Rosie is an ass-hat and anything she says is to be ignored.
That being said, this boils down to the cost of public service. When times were good and there were many good paying private sector jobs, the number and salaries of those in the public service jobs wasn't much of an issue. Today this is an issue, with the private sector jobs not on the same level they were 30 years ago, the public sector needs to rethink numbers and possibly turning some over to the private sector. The police budget is the biggest draw on most municipalities, wages being their largest take, it's not surprising that there is a movement afoot that wants to trim this budget down. While the everyday cost has gone up with the wages, office supplies, gas, parts, etc., the everyday needs of a force, the only place to trim is the workforce itself. This isn't just in policing, but all facets of municipal public service.
The politicians don't trim, they take the easy way out and look to all departments within the city and identify the low hanging fruit. All departments heads, the Chief being one, are purposely picked as "Yes Men", when hired. The main question being, are you willing to do what it takes to trim your budget? His ideas aren't new, so they aren't outside the box. It's just an emergency plan that has been adjusted to everyday policing, to make a budget cut work.
It's not just the police that are going to feel the pinch going forward. All departments within the city will feel the squeeze at some point in the future and all union heads will be trying to protect their fiefdom. It's the changing face of a poor economy.
