Early retirements to save county money

Plan Participants

Paula Moore, administrative services; Jane Webster, appraiser’s office; C.J. Tate and Donna Thompson, clerk’s office; John Bulkley and Sylvia Martin, court trustee’s office; Dinah O’Connor and Phyllis Payne, district attorney’s office; Jim Denney, emergency communications director; Jerry L. Rolfs, public works; Kathleen Hayward, Sharon Wehling, James R. O’Connell and Kari Wempe, sheriff’s office; Rhonda Banks and Wanda Knight, treasurer’s office.

A lot of experience will be leaving the Douglas County government by the end of the year with the departure of 16 employees who took advantage of an early retirement incentive.

County commissioners approved the plan in August. Administrators estimate the county could save $950,000 over five years.

The county will host a retirement reception from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. today at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Mass.

With flat or diminishing property values contributing to budget woes, county leaders have been looking at many avenues for savings. Administrators offered long-serving employees a one-time opportunity to retire early, by Dec. 31.

The employees who qualified can keep paying lower health insurance premiums into retirement, and the county can save money by bringing in employees lower on the pay scale, said Assistant County Administrator Pam Madl.

For now, department leaders and administrators plan to fill a little more than half of the 16 positions.

The county is losing several experienced and valuable employees, Madl said, so managers will likely have to balance taking on more responsibility and training new employees. “The department heads will try to ensure that there will be no lack of service to the public in a variety of ways,” she said.