The city shelled out nearly $4 million in buyouts to the employees who opted into the city’s voluntary separation incentive program.
In April, city commissioners approved the severance package that consisted of either 12 weeks of pay or $20,000, “whichever is greater.” The total, which the Tallahassee Democrat obtained through a records request, equated to $3,869,496 for the 171 city workers that chose to leave their roles.
Nearly 2,800 employees were eligible for the program, and city staff originally projected between 75 and 125 employees to take the offer. Instead, roughly 27% more than anticipated gave their notices of resignation.
Among these employees to leave were all of the Tallahassee Police Department’s top brass, who also happened to have some of the largest salaries out of all the employees to accept the buyout. Salaries of those leaving ranged from roughly $38,000 to roughly $216,500, with 28 people who were paid six-figure salaries.
Most of the employees opting into the program received the flat $20,000 buyout, but several received 12 weeks of pay, with buyout amounts ranging from $20,134 to $49,961, according to records obtained by the Democrat.
The city said the program was a way for the city to recover expenses amid looming tax cuts that are threatening the city’s greatest revenue source. At the last city budget meeting on June 10, staff said the city should see savings of $8.46 million.
Resource Management Director Robert Wigen told commissioners they are aware of at least nine positions that will need to be refilled, and this number is expected to grow in the coming weeks.
“As we get additional requests in this next week, or month, or three-month period … then we would know a number at that point,” Wigen said at the meeting. “I would say that the nine will grow to 30 without any background information.”
Who are the top 10 highest paid employees leaving?
This article contains previously reported material. Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com. Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: City shells out nearly $4 million to employees taking buyout
Reporting by Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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By Elena Barrera, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
