The county Board of Supervisors approved a resolution Tuesday granting two extra years of work credit to employees who will retire with the hope that some will retire earlier than planned.

County officials say the measure is an attempt to stave off layoffs and save the taxpayers money in the long run.

If 100 percent of county employees eligible to participate in the program do so, the county would reap more than $27 million.

Another resolution that passed gives 19 deputy district attorneys, who had been excluded from entering the early retirement program, a chance to take advantage of the incentive, though county officials say they expect only five to do so at a cost of $480,000.

Keeping the positions vacant for at least six months and filling them with less-costly people would recoup the money, county officials say.

 

The resolutions were given the nod even though the county postponed revising its adopted 2009-10 budget because the state has not formally introduced “cleanup legislation” addressing the Proposition 1A suspension. The county is hoping to take advantage of the state’s budget bill language that may allow local governments to borrow at no interest against the Legislature’s promise to repay the borrowed property taxes by 2013.

Both resolutions were approved without hearing on the matter, a move that raised the ire of Andy Caldwell, executive director of the Coalition of Labor, Agriculture and Business.

“We think that discussion should be had by you on the departmental calendar,” he said. “Our position is that in the short term, this probably makes sense. But it might make sense to lay off people that are nowhere near retirement and stretch out the retirement to those that are near retirement, and see if you can make ends meet in the next couple of years.”

 

County employees — except the deputy district attorneys — who will reach age 60 on or before January 10, 2010, are eligible for the program. The deputy district attorneys are eligible to retire between Oct. 5 and 30 this year, according to a staff report.

Credit would be forfeited if an employee comes back to the county for a reason other than a temporary callback. Also, employees who accept the retirement incentive may not be rehired as extra help for a minimum of six months. After that time, they may be rehired to fill “critical needs but they may not work more than 960 hours in any one year,” according to the staff report.

 

jfoster@syvjournal.com