Marion Porterfield said Monday the spate of violence reinforces her belief staffing in the police force should remain intact. The Hamilton Hill Democrat said police layoffs are “never a route that we should take, but this just makes it much more clear that we definitely need our law enforcement and stay at the level it is, if not increase it.”
“I don’t think that we can afford to lose any more officers out patrolling the streets.”
Police Chief Eric Clifford, who did not return a call Monday, has said he fears trimming his now 160-member force could signal a return to double-digit homicides when the city was plagued by gangs and drug dealing in years past.
Mccarthy said Monday he is making calls to ensure the city gets federal funds and staves off what he believes could become a long-term financial crisis.
“I have to balance the budget, you tell me where I get the money from,” he said. “I’m looking at how do I not do any of those things, but if I don’t get some assistance from the federal government, I have to make some cuts.”
Schenectady is not the only municipality facing fiscal uncertainty during the pandemic. Faced with a potential $20-million budget gap, Albany earlier this month began laying off so called nonessential workers. To save money, Saratoga Springs is weighing 90-day furloughs for its employees.
Mccarthy said “homicides are the hardest to predict and the hardest to prevent,” saying he doesn’t see the two killings as a trend.
“I’m not going into this debate over one event or two events, it’s the overall trend,” he said. “Crime is going in the right direction and it’s because we’re staffing at adequate levels. If I don’t have the money, I can’t continue to do that.”
Mccarthy also mentioned that the fire department on one day last week handled four fires, including one that killed a man at a home Elmer Avenue.
Porterfield said that she has also gotten calls from city residents concerned about the possible cuts.
“People need to feel safe, that’s the bottom line,” she said.