“If anyone thinks Glenn (Southard) is going to take the golden handshake and then come back and consult for us ... not in my book.”
More
Indio City Manager Glenn Southard said “I may need to lay myself off” if a proposed early retirement deal currently under consideration by the City Council is offered to city employees.
“The goal is not to give extra retirement benefits to these (qualifying) people,” Southard said, arguing the city needs to “right-size itself” to meet today's economic realities.
“What we're trying to do is salvage the younger people in the organization so the city has a future.”
The proposed cost-saving measure, known as a “golden handshake,” will be discussed by the City Council today at a special closed-door meeting as part of a $5 million budget-reduction effort needed to help close a $9 million budget deficit.
A “performance evaluation” of Southard also is being discussed, according to the agenda released Tuesday afternoon.
Southard's comments about his future came during a discussion with The Desert Sun about city staff's credit card use. Statements showed expenditures totaled $805,000 since January 2008 on 62 city-issued credit cards.
If Southard opted to retire early under the proposed program, he said he'd still like to be a part of the city's future.
“There's a lot of unfinished business and it would be great to pitch in to do that,” Southard said. “There may be a role for me. It's up to the council ... who knows, we haven't talked about it.”
Councilwoman Lupe Ramos Watson said she understands Southard's reasons for wanting to retire, but said adjustments would have to be made.
“Should he choose to consider it we'd have to evaluate it at that time,” she said. “I certainly understand his logic.”
Councilman Glenn Miller, on the other hand, is adamant about not hiring back anyone who might take advantage of the proposed incentive.
“If anyone thinks Glenn (Southard) is going to take the golden handshake and then come back and consult for us ... not in my book,” he said.
In a Dec. 17 memo to the City Council and city staff, Southard outlined the need to reduce expenditures by $5million because of the souring economy.
Part of the reductions include the early retirement incentive that proposes two years of additional PERS service credit to those eligible.
“I think it's happening,” Southard said of the deal.
“We've already talked about it once.”
Councilman Glenn Miller said the incentive is not a done deal and he still needs to mull it over.
“I can't say it's right or wrong. The idea is to get the city's expenses under control,” Miller said. “We might accept the golden handshake. If I don't think it's beneficial to the city I won't vote for it.”
