Local

Friday closures remain at Titusville PD as part of furloughs

TITUSVILLE, Fla. — 9 Investigates found a plan designed to save tax dollars in Titusville isn't doing the job.

Channel 9's Christopher Heath examined the city's forced furloughs and found the scheduled days off don't work.

But even without major savings, the city said the furloughs will continue.

The building is closed on Fridays as part of mandatory furloughs the city put in place last year to save money as the city renegotiates the police and fire pension.  But according to a report prepared by the city auditor, from November to February, due to frequent calls for service, the city only saved 85 staff hours from police, which is less than 2 percent of the goal.

Donnie Wisdom and his wife made the 25 mile drive from Geneva to drop off paperwork, but they’ll have to do it again after getting to Titusville only to find the station closed.

“You can't furlough police and fire like you would city hall, it's not the same thing,” said David Neeld of the Titusville Fire Department.

Titusville firefighters agreed to pension reforms and a new contract this week, ending their furloughs, but the city said it can't support the existing police pension structure.

And even if the furloughs aren't delivering as expected, they'll stay in place until a new deal is done, officials said.

The Titusville police union is expected to vote on the city's offer of a new contract next week.