GREENFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – A special city council meeting was held in Greenfield Wednesday evening nearly a week after the city’s police department proposed cuts to patrols in order to accommodate budget cuts.

Greenfield Mayor Roxann Wedegartner was at the meeting Wednesday night and was joined by police chief Robert Haigh. Wedegartner proposed an alternate plan to last week’s proposal that would have eliminated patrols between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. entirely starting February 1st. She told the city council Wednesday night that quote, “the full staffing for the bulk of the overnight shift will begin March 1st” adding it will remain in place until June 30.

Greenfield Mayor Roxann Wedegartner said, “the agreement struck with the police collective bargaining units changes staffing for patrol sergeants and patrol officers to two 10 hours shifts,
four days on four days off. From 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., there will be no coverage from the greenfield police department. We have notified the state police to cover from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. as needed.”

Wedegartner says that under this plan the Greenfield Police have agreed to waive certain union rights around overtime and shift bidding. She adds that officers will be compensated for the inconvenience of the change in work hours.