City eyes buyout of veteran workers

Diana Sahagun

Monday, Nov. 5, 2001 | 9:50 a.m.

Reacting to a slowing economy and forecasts of lower tax revenues, the city of Las Vegas is considering buying out the contracts of veteran employees to save money on salaries and benefits.

The City Council on Wednesday will vote on a "voluntary separation program" for employees who have 20 or more years of service. The program, coupled with a recent hiring freeze, will save the city millions, officials say.

The buyout will cost roughly $1.8 million to implement, depending on the number of employees who participate, according to a report written by Claudette Enus, the city's human resources director. However, the city expects the program to pay for itself as some positions are left vacant or new employees are hired at lower salaries.

Close to 80 percent of the city's general fund is spent on salaries and benefits, including those of Metro Police.

The program will not be offered to firefighters, fire investigators or fire supervisors, Enus' report says.

Employees who choose to participate in the program have two options: The city can purchase two years of service toward their retirement with the Public Employees Retirement System or they can take a cash payout equal to 1.25 percent of their salary for every year of service plus payment of a portion of their medical, dental and vision insurance for 18 months.

For example, employees of 20 years could choose to retire with 22 years' service or take a cash payout of 25 percent of their salary. Those with 28 years could retire with the equivalent of 30 years' service or take 35 percent of their salary in a one-time payment.

About 50 employees have expressed interest in the program, Enus said, including employees from departments of human resources, finance and business services, leisure services, and field operations. She said it was not likely that any department heads would participate.

"In some instances, there are people who are getting close to retirement," Enus said. "Others have put in their years of service and have attained the age of retirement, and this becomes an optimal time to retire with incentives."

City Manager Virginia Valentine and her staff must approve each employee's request to participate and then determine whether the position should be filled. Employees who get the buyout must leave between Jan. 1 and June 30.

The program is similar to those offered in 1999 and 1992, Valentine said.

Valentine said the vacant positions will go through the same process as that used in the hiring freeze, which was implemented in June. A committee of city staff members would review each position to determine if it should be filled or eliminated.

"One additional step to the buyout program is keeping the position vacant long enough to try to recover the cost of the buyout," she said.

The committee will consider how keeping a position vacant or eliminating it would affect customer service, Valentine said.

"We don't want to save money at the expense of public convenience," she said.

For example, positions at the city's Wastewater Treatment Plant will usually be filled, because a decrease in performance levels could affect the city's discharge permit. The number of detention and enforcement officers must also be maintained to maintain an acceptable ratio of prisoners to officers, she said.

"We try to make wise decisions and look at what are the consequences of leaving this position vacant," she said. "It's striking a balance between being efficient and maintaining customer service levels."