Trying to save the DeWitt County taxpayer money down the road, DeWitt County Board Finance Committee Chair Camille Redman last week proposed a retirement incentive for County employees.

Terry Ferguson explains the idea is to replace higher salary workers with new workers that will start at a lower salary. He notes it doesn't work if more workers are hired at the same starting salary.

The offer is good for one year and can only be made every five years. According to Board Chair David Newberg, IMRF(Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund) recommends hiring new employees at 80-percent of the salary of the person retiring. Additionally, Redman says future boards would have to have a lot of discipline to make this work.

Lance Reece indicates he has never heard of such an incentive working and questions if it is because of the long-term discipline involved along with the uncertainty of how many people would actually take advantage of it.

DeWitt County tried this back in the early 90s and Newberg notes it was not very effective then. Additionally, Ferguson notes the IMRF levy goes up however, the expenses for the County go down due to the reductions in payroll.

The Board did not take action on the proposal.