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Three top administrators and 126 others are choosing offer designed to cut payroll
By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Tuesday, Jun 09, 2009
Three top Summit County administrators are among the 129 workers taking a buyout designed to reduce the county payroll.
Finance and Budget Director Linda Phelps, Job and Family Services Director Sarah Kisner and Assistant Sheriff Steven Finical signed up for the program, which provides a financial incentive for county workers to retire early or resign.
The deadline to apply was June 1, but workers had until 4 p.m. Monday to back out.
County officials estimated they will see $5.6 million in savings in the first year. Not all the positions are expected to be refilled.
''It did what we wanted it to do,'' said Jason Dodson, chief of staff for county Executive Russ Pry.
The 129 workers make $8.3 million annually, including benefits. The county expects to pay out $3.5 million in vacation, sick time and buyout benefits to those employees.
Job and Family Services had the most employees participate: 31. The Fiscal Office and Department of Environmental Services had 18 and 15, respectively. The remainder were scattered among county departments.
The workers are expected to remain with
the county for up to 90 days during a transition period.
Under the so-called Voluntary Separation Plan, workers will receive a lump sum to leave county employment. They will get 30 percent of the first $50,000 of their salary and 5 percent of any base salary above $50,000 — in addition to any other benefits they have earned.
Kisner, Phelps and Finical were the highest-paid workers who volunteered for the buyout. They are paid $113,838, $108,513 and $94,182, respectively.
Phelps, 55, said it was a difficult decision.
''I guess it really boiled down to realizing that life is short and I want to spend all the time that God has given me with my husband and doing the things that we enjoy,'' said Phelps, who has worked for the county since 1999. She previously was Akron public utilities commissioner.
Kisner and Finical did not return messages seeking comment.
Twelve workers at the sheriff's office signed up for the buyout. Last month, Sheriff Drew Alexander said he might be forced to lay off workers, but it depended on how many people took advantage of the buyout program and whether Green, Northfield Center Township and Coventry Township renewed policing contracts this year.
''I want to say it looks good, but the contracts aren't signed yet. A lot depends on what they do,'' Alexander said Monday.
The county is offering buyouts because of falling revenue. Summit faces a potential $12.8 million budget gap this year.
In addition to the buyout program, county leaders froze hiring and opted not to hand out raises to nonunion workers this year. Any budget gap would be closed with reserve funds.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
Three top Summit County administrators are among the 129 workers taking a buyout designed to reduce the county payroll.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Mogadore, OH
Posted 03:23 AM, 06/09/2009
The county needs to dump some of the dead weight in Craig Stanley, and all of the Holland brothers...one has to wonder who those people knew to get in there!
Tallmadge, OH
Posted 06:37 AM, 06/09/2009
WELL THIS IS A START, BUT WILL THEY RETURN AS CONSULTANTS WHILE STILL DRAWING THEIR COUNTY PENSIONS? The taxpayers of Summit County deserve to know.
Akron, OH
Posted 07:43 AM, 06/09/2009
I have to agree with grumpy. It wouldn't come as a surprise should one or all of these folks show back up as consultants.
Posted 08:07 AM, 06/09/2009
Too bad we didn't lose "Raise Values in a Declining Market" Donofrio. If anyone votes him back in again they are NUTS!
Akron, oh
Posted 08:40 AM, 06/09/2009
Make gov't smaller. Taxes are killing the working man. Stop the Obvama destroy America plan of spend spend spend
Posted 08:52 AM, 06/09/2009
This is ridiculous
Akron, OH
Posted 08:59 AM, 06/09/2009
I know of several positions that could be eliminated to save money. All those people who retired and are collecting their pention then came back making 100k a year need to go. When will the council figure out they have been hornswalggled.
Posted 09:18 AM, 06/09/2009
I can tell you for certain that the vast majority of those who took the buyout won't be brought back as consultants. Their paygrade isn't high enough. You don't bring back a welfare casemanager as a consultant.
They also cannot reapply to work for the County (in the same position they left) for 2 years and cannot be rehired for a different position while the hiring freeze is still on.
akron, oh
Posted 09:34 AM, 06/09/2009
I've run some pretty big organizations in my time, whew, 129 people taking buyouts? What the frack? that's like a small company! Anyone see the BIG picture here?
akron, oh
Posted 10:35 AM, 06/09/2009
I hate to agree with Grump...I see that happening
akron, oh
Posted 11:37 AM, 06/09/2009
You bet they are going to return as consultants. After all, they are taking with them, reports, company's records, files etc.
akron, OH
Posted 11:03 PM, 06/09/2009
I couldn't agree more with MaD. Craig Stanley and the Holland brothers are over paid dead weight. Their lips are threaded to the idiot that hired them. And is anyone going to miss Linda Sewer Phelps? NO!!! The city wanted rid of her so bad they paid her salary for 2 years so the county would take her. Then the county was STUCK for 10 years. All over paid political HACKS.
Posted 11:38 AM, 06/10/2009
People who retired from the sheriffs department and took other jobs in the county are also able to get the buyout. Sounds sort of crooked if you ask me.
Posted 07:29 AM, 06/12/2009
MaD said "The county needs to dump some of the dead weight in Craig Stanley, and all of the Holland brothers...one has to wonder who those people knew to get in there!"
How many Hollands work for the county? Sounds like an awful lot of them.
