Virginia Port Authority lays off 11 police officers

NORFOLK

Layoff notices were sent Wednesday to 11 Virginia Port Authority police employees, completing a roughly 50 percent reduction of the port's Police Department first announced in the fall.

A total of 43 positions were eliminated, including the 11 layoffs - a handful of sworn officers as well as non-sworn employees.

As of September, when the Board of Commissioners approved offering early-retirement packages to eligible authority employees as a way to cut costs, the authority reported that it had 84 law-enforcement employees, including support staff.

The reductions include:

-- 29 sworn officers, of whom 24 accepted early-retirement offers and one chose to retire.

-- 14 non-sworn workers, including a VPA main-office employee who accepted an early-retirement offer.

The layoffs are to be completed by May 31.

Seven employees included in the staff reductions chose to retire or found other jobs, said Joe Harris, a Port Authority spokesman.

In addition to the announced staff cuts, all contracted positions other than security guards supporting the authority Police Department have been eliminated, effective June 1, he said.

Other savings are expected through lower benefit-plan costs, maintenance and repair expenses; vehicle-replacement costs; training and certification costs; and overtime pay.

Capt. Michael Brewer took over as chief of the department Wednesday, replacing former Chief Andrew Engemann, who served in that position since January 2006.

In October, after the cuts were first announced, Engemann said that if asked to lay off officers, he would step down.

The total number of sworn officers after the reductions is 42. They will be teamed with about 40 private security contractors, along with a number of dispatchers and non-sworn administrative staff.

The Port Authority has extended a contract with Securitas, a global security company, to provide unarmed guards to handle routine tasks such as staffing terminal gates. The company has provided such services at APM Terminals in Portsmouth, which the Port Authority leased in July 2010.

The expanded contract will cost $2 million a year and be renewable every December.

Port police will continue enforcing laws within the authority's terminals in Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News and Front Royal.

Port officials have said that security at the terminals won't be harmed by the changes.