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Escambia Moves Forward With Leave Buyback, Floating Holiday
December 21, 2012
The Escambia County Commission moved forward Thursday with a plan to allow employees to sell back accrued leave time and added a floating holiday.
The floating holiday for 2012 will be New Year’s Eve, and employees will be allowed to sell back up to 80 hours of accrued annual leave time. The buybacks and floating holiday will replace a 3-percent cost of living raise for employees, which was dumped after commissioners said there simply was not enough money. The raises were passed weeks ago with the understanding that the commission would be required to find a way to save the money elsewhere in the budget to pay up to employees.
If every employee cashed in their available leave under the plan, it will cost the county $1.4 million, compared to $3 million for across the board raises. The funds will come from $2.3 million in rebates from the county’s health insurance policy received for meeting cost reduction plans. The remaining $900,000 will be placed into a health insurance reserve.
The leave buyback program will cover Board of County Commission employees, the Supervisor of Elections Office, Property Appraiser’s Office, the Tax Collector and the Sheriff’s Office.
About half of the county’s employees have very few, if any, accumulated leave hours.
Comments
16 Responses to “Escambia Moves Forward With Leave Buyback, Floating Holiday”
JJM,let me answer some of you questions, one of the reasons the employees with the county do not seek other employment elsewhere (there is actually a high turn over rate for new employees they lookat that application whereit says you can make x amount of dollars and then get hired and find out there are no raises ot get to that x amount no matter how long you stay) is that you have to be employed for 6 years to be vested with the FRS, if you leave before that you loose all of your retirement, aka benefit. A majority of county employees stay with it because they feel they are helping their community, trying to make it a better place for there neighbors and family believe it or not its not always about the almighty dollar, but if they could get a raise,if ANYONE could get a raise would you not want one? Contrary to belief thereare not hudreds of applicants due to some of the jobs being safety sensitive aka drug testing, no tobacco use or certain liscenses that are required for these jobs. The leave buy back is not a bonus, it is their leave whether it is sold now or paid out when the employee leaves. In a nutshell the employees whom have been there for a while consider their employement an investment not to be taken lightly. Oh yes and the county offices will be closed on December 31, 2012. Remember also all county employees are tax payers too.
I’m confused. Does this mean that county offices will be closed *this* New Years Eve, or those at the end of next year?
@ Aaron: Please explain how I’m off course; I’d really like to know your opinion.
@JJM, I used to vote and think like you but that reasoning is causing the US to lose jobs at an incredible rate. With that way of thinking we’ll get manufacturing jobs back in the US when we agree to work under the same terms as the Chinese. With more people thinking and voting for “free market” we’ll be working 80 hour work weeks with no insurance or workplace safety laws. Look back to the good ole days before unions saved the day for regular blue collar workers like you and me. I’ve seen a trend in the 30 years since Reagan broke the back of the Unions and it’s not good for the American worker.
I’m not a county employee, but I have a question for those so employed. Why not seek friendlier skies? Why shouldn’t you find better employment with pay that is more commensurate with your talents and skill set? May I suggest that market equilibrium has not yet been established for your services rendered to the county? I know this is not popular; and I really do appreciate the county employees, but the effects of an efficient free market system are at work here folks. If you’re a county employee who disagrees with me, then leave and find another job that will pay you the high wages that you’re worth. Then let the county sort through the hundreds of applicants who will gladly take your old job. Again, I’m in the same boat as y’all are – just not with the county. I’d like to get paid more, but I know my wages are temporarily suppressed due to higher than normal unemployment, along with other unfavorable market conditions. Economics and the free market are cut-throat sometimes, but they make sense to me. Thoughts??
Sorry abe, you’re off course.
Sandra, I don’t know if you work at BK, or Makky D’s but i would like your prices to go down. Not so funny HUH!
The only ones that have moved forward is the county commissioners because it sure isn’t the employees.
What some of u don’t get is that the ccs have screwed us employees again. But they can pay Tourat all that money for 6 months because that’s all he needs to be vested for his retirement. And another thing they didn’t miss a free meal this week. It was like they rubbed it in our face.
1. In these economically challenging times, take the leave sell back program as a bonus and stop complaining. The 3 percent you gave up to the FRS will help to solidify the retirement coffers, thus ensuring that benefits will be there when reach retirement age.
Good! Thats about all I can afford to give you this year as a taxpayer. Check back with me this time next year and I’ll see if my financial situation has changed.
At least county employees got a 3% raise to offset the mandatory 3% contribution to retirement. State Employees have gotten NOTHING for over seven years!
So, the county commission lied about the pay raises. Thats what is really happening. They are trying to disguise that by offering this pitiful excuse of buy back and a holiday. REALLY?
This is not even available for Sheriff’s Office employees. The admin said they need to check with the union first, it may be awhile…
William,
I really wish you would look into the $2.3 mil the county got back from the insurance company as a rebate. That would be a good news piece in itself.
Correct me if I’m wrong but: Last year a county employee could sell back all of their leave as long as they left 40 hours in thier account. This new “up to 80 hours” is being sold as an added benefit when actually it’s a new restriction to help the county coffers. I surmise: Half the County employees will not care as they get to use their leave benefit while the other half are either workaholics or more likely restricted on how much leave they can take. These people will lose any acrued leave without being compensated for it.
The article states that this leave sell back will cost the county $1.4 mil and to give back the 3% in pay rate that the county took would cost $3 mil. First off, the leave should be the property of the employee and therefore should not be negotiable. Second, the 3% pay cut the employees took should be given back period. Are they seriously trying to play Santa Clause?
another year without a raise!!!