5 Accept Early Retirement in South Whitehall

Five of 16 South Whitehall Township employees who were offered early retirement packages last month have accepted, according to Township Manager Jon Hammer.

Four of the employees work in the Public Works Department and one is a clerical worker, Hammer said.

Some of the employees will continue working until the end of August, he said.

It was not immediately known how much the township will save from the retirements, but Hammer expected to have those numbers Wednesday for the Board of Commissioners.

"This will be a good savings going into the 2014 budget," he said.

The administration did not have a target number of employees it needed to retire, according to Hammer. 

"We were trying to be proactive and do voluntary retirements so that we wouldn't have to on an involuntary basis," Hammer said.

"Salaries and benefits are the biggest part of our general fund budget. It's necessary that we control those expenditures and control our employee costs, not just current costs, but legacy costs such as pensions and healthcare."

It is the second offer of early retirement packages the township has made in more than a year. In April 2012, 17 employees in the finance, public works and economic development departments were offered early retirement.