Dear Editor:
Please allow me to address the critical issue of sick pay reform for public employees. This practice of allowing unused sick days to be accrued and cashed in at retirement has been permitted for far too long in the public sector. I cannot think of any private sector employment that allows employees to accumulate, in some cases, hundreds of days that can be cashed in at the time of retirement for a check in the amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars – in extreme cases, payouts may be as high as $350,000. Such exorbitantly generous payouts may be received in addition to annual pensions that can be in the range of $150,000, which are received for life.
As a Mayor, it is a major burden to have a handful of Police Department superiors or other high ranking officials retire, and possibly cost taxpayers a million dollars or more in sick or other compensation payouts in one budget year.
In being fair, we cannot eliminate or reduce the days that employees have bargained for in their contracts, however, I look forward to sponsoring legislation that says all sick days that have been accrued will be frozen and employees will not be allowed to add to days that have been banked. Furthermore, the practice of saving sick days must end for all new employees.
Also, it is unfair to pay individuals at the rate of pay at which they retire for days that were accumulated during the course of a lengthy career. This practice is completely illogical.
For the sake of taxpayers, we must immediately reform this system. Every taxpayer must voice their concerns on this critical issue.
Sick days must be used when employees are sick and not as a piggy bank to be filled by taxpayers.
Sincerely,
Brian P. Stack
Mayor and State Senator