The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Tuesday a measure that ultimately could reduce double-dipping in the county.
The measure would allow the county to rehire retirees as full-time employees.
If the new measure is enacted, retirees who become full-time employees again would stop receiving their pension payments. Instead, they would continue to earn service credit like any other worker until they retire again.
To date, the county's retirement system has not allowed retirees to go back to work and continue accruing service credit for their pensions.
This meant one of the only options for retirees who wanted to go back to work full time for the county was to work as contractors. For example, Jim Hunt, acting Countywide Services Agency administrator, is heading that agency through a personal services contract while also collecting his pension.
"Going forward, we thought it was an important option for the county to have," said Mark Norris, the county's Internal Services Agency administrator.
The board unanimously approved the first reading of the measure without discussion. The issue will be on its consent agenda in several weeks.
Rate hike backfires; staff to rethink plan
In August, Sacramento County raised parking rates at its lots to help erase a Parking Enterprise deficit that reached $667,000 last fiscal year. The public hourly rate went up 50 cents to $1.75 a half-hour and the monthly employee rate went up $20.
The problem, officials now say, is that fewer people used the lots once the rates went into effect. There are about 1,600 fewer public parkers a month, Michael Morse, the county's general services head, told the board. "At that rate, the actual increase in revenue will only be about $64,000 this fiscal year," according to information Morse presented to the board.
So it's time to start over, the board said. Supervisors directed staff to come back by the last board meeting in December with more data, another parking survey and a plan to address the deficit.
"Sometimes in the private sector, when they don't have enough sales, they lower prices," Supervisor Susan Peters said.
General Services' officials will report back to the board Dec. 15.
Call The Bee's Robert Lewis, (916) 321-1061
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