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YMHA offers $10,000 retirement bonus
YOUNGSTOWN
In a cost-saving move, the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority commissioners approved a one-time, $10,000 retirement bonus for authority employees who leave by year’s end.
Retiring employees would also get $40 in longevity compensation for each year of service up to a maximum of $1,200.
To be eligible, employees must give the authority written notice of their intent to retire under the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio by Oct. 1 and a written notice by Dec. 1 that their decision to retire is irrevocable.
The authority expects to save an average of $60,000 per year per retiree, Carmelita Douglas, authority executive director, said Wednesday.
Of its 68 employees, the authority has 10 with more than 30 years of service and 16 with between 20 and 30 years of service, said Marilyn Montes, the authority’s human resources director.
Replacement employees will be compensated at a lower rate than the retiring employees, Douglas said, adding that some retirees may not be replaced.
The incentive is designed to balance the authority’s budget after federal funding cuts in recent years, Douglas explained.
“Ever since the beginning of sequestration, [federal] funds have been cut down considerably with each year,” and automatic federal budget cuts through sequestration “may be back” this fall, Douglas said.
Douglas said she hopes at least four or five employees take advantage of the retirement bonus offer.
Montes told the board she believes eight to 10 employees will take advantage of the retirement bonus.
If response to the retirement bonus incentive is insufficient, “it’s very much possible” the authority will have to lay off employees to stay within its budget, Douglas said.
“We’re not forcing anybody to retire,” she told the commissioners.
“It’s a great opportunity for some people,” Darin Taylor, vice president of Local 288 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents authority workers, said of the retirement incentive.
The union already has agreed in negotiations with management to a two-tiered wage system, with lower wages for new hires, he said.