Some state workers put retirement on hold to consider buyout

By ERIK SCHELZIG • Associated Press Writer • May 12, 2008 The prospect of lucrative buyout packages is leading some state employees to put their retirement plans on hold. The Associated Press has found that Gov. Phil Bredesen's plan to try to entice about 2,000 state employees to volunteer for buyout packages has caused some workers who had notified the state of their imminent retirement to reconsider. Bredesen, a Democrat, last week announced the plan to eliminate about 5 percent of the state work force as part of his efforts to balance the budget amid the state's deteriorating revenue picture. The governor was scheduled to lay out details about nearly a half-billion dollar budget cut in a speech to a joint assembly of the legislature on Monday night. Jill Bachus, director of the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System, confirmed that there's nothing to prevent state workers from rescinding their retirement paperwork so long as they haven't yet started collecting their benefits. "Many of them are saying, 'Well I'd like to withdraw and hold my retirement for a week or two,"' she said. Bachus couldn't say how many state workers had called to stop their paperwork from being processed, but she expects the volume of such requests to increase when Bredesen releases details of the buyout plan. "We expect to have a lot of business," she said. Summer is already the busiest time of the year for the retirement system because that's when most teachers and a large portion of other state employees decide to retire. So state workers are encouraged to hand in their paperwork about three months in advance of their planned retirement date, Bachus said. State officials have said the buyouts will be targeted at the roughly 6,000 state employees who have at least 30 years of experience. Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, said last week that another approach could be to offer younger state employees free courses at state colleges in addition to cash as an incentive to give up their government jobs. Bredesen has said trimming the state's payroll would lead to about $64 million a year in savings. The voluntary buyouts have drawn the support of the Tennessee State Employees Association and legislative leaders. "I'm glad that in tough budget times we're not even looking at raising taxes and we're doing what everybody else has to do, which is live within their means," said Ramsey. Some lawmakers, led by House Democrats, are considering a one-time cash bonus for all state workers as a way to make up for the loss of a 2 percent pay raise that has been canceled because of the funding shortfall. House Finance Chairman Craig Fitzhugh, D-Ripley, said the amount of the bonuses would be based on how much money can be drummed up without tapping into the state's "rainy day" reservers. "I don't think everybody's going to get overjoyed about the amount of any bonus," he said. "But I guess any little bit could help."

NES president tops Metro pay chart again

By MICHAEL CASS • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • May 7, 2008 While the Metro government prepares to lay off 200 people, another 200 sit at the top of the city's salary heap, each of them pulling in a six-figure salary. The list of Metro's best-paid employees is again led by Decosta Jenkins, president and CEO of Nashville Electric Service, the city's power utility. Jenkins is making more than $257,000 this year, according to data compiled by Metro Human Resources. But Raul Regalado, president of the Nashville Airport Authority, could make more than Jenkins if he meets performance goals. Regalado makes $232,000 but could earn a 20 percent bonus for an additional $46,400, said airport spokeswoman Emily Richard, who noted that Regalado's pay comes from airport revenues, not property tax dollars. Jenkins and other NES employees aren't eligible for bonuses. However, 49 of them are among the city's 200 best paid, including three of the top four and six of the top 10. No other Metro department or agency has more than 13 employees on the list. NES is run by an appointed board that doesn't answer to the mayor or Metro Council and doesn't receive tax dollars to pay its employees. Leo Waters, chairman of the NES board and a former councilman, said the salaries are often necessary to attract good people. "Compared to Metro government, the salaries are high," Waters said. "But most of those folks have very technical, specialized skills, and some of them have been there a long time." Waters also called Jenkins, NES's day-to-day leader since 2004, "one of the better administrators you'll find anywhere." Each of the 200 employees in the elite group makes at least $101,749. Two years ago, 160 employees made at least $100,000, and the lowest salary on the top-200 list was $95,971. There are more than 10,000 employees in Metro's central government. When NES, the airport, schools and several other agencies are included, the work force jumps to about 22,000. The salary list also shows that the mayor's salary doesn't go as far as it used to. Former Mayor Bill Purcell ranked 26th on the pay scale in 2006; his successor, Mayor Karl Dean, ranks 43rd. The mayor's salary is fixed by Metro statute at $136,500. Dean's deputy mayor, finance director and law director all make more, and Dean made more when he was Purcell's law director, earning $143,190 in 2006.