Edison, N.J., holds emergency meeting after hundreds of employees furloughed

An emergency meeting will get underway Thursday evening in Edison, one of New Jersey's largest municipalities.

Mayor Sam Joshi says approximately 360 town employees have been furloughed since Tuesday night, including 10 police officers. Some departments are shut down completely, including health and engineering.

It comes after the Township Council failed to vote on a new budget on Monday. The mayor is now asking the council to pass temporary appropriations. If not, the town may furlough a quarter of the police department -- about 54 officers, which the mayor says would be "devastating" for public safety.

Why employees have been furloughed in Edison

Joshi said he had no choice but to impose the furloughs following Monday night's scheduled budget vote.

Three council members didn't show, and a fourth, Richard Brescher, walked out, so there weren't enough members to take a vote.

The mayor said he warned the council back in June about potential furloughs and that he shared detailed finances as to why.

"For 90 days, they could have made specific revisions. They could have amended the budget, and when the time came to vote, they didn't even show up," Joshi said.

Brescher said Joshi's proposed budget increase went from 3% to 4.4%, which the mayor said is because of extra manpower for winter storms and rising fuel costs.

Brescher and fellow council member Ajay Patil said they're not getting answers on how much is being spent on fuel, E-ZPass, personal security and political mailers.

Brescher, whose wife was furloughed, said he didn't want to vote "no" because it would have delayed the budget another month.

"They have 74% of last year's budget to work with. We're only 55% through the year, so where is the other 20% that they're furloughing people?" he said.

Brescher said he does plan to vote Thursday to give the mayor the money to fund the government until September.

CBS News New York is still waiting to hear from other council members on where they stand.

The mayor said the increase comes to about $135 more for the average homeowner.

Residents disappointed by shutdowns

Edison's partial government shutdown means an empty community center, deserted basketball courts, and the town's splash park has been locked.

"It's sad because I spent 20 minutes [to] come there," resident Maria Dlugosz said.

"It's terrible for the kids. It's terrible for the workers," another Edison resident said. 

The animal shelter is only staffed to feed and walk the animals. Adoptions are paused.

"I was about to adopt a animal, like a small kitten, for my daughter," resident Monib Nuristani said.