Atlanta mayor cuts 53 police jobs

ATLANTA, July 12 (UPI) -- Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin told the public she plans to close the city's budget gap partially by leaving 53 police officer positions vacant.

Franklin said Friday she also plans not to hire 27 fire department recruits and shut down the oldest fire station in Atlanta, which opened in 1910, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

City Council officials said they want to look into ways to prevent job cuts.

"I think these cuts ... will have serious implications for the city for a long time to come," Franklin told reporters.

She plans to lay off a total of 78 workers and get rid of 112 job vacancies, the newspaper said.

The Journal-Constitution said $21.6 million in cuts were made to Atlanta's general fund budget.