Harford County Executive Barry Glassman hopes an incentive program will prompt enough early retirements to create savings to help pay for long-sought raises for the remaining county workers.
Glassman sent a letter detailing the program Wednesday to the 257 county employees eligible for the incentive.
Harford has 992 full-time budgeted positions, not necessarily active employees, Glassman's spokeswoman, Cindy Mumby, said Wednesday, as well as temporary or contractual positions.
The county's newly-elected leader hopes at least 100 people will take the incentive, Glassman said after Tuesday's County Council meeting, where the bill proposing the program was formally introduced.
The outgoing county executive, David Craig, offered a similar retirement incentive in 2010, which resulted in 53 employees leaving and included sheriff's deputies. Craig tried to offer another incentive aimed at more than 240 employees earlier this year, but the County Council rejected the move.
The council must approve the proposal and a public hearing for it is set for 7 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2015 in the council chambers.
"The big picture is, the county is under fiscal pressure, so this is the first step in an effort to reduce the county workforce," Mumby said.
Mumby said a portion of the savings from the incentive would help fund at least part of employees' scheduled pay increases.
Outside agencies that receive county funding, such as the Harford County Sheriff's Office and Harford County Public Library, are not included in the incentive, Mumby said.
The bill would appropriate $6.75 million from the budget toward paying out the incentive. That funding is an estimate of the amount needed to cover the roughly 100 hoped-for retirees, Mumby said.
The administration would need to appropriate more money if more were to retire, she said.
The administration does not have an estimate on how much the incentive could ultimately save the county, as it will depend on how many sign up, Mumby said.
She said it is "too soon to say" what Glassman may do if the incentive does not generate the desired savings. There is no limit on the number of eligible employees who could sign up for the incentive.
"This is the first step in that process" of looking at the workforce, Mumby said.
Those who sign up would get a one-time payment of $5,000, as well as 100 percent, instead of 50 percent, of their sick-leave balance. They would also get the county to pay their $20,000 life insurance policy in full for the rest of their life.
Employees eligible for federally-mandated other post-employment benefits, or OPEB, will also get subsidies that vary based on how long the employee has served with the county.
Besides those incentives, retirees will also get 100 percent of their compensatory leave balance up to 59 days and personal leave balance up to either 120 or 240 hours.
Employees must sign up for the incentive by Feb. 13, 2015, and would have to retire by May 1.
Directors, exempt secretaries, grant-funded employees and temporary employees are not eligible for the incentive, but deputy directors are eligible.
In Wednesday's letter to employees, Glassman asked those who are eligible to attend informational human resources meetings on Dec. 11 and Dec. 16.
"I want to thank you for your continued service to our citizens," Glassman wrote in the letter. "I also want to assure you that I am taking these necessary steps to position the county to re-invest in our workforce and help you get back on your pay scales."