Worcester, Mass. braces for government spending cuts

(NECN: Kristen Carosa) - Still no deal reached and it looks like the $85 billion in government spending cuts will take effect at midnight as the president and key lawmakers failed to make a deal at a meeting Friday.
     
When the cuts begin to kick-in, they're expected to be felt around Worcester County.

Westborough Police Chief Alan Gordon says more than 90 percent of their bullet proof vests need to be replaced. He says they've relied on federal funding to purchase them in the past, but now that's in jeopardy.

"These vests can only last for so long... They have a life expectancy, which is now at the very end," says Chief Gordon.

Chief Gordon adds that the cuts will affect the police departments in more ways than one all across the country. Massachusetts will see a loss of more than $300,000 in public safety funds for crime prevention.

"It's going to have a major impact on the country's economy and Massachusetts on certain programs and the paychecks behind them," says Chief Gordon.

U.S. Congressman Jim McGovern says more than a million jobs could be lost this year across the nation.

"All of the programs will get cut all the same way... Whether it's an efficient program, or a bad inefficient program, that is not the way to run a government, we should be getting rid of what we what we don't need, not what we need and what is working for our communities," says Congressman McGovern.