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F’ville gives retiring police Chief Roberts pension boost

By BEN NELMS
bnelms@TheCitizenNews.com

An early retirement incentive program for six Fayetteville employees designed to address budgetary concerns was approved Monday by the city council.

Among those who will receive more money is retiring Police Chief Johnny Roberts.

Roberts announced his retirement in May but remains on administrative leave until Aug. 31, leaving him positioned inside the three-month time window for enhanced early retirement eligibility.

Roberts, 56, will receive $22,713 per year over the next six years through the enhanced plan compared to $14,377 per year he would have received in early retirement benefits had the board not voted to adopt the early retirement incentive program.

The benefit to Roberts over the next six years, a difference of an additional $50,000 of the $120,113 cost of the enhanced retirement package, represents nearly 42 percent of the total enhanced benefits if accepted by all six eligible employees.

The board unanimously adopted the plan after no questions surfaced from the public and no discussion was forthcoming from the council.

The move was a cost-saving issue for the city, according to City Manager Joe Morton. Customarily, city employees must be at least 62 years of age to receive retirement benefits.

Morton said the purpose in offering an early retirement incentive is derived from city budgetary concerns.

The practice is common in the private sector and is also done in the public sector as well, he said. The specific time window for the six employees to accept the early retirement option, running from June 21-Sept. 15, coincided with the budget process, he said. The FY 2006 budget begins Aug. 1.

“It’s a voluntary program. Assuming that these employees might take it, and we’re not suggesting that anybody take it, there are assumptions that you would fill the positions at the entry level or maybe a little higher than entry level in some cases depending on the situation,” Morton said after the meeting. “But that’s where you would actually realize the savings. It would take 1.69 years to recoup the money you would otherwise pay out over a five- or six-year period.”

The idea of offering early retirement has surfaced several times over the past few years, Morton said. The early retirement incentive is one way of dealing with a tight FY 2006 budget.

Restrictions such as a hiring freeze imposed for the first five months of the fiscal year are the result of diminished sales tax revenues that have a direct impact on city finances, Morton said. The last time the city offered early retirement was in 1992, Morton added.

A May 26 letter from Morton to the council stated that city staff proposed an addendum to the Georgia Municipal Employees Benefit System (GMEBS) retirement program to provide an Early Retirement Incentive Program (ERIP) to eligible employees.

The voluntary program, Morton said, would allow eligible employees to retire with an unreduced retirement benefit with a time window beginning June 21 and ending Sept. 15. Plan requirements call for participants being at least 55 years of age with a minimum of 10 years of employment with the city.

Notified of the city’s possible intent to adopt the measure, GMEBS associate legal counsel Charlene Johnson noted in a May 25 letter that the city wanted to implement the amendment without having a cost study performed.

“Please note that this temporary addendum may significantly impact the actuarial liability of your retirement plan,” she said. “That is why we generally recommend that a cost study be performed in connection with such an amendment.”

A current GMEBS board member, Morton said cost studies are generally done when wide-ranging changes, such as permanently lowering the retirement age for all participants, are being proposed to a retirement plan. This is not the case with the limited change to Fayetteville’s plan, he said. The GMEBS comment about conducting a cost study was likely a matter of them being cautious, he said.

“You would normally do a cost study with any changes to your retirement plan, but the wild card here is that you could do a cost study, but until you know how many of the six people are going to take it, a cost study is really not valid at this point,” said Morton.

Asked about Roberts’ enhanced early retirement benefits as it relates to his May 19 retirement agreement, Morton said it had nothing to do with the board’s action Monday.

Referenced in the Roberts’ agreement, Section 3 (h) refers to “Additional Consideration.” Contained therein was a reference to “an added and material inducement to Officer to waive any and all claims of any nature whatsoever” relating to the Age Discrimination Act (ADEA) of 1967.

The city agreed to pay “retirement benefits” to Roberts in exchange for the waiver of rights or claims he might have under ADEA. “The Officer hereby acknowledges and agrees,” the document continued, “that this consideration is in addition to anything of value to which Officer is already entitled or will otherwise receive under this Agreement.”

In Section 3 (a) of the agreement, Roberts is entitled to his regular $3,359.94 bi-weekly salary through Aug. 31.

Responding to questions about the meaning of “Additional Consideration” section, Morton said last month that the section was a legal requirement related to the Age Discrimination Act and did not represent any additional monetary compensation. In statements Monday, Morton maintained that the retirement amount was not a part of the agreement.

“That has nothing to do with the agreement.” Morton said. “If they had voted (the early retirement program) down tonight, that’s strictly stand-alone. It has nothing to do with that agreement whatsoever. You have to include that (section) with any separation agreement. That’s the environment we’re in today. Older people are a protected class of folks.”

Initially central to the controversy surrounding Roberts was former Officer Harold Simmons. Hired in the early 1990s, Simmons rose through the ranks to become a major in the department before being demoted to a school resource officer.

Simmons was fired in April when he refused to apologize for secretly taping two fellow officers. The taping was a move common among officers, Simmons said, given the hostile work environment within the department.

Simmons filed two discrimination suits with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Since Simmons’ termination, other former officers, along with Simmons, have cited examples of what was described as an atmosphere of retribution and a culture of fear that existed under Roberts’ command.

A vote of no confidence by current officers in a May meeting with Morton was quickly followed by the unexpected announcement of Roberts’ retirement effective Aug. 31 and the resignation of Maj. Steve Ledbetter, the department’s second in command, on Aug. 1. Both men have been on paid administrative leave since May 19.

Simmons called for the terminations of Roberts, Ledbetter and Morton in a public statement at the May 5 city council meeting.

The announcement of Roberts’ retirement and Ledbetter’s resignation garnered only brief mention by Mayor Kenneth Steele at the May 19 council meeting.

Roberts and Ledbetter will stay on paid administrative leave until their effective dates.