CAMDEN — The mayor of Camden, one of the poorest and most dangerous cities in the U.S., proposed a $138.8 million budget today that she said cuts spending by 24 percent from the prior year. Mayor Dana Redd, a Democrat, said the budget anticipates a loss of $8 million after Gov. Chris Christie cut state aid. It may result...
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Camden Mayor Dana Redd in this file photo.CAMDEN — The mayor of Camden, one of the poorest and most dangerous cities in the U.S., proposed a $138.8 million budget today that she said cuts spending by 24 percent from the prior year.
Mayor Dana Redd, a Democrat, said the budget anticipates a loss of $8 million after Gov. Chris Christie cut state aid. It may result in worker firings, she said. The plan freezes all non-essential spending and doesn’t anticipate any surplus.
“The proposed budget is fiscally responsible while still maintaining essential services that our residents and businesses expect,” Redd said in prepared remarks she is scheduled to deliver to the City Council tonight. “The fiscal crisis is real. With this truth, we must begin to live within our means.”
Camden, a city of 79,000 across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, has the lowest median household income of any U.S. city at $24,283, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Morgan Quitno, a firm that each year ranks U.S. cities by crime rates, listed Camden as the second-most dangerous place of its size in the U.S. in 2009.
Redd said the budget cuts almost $14 million from the city’s police department and another $7.5 million from the fire department. It anticipates $54 million in state municipal aid after Christie’s budget lowered funding for the state’s municipalities by $445 million as he coped with a record $10.7 billion state deficit, according to Redd’s speech.
Previous coverage:
• Camden mayor fights to keep city libraries open
• Camden City's 3 libraries prepare to close after budgets slashed
• Camden moves forward in gas mantle Superfund site cleanup
• All three Camden city libraries face closure due to budget cuts
