By Neil Farrell~
A cost-cutting measure approved by the Morro Bay City Council is apparently working well, perhaps a little too well, as the City has received a host of early retirement requests, coupled with a number of other city employees leaving for new jobs or other reasons.
“My No. 1 priority,” David Buckingham said last week, “is to hire an interim police chief now.”
At least 16 out of the 94 City employees are leaving or have already left, some 17% of the workforce. It’s an unprecedented exodus but one that isn’t necessarily scandalous. People have their varying reasons for leaving, but for the majority, it appears they’re getting out while the getting is good.
Nine, long-time employees have opted to take the City’s “golden handshake” offer made in April to put in for retirement by June 15, with a retiring date in November or December, in exchange for a cash bonus of 20-percent of the person’s annual base pay.
Among those who have chosen this route are: Admin. Services Director, Susan Slayton, and payroll’s Cristie Brazzi; WWTP Division Mgr., Bruce Keogh, division supervisor, Les Girven, and George Helms from the wastewater plant and collections crews; Kay Merrill of Public Works; Robbyn Smith with the Police Department; and Polly Curtis of the Harbor Department.
Those who have simply left for other jobs or other reasons include Heather Salyer-Frith and Celeste English of Parks and Rec; Deputy City Manager Sam Taylor; Assistant City Clerk Brooke Austin (now at Port San Luis); Police Sgt. Derek Porter, Ofc. Stephanie Pippan and police dog Xello, Cmdr. Bryan Millard and Chief Amy Christey.
“It’s a challenging period for everybody,” City Manager David Buckingham said. “There’s a lot of transition. But it’s also a great opportunity to bring in fantastic new people to serve the community. HR and I are very busy. But we’ve got a great plan.” They’re already advertising for some five positions on the City website and one can expect to see a flood of “Help Wanted” ads to follow soon.
Immediately, it’s the Police Department that is Buckingham’s No. 1 priority, as the two top people — Cmdr. Millard and Chief Christey — are or will soon be gone.
Millard was hired as Cuesta College police chief as of July 1 and Christey will become chief in Pacific Grove in mid-August. And, Sgt. Porter left a few months ago for a police job in Porterville and Ofc. Pippan and Xello are now working at Cal Poly (See story on Page 4).
“My No. 1 priority,” Buckingham said last week, “is to hire an interim police chief now.” He announced on Tuesday that he has hired, Larry Todd, to be the interim chief. Todd was chief in Los Gatos for 14 years before retiring in 2003 and has more than 40 years experience.
Oddly enough, Todd was hired in 2003 as the interim chief in Hollister, Calif., by then-Hollister interim City Manager Ed Kreins, who served in the same capacity in Morro Bay back in 2013.
Buckingham said he expects Todd to be here 4-6 months while the City conducts a nation-wide search for a new full-time chief, perhaps using a head-hunter firm. Chief Christey has been away on leave for some time, and she named Sgt. Rick Catlett acting chief in her absence.
What’s driving good people out in droves is in part something called the “Early Retirement Management Program,” or ERMP. Each of the nine early retirees is a so-called “Tier-1” employee, meaning the City pays some 34% of a person’s salary in retirement benefits, the most expensive type in those regards.
“This gives some of the longest serving employees flexibility in retirement,” Buckingham said. “And there’s financial benefits to the City because they’re all Tier-1 employees, who are likely to be replaced by Tier-2 or Tier-3 employees.”
Tier-2 employees, Buckingham said, are folks who came here from another agency under the Public Employee Retirement System or PERS, who get reduced retirement benefits.
Tier-3 employees, like Buckingham, are people who have never been in the PERS system. Buckingham has a military retirement, leaving the Army as a Colonel before taking the job in Morro Bay. Tier-2 saves money but Tier-3 is a comparative bargain.
“Instead of a 34-percent contribution to retirement,” he said, “the City has a 6.25% contribution. It saves 81% on the retirement contributions.”
Will such low numbers attract people to the City? “It’s not a problem,” Buckingham said. “Because by State law it’s 6.25% everywhere.” He’s referring to the Public Employee Pension Reform Act, passed in 2012 and going into effect in January 2013.
Saving money isn’t everything and could be problematic if nobody applies for the openings. That too doesn’t appear to be an issue.
Buckingham said he received some 57 applications for the vacant recreation coordinator’s position; more than 30 for the finance director; and more than 80 applications for the deputy city manager job, which closed Friday, July 9. Indeed, while being interviewed for this story that same Friday, three more applications for DCM came in via email and Buckingham said he’d gotten more than a dozen that day. So it seems there’s no dearth of interest in what have become among the best paying, and most secure jobs in town.
