State overseers of the city have asked a a Superior Court judge to reconsider his shutdown of a move to lay off 50 city firefighters, saying the city can’t afford their salaries.
The state filed its motion last week, asking Judge Julio Mendez to reconsider his late August ruling preventing the layoffs. In the ruling, Mendez said the layoffs would compromise the safety of residents and visitors. During the case, the state had sought to cut the size of the Fire Department to 148 as a cost-saving measure. The department has 198 members, according to court documents. “The Court’s August 25, 2017 Decision and Order has left the City of Atlantic City in a financially untenable situation, in which the City cannot afford the Court-mandated number of fire fighters,” court documents said.