Greece managers gained expanded retirement benefits in 2022 — reaffirmed in 2024 — that allowed sick time cash‑outs and free retiree health insurance, driving six‑figure payouts in recent retirements. Town leaders will vote Feb. 19 on rolling those benefits back.
Town Supervisor Jeff McCann proposed this week that the town get rid of management benefits he says have cost Greece taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past four years.
He is looking to take action on policy changes made in 2022 and reaffirmed in 2024 that allowed management to take advantage of benefits that were not available to other town employees.
These policy changes allowed management-level staff to cash out unused sick time upon retirement, a benefit that is not available to town employees in any other town in Monroe County. The retiree health insurance provision was also changed in 2022 that allowed managers to receive health insurance at no cost when they retired.
According to town records, three management employees retired at the end of 2025 and received a combined $347,822 in unused time, of which $240,423 was sick time.
McCann said one of his employees, who would have been a beneficiary of the policies, brought the benefits to his attention shortly after he took office. The employee thought the benefits were outrageous and out of line and McCann agreed.
“Sick time is an insurance policy for employees, not a retirement bonus,” McCann said in a statement. “The fact that it was only available to the highest paid managers is quite frankly, appalling.”
McCann also noted how Greece taxpayers funded an additional $162,818 to former Deputy Supervisor Michelle Marini and two other retirees between 2022-2024. Marini retired the day before her indictment on felony grand larceny charges in 2024.
When it comes to making changes, McCann proposes management retirees to be treated consistently with other town employees and to continue paying the same premium contribution they paid while actively employed.
The proposed benefits policy also includes a reduction in the amount of compensatory time managers can be paid. The town estimates these changes will save $100,000 annually.
“We want to make sure that the public, community organizations and employees know that it’s a new day here in Greece and things are done differently than they have been in the past,” McCann said. “The fact that a group among the highest paid employees would get a benefit that’s really not offered anywhere else to them just sends the wrong message and that’s something we want to change.”
The Greece Town Board is set to vote on the proposed changes to management benefits at its meeting on Feb. 19.
— Kerria Weaver works as the Government and You reporter for the Democrat and Chronicle, with a focus on how government actions affect communities and neighborhoods in Rochester and in Monroe County.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Greece looks to undo benefits it reaffirmed last year
Reporting by Kerria Weaver, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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