RED BANK: RETIREE PAYOUTS REQUIRE DEBT

Red Bank’s elected officials are expected to vote Wednesday on a measure to borrow $326,000 to pay five retiring employees for unused “sick” and vacation days, the Asbury Park Press reported Tuesday.

It’s the second time in three years that the town has had to borrow to meet its obligations to employees punching out for the final time, writes Press reporter Larry Higgs.

From the Press:

This is the second time the borough has borrowed money to fund cashouts of unused sick and vacation time. The borough financed $750,000 over five years in November 2010 to fund payouts to 11 retiring borough employees.

Those retirees began working for the borough prior to 1994 when regulations were changed to cap such pay-outs for unused sick time and other benefits for workers hired after that year, Mayor Pasquale “Pat” Menna said in an earlier interview.

The five current retirees are “long-time” employees, [Chief Financial Officer Colleen] Lapp said. Names, titles and years of service were not available from officials on Monday.

The pay-out brought sharp criticism from Republican Council candidates Cindy Burnham and Sean DiSoma [sic: Di Somma].

Here’s the draft agenda for Wednesday’s meeting: RB Council 082813. The debt resolution itself was not posted online Tuesday morning.