ST. GABRIEL - St. Gabriel's council meeting turned heated over the city adopting next year's fiscal budget and the impact it would have on the city's police department.

St. Gabriel's Police Chief Kevin Ambeau believes the cuts to his department's budget are personal and will have a significant effect there.

"What it does to me is I am going to have to make cuts, I am going to have to start them in the office, then it may move to the road. If they cut my office that much, I am going to have to make some big cuts," Ambeau said.

The changes, he says, will force him to cut $600,000 from his department. According to Ambeau, St. Gabriel Police Department has only 12 officers.

"I am already four officers short, unfortunately I lost an officer, one of my officers died 3 months ago, I never replaced him, and I am going to lose the two that are in the school; they are going to work for another department, and I just lost a female who's working with the sheriff's office," he said.

"I'm over day-to-day operations, they want to tell me what to do with my cars, and if officers can take them home or not. That's not in their authority, their council, and because I am not bowing down to their music, in return, they retaliate against the police department," he stated.

Thursday night's council meeting turned into a heated discussion over the cuts. Two council members voted not to pass the city budget, with one asking to postpone the approval to give the chief and Mayor Lionel Johnson a chance to meet.

In the end, the majority voted to pass the budget. One of those council members, Hoza Redditt, says that despite the heated discussions, all parties can and will come together to work something out.

"This is a wonderful town, it is safe, overall it is safe, and I think we will be able to keep it safe, and we just had a little tension, a little passion tonight because on both sides they kind of wanted it to go their way. But I think at the end of the day, we are going to meet halfway and be better than ever," Redditt said.

The budget will take effect on July 1. The council also voted to approve a two-dollar raise for all city employees, including the police department.