Friday, December 15, 2000
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Friday, December 15, 2000 |
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Sheriff wants better pension plan By JOHN THOMPSON Coweta County Sheriff Mike Yeager is concerned about his employees. The sheriff is so concerned he wants county officials to reexamine the county's pension plan and see if it needs to be adjusted for public safety officials. Yeager said he has talked with officials from the county's fire and emergency services divisions who are also troubled by the county's pension plan. Yeager's main problem is that officers are having to work until they are in their 60s before they can obtain a "living wage" from their pension. The sheriff is concerned that this could cause a public safety issue because officers in their 60s would be in the front line of the battle against crime. He also dismisses the idea that officers should be shifted to the jail, since numerous fights break out in the compound and you could have older officers trying to break up battles between much younger prisoners. County Commission Chairman Vernon "Mutt" Hunter dismissed the sheriff's opinion about the pension plan. "This is one of the best plans around. We can't help it if somebody didn't sign up for it 20 years ago and is now worried about that money," he said. Yeager said the plan needed to be explained better to his officers, because many are pulling money out of the county plan and trying to invest on their own. In addition to a regular pension plan, Hunter said the officers have the option of deferred compensation through Coweta County and another program available through the Georgia Peace Officers program. The sheriff finally asked if the county would compare its program with other programs around the state and see how it compares. He asked that descriptions in "layman's terms" be provided to the officers so they would have a better understanding of the program. Hunter agreed and asked personnel director Rick Watson to start working on the project.
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