Buyouts to Bring New Faces, Financial Savings, to Ferndale PD

Buyouts to Bring New Faces, and Financial Savings, to Ferndale Police Dept.
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Aug. 25, 2014)
 
In a move expected to save the City up to $250,000 to $300,000 over the course of the next 5 years, Ferndale City Council approved voluntary buy out agreements for sworn officers in the Ferndale Police Department.
Employees have until Jan. 1 to change their minds, but according to a memo from Human Resource Director Jenny Walewski, This opportunity was presented to each eligible employee in mid-June with a deadline for eligible employees to submit their intent to retire by August 11, 2014. A total of 6 employees announced their intent to retire on or before January 1, 2015. One employee elected to retire on August 8, 2014 under this buyout incentive. The employees have been offered the incentive of $1,000 per year of service, and this was extended to employees with 25 years in or more.
“It’s sad because we’re going to lose a tremendous amount of experience and a wealth of knowledge. And it’s sad for me personally. I worked with these guys, they’re friends of mine,” said Councilperson Mike Lennon before Monday’s meeting. “But you will not see the level of service change, not one iota.”
Lennon said that generally new hires come in already certified and often with experience from other departments. “They’ll have to ride around and get to know Ferndale, but other than that, it is a well-run machine over there. The Chief of Police and his staff will make sure Ferndale stays safe.”
The financial benefit comes not only from less expensive salaries, but also in that new hires do not have the same healthcare and retirement plans like those hired in decades past.
“We would not have approved it if it didn’t save the City money,” Lennon said.
Another benefit is cited in Walewski’s memo “In addition to the financial savings, we anticipate seeing an increase in morale due to potential promotional opportunities for current staff members and may have the ability to hire new Police Officers which has not occurred in over 8 years.”

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