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It's thumbs up, thumbs down for retire-rehire
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - May 18, 2011)
It's thumbs up, thumbs down for retire-rehire
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
Chardon City Council voted last week to retain the city's finance director but not its city manager for the purpose of grooming their replacements after they retire.
A 4-3 vote fell one short of the number needed to allow for a transitional employment agreement with City Manager David Lelko, who has served the city for 20 years. However, council voted 5-2 to keep city Finance Director Jeff Smock on for another year to acclimate a new employee to the position.
Both Mr. Lelko and Mr. Smock had submitted their intent to retire May 31.
Because of the short notice, council considered the two pieces of legislation. One would have allowed Mr. Lelko to remain in his position until the end of the year. Mr. Smock's agreement would have allowed him to serve until May 31, 2012.
A similar agreement for one year had been worked out with Public Service Director Gayland Moore, who also chose to retire May 31 but now will stay until May 31, 2012.
Council members Leslie Bednar, Mitch Hewitt and Deborah Reiter voted against extending Mr. Lelko's contract. Mrs. Bednar and Mrs. Reiter dissented on extending Mr. Smock's contract.
Mr. Smock said the agreements would have provided $33,000 in savings for the city as each reduced salaries by 10 percent and voided any future longevity payments.
Because Mr. Lelko will not be coming back and Assistant City Manager Randal Sharpe is taking on the city manager's position without hiring anyone for his present position, the city will see even more savings.
Mr. Smock said training his successor will involve acclimating the person to financial aspects unique to Chardon, such as a first-of-its-kind loan to residents on Wilson Mills Road, who are being assessed for sanitary sewer installations.
Although most council members did not comment on the matter before voting on Mr. Lelko's contract, Mrs. Bednar read from a prepared statement, expressing her feelings.
She said it was a "hard issue" for her because she was viewing it as a business decision but had seen both employees as friends. She said she would be voting no on both and regretted her vote to approve the agreement with Mr. Moore earlier.
She said she believed there was no need to keep the employees on for the lengths of time requested, saying qualified people should be able to step into the new positions without much trouble. "Qualified, new hires would be able to handle our projects well and perhaps even bring new or positive ideas," she said.
Mrs. Bednar said she was "troubled" that employees knew that changes were coming to the Public Employees Retirement System for two years before the agreements were offered. Also, she said, council has voted twice against the practice of retire-rehires.
"Personally, as I have worked very hard on this issue, I have been confronted with disrespect, manipulation and accusations," she said. "The process and proposed outcomes have appeared self-serving and I cannot agree."
She said her vote did not reflect on the "long and talented services" of the employees involved. She said she hoped it did not affect their friendships.
Councilman John Mallen said he did not expect the vote on Mr. Lelko's contract and believed that the city is taking a chance not to rehire both employees.
Councilwoman Nancy McArthur said finances are "pretty tricky business" and that the city should not take the chance with failing to rehire Mr. Smock to groom his successor.
Mr. Hewitt said he looks at the two positions as apples and oranges. While there is no one trained to take over for Mr. Smock, the city has been grooming Mr. Lelko's successor for seven years, he said.
He said the city has been "very blessed" to have Mr. Lelko in what is a "thankless job." He said it would be a disservice to Mr. Sharpe not to trust that he can handle the job after being acclimated to it over the past seven years.
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