Eleven city employees – including a police captain, a fire captain, three firefighters and the director of the Public Works Department – have accepted early retirement offers, trimming nearly $1.3 million a year from the municipal payroll.
Numerous city workers were offered early retirement packages so the city could cut its payroll to meet lean economic conditions. The retirees’ combined seniority with the city was 280 years.
City officials have begun recruiting to fill three of the positions, those of police captain, public works director, and an administrative assistant with the Police Department. It was not yet clear whether all the other positions will be filled. The City Council is scheduled to discuss the vacant positions Oct. 26.
A state-imposed deadline for employees to accept the early retirement packages fell this week.
All the retirees have left the city payroll, with four of them finishing their last day on the job on Monday.
The retiree with the greatest longevity was public works superintendent Mike Flaherty, who served 37 years. He is followed by Evelyn VanKreuningen, the popular secretary to numerous police chiefs, who served for 33 years, firefighters Paul Hawkins and Lee Lickhalter, who each served 30 years, and two 29-year employees, fire Capt. Brain Scott and Ron Fox, a police services officer who is a non-sworn member of the department.
The highest-paid retiree was Scott, whose taxable earnings – including salary and items such as overtime pay, merit pay and cashed out leave time – made $194,860 in the 2009 calendar year, according to city records.
Next was Morgan at $176,550, Jaakola at $160,630 and Lickhalter at $135,650.
The retirees, with their years of services and total earnings in 2009, are:
Fire Capt. Brian Scott, 29 years, $194,860
Public Works Director Rick Morgan, seven years, $176,550
Police Capt. Lance Jaakola, 26 years, $160,630
Firefighter Lee Lickhalter, 30 years, $135,650
Firefighter Kim Bridges, 25 years, $129,250
Firefighter Paul Hawkins, 30 years, $127,530
Public Works superintendent Mike Flaherty, 37 years, $106,290
Police chief’s secretary Evelyn VanKreuningen, 33 years, $75,280
Police services officer (non-sworn) Ron Fox, 29 years, $71,230
Public Works administrative assistant Rhea Punneo, 11 years, $67,000
Police court liaison Dianne Loughin, 23 years, $45,460
Back in June, some City Council members said they might consider adding employees to the payroll once they found out how much they will save from the early retirements. At that time, City Manager Steve Burrell estimated about 10 employees might take the packages, and he wound up hitting the mark within one employee.
Before the retirements occurred, the City Council had frozen 14 vacant employee positions, including those of five sworn police officers. In addition, the early retirements cost the Fire Department one captain and three firefighters. ER
