If true, it makes a lot of sense. Retire now before Comrade B figures out how to raid the pension fund and organize the ‘Peoples Police’.
I wonder how many of those retiring are Officers, Sergeants, Lieutenants, and above, and what precincts they are from. It could make a big difference because if they are supervisors, they might not have the number they need to oversee the shift officers. Do they even have any active Civil Service lists to promote from, and would those on the list want to even take a promotion, which would probably mean them moving to the precinct where that vacancy is? Even if they lost only 300, it would mean they would have to force overtime, and if they're trying to defund the police, that isn't going to save money. Or will de Blasio decide to simply not put officers in certain areas to make up for the loss?
The City Budget usually sets the number of line officers, and supervisors needed to safely run a shift. Depending on the size of the precinct and it's needs, the numbers can differ. When there are vacancies on a shift, people may have to double up on the area they patrol, or they have to hire overtime.
In New York State Corrections where I worked under Mario Cuomo, there were times when there was zero overtime allowed to save the State money. If an officer called in sick, they'd shut that job down for the day, or an officer with his own unit to watch, was made to watch two units for the shift. As a messhall Sergeant, there were plenty of times I was the only Sergeant in the prison covering the breakfast chow run with 1200 inmates to feed, and a handful of officers to keep peace in the messhall.