THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 10, 1994 TAG: 9407080249
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 29 lines
Who's watching the city?
The retirement of 18 police officers from an already short-handed department and 34 firefighters is not a comforting thought to Portsmouth residents.
Perhaps the new liberal retirement plan for police and fire employees will attract young people already trained by other cities, enabling the city to fill some of these vacancies posthaste. Otherwise, we'll wait months for new recruits to be trained.
A year ago, former Police Chief Leslie Martinez talked about the need to hire and train new officers to be ready for the anticipated rush to retire when council approved a more liberal pension plan. Her foresight was ignored then.
Now the predicted retirements are a reality. We must fill the vacancies quickly to protect the health and safety of this city.
KEYWORDS: PORTSMOUTH POLICE DEPARTMENT PORTSMOUTH FIRE DEPARTMENT by CNB