By David Madden

CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) — Officials in Camden, NJ have shared their plan to transition the Camden Police Department from a city-run to a county-run organization.

The plan was submitted yesterday to the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, which has a month to act on it.

County police consultant Joe Cordero says it will take about 16 weeks, once new officers are hired, to train them and put them on the street, in groups of about 25 at a time.

The switchover should be complete by spring, says Camden mayor Dana Redd, who also sought to dispel a notion of impending mayhem.

“The filing of the layoff plan does not mean that we will not have officers tomorrow,” she says.  “This is a deliberative and well thought out process, of standing down one department while standing up the other.”

Layoff notices for the city police department’s 270 members will likely begin going out in January. Some 300 people have applied for the 400 jobs in the new county police department — about a third of them current Camden cops.

The county has extended the application deadline until January 15th, hoping more city officers will sign up.