Read these two articles and you can decide if FDLE has laid off staff, fired them or eliminated positions due to budget cuts. If it isn’t FDLE’s responsibilty to provide these services, whose is it?
Budget Cuts Threaten To End Amber Alerts, Sex Offender Warnings
“They’re there for a purpose. When you start cutting them, it starts hurting,” said Steve Donaway, assistant special agent in charge of Jacksonville’s FDLE.
He said they’ve had to make tough decisions already; because of budget cuts last year the FDLE got rid of 56 jobs across the state. This year he said they had to let 120 people go.
“We’re not just using this as a scare technique. Our agency has thoughtfully looked through the services we provide and we’re getting rid of the ones that aren’t our core mission. Our core mission is our laboratory services; we do the forensic examinations for law enforcement for almost the entire state and we do the investigations,” Donaway said.
FDLE says it wants to keep the resources around, but three years of budget cuts means it’s time something important will have to go. Donaway says 200 jobs could be gone.
“We’ve always ebb and flowed, but we’ve never laid anyone off.”
Donaway says the layoffs are now a reality in the budget crunch.
Trent just hopes those they let go do not effect how she keeps her kids safe.
“These services are important and they should stay.”
Related Post: Cutting two high-profile programs?
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