City of Leighton has phone line, job cutbacks | News

COLBERT COUNTY, AL (WAFF)- Budget cuts in a Colbert County city mean residents will have a more difficult time contacting police.

First it was phone lines, now it is jobs.

City officials in Leighton made the cuts to try and keep the town afloat financially.

City officials said they haven't run into any problems with their police department since cutting the line. They said the line was rarely used when it was there.

The new mayor said the disconnection of a city phone line is a small change to some of the major cutbacks they have had to make since October.

Leighton Mayor John Landers said the previous administration started a string of cutbacks to help save money any way it could, while still maintaining daily operations before changing leadership.

Landers said those cuts weren't enough.

The city has been forced to eliminate jobs - some as recent as this week.

"We have cut out or cut back three positions to half time, and we've eliminated one and a half positions in the police department in order to try to save about $120,000. We will not know if this is all we're going to have to do until after sometime the first of the year," Landers said.

The mayor said none of the cuts have hindered public safety and hopes these cuts are the last.

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