Jacksonville employees taking advantage of retirement offer

A Retirement incentive plan offered by the Jacksonville City Council to help cut the number of city employees has already had 12 takers with at least three more employees saying they plan to take advantage of the incentive plan next month.

The city recently agreed to pay health insurance costs for any employee who would agree to retire by the end of September. The move will help the city qualify for lower health insurance rates for its remaining employees, but it has also prompted experienced employees to leave the city.

Many of those who are retiring hold leadership positions or lead city departments and will be gone by November. They include Denise Rucker, director of the local arm of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program; Lynn Causey, city planner; and Dorothy Wilson, city clerk.

The city will choose replacements for each applicant from a pool of contenders approved by the Jacksonville Civil Service Board, a body that determines whether candidates’ skills meet job qualifications for each opening.

For five years, the city will pay all of the $799 health insurance premium for retirees who have single coverage and $1,008 for retirees with family coverage. The expense will cost the city about $110,000, .

At the end of the five-year period, the city may stop offering coverage to retirees.

The increased number of retirees on the plan will help the city qualify for better rates for the remaining employees, saving the city $36 monthly for each employee with single coverage and about $99 for each employee with family coverage. The net savings on insurance, will be about $70,000.