Business leaders urge no cuts at Fort Leavenworth

LEAVENWORTH – Several civic and business leaders in Leavenworth are asking Army officials to spare the community from thousands of potential job cuts.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the military is considering where to make reductions required by law. Federal officials must cut the Army from 490,000 to 450,000 people by 2020. A commission has already announced a potential loss of 2,500 personnel at Fort Leavenworth.

An official with the Mid-America Regional Council warns an extra 2,500 jobs could be lost in the Kansas City metro region because of a reduction at Fort Leavenworth. The director of the Governor’s Military Council says tax revenue could decline in Leavenworth by $1.7 million annually.

Brig. Gen. Roger Cloutier stressed that nothing has been decided yet and that officials’ comments would be taken back to senior leadership.