Politics & Government

16 South Whitehall Employees Offered Early Retirement

South Whitehall Township hopes to reduce longterm pension and healthcare costs by offering early retirement to 16 employees.

South Whitehall Township has offered early retirement to 16 non-uniformed employees in an effort to cut expenses, according to Township Manager Jon Hammer.

Hammer did not say how many accepted the offers or if there would be layoffs if a sufficient number do not accept early retirement.

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

Employee salary and benefits make up the largest part of general fund expenditures, Hammer said.

"In the past two years, we've reduced staffing numbers through reorganization, attrition and early retirement incentives, all without compromising services," Hammer told Patch in an e-mail.

"By carefully managing staffing levels, not only are we able to better manage current expenses, but we are also able to reduce our legacy costs by reducing longterm pension and healthcare obligations," he said.

Last year, a number of employees took the early retirement package, including former Finance Director Linda Perry and Community Development Director Jeff Higgins.

Hammer did not release details of the early retirement packages, but after last year's reorganizations, he said he expected the township to save more than $409,651 through the end of 2013 from the 2012 early retirements.


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