St. Lucie Clerk of Courts offers early retirement and buyouts to employees, layoffs imminent
May 26th, 2009 by Daphne DuretSt. Lucie County Clerk of Courts Joe Smith announced this afternoon that he is offering buyouts and early retirement packages to some employees but will eventually have to lay off others by July to make up for a $546,000 budget cut.
Smith told his employees about the imminent layoffs in an email this afternoon, saying his office received the new numbers late last week from the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation.
The new budget would give the office about $8.1 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1, down from more than $8.6 million they had for the current year.
The cuts come after state lawmakers in the last legislative session voted to change the way clerk’s offices are funded.
It’s disappointing,” Smith said this afternoon. “As a manager the worst thing you can tell you employees is ‘I have to let you go.’”
Smith said how many people will be laid off depends on how many people take one of two options to leave voluntarily.
One option provides a buyout to employees aged 65 or older, giving those employees $1,000 for each year of service. The other, for employees 62 and older, offers an early retirement package where the clerk’s office would continue to pay insurance for the employee until he or she reaches 65 and becomes eligible for Medicare.
Smith said less than 10 employees are eligible for each option.
Palm Beach County Clerk & COmptroller Sharon Bock last month offered buyouts to her employees but also warned them that some of them would lose their jobs as she tries to make up for a cut of $6.9 million, or 17 percent, from her budget.
Martin County Clerk Marsha Ewing was forced to lay off nine employees in March after she received projections predicting a $400,000 deficit in court-related revenue.
Tags: buyouts, clerks, court, layoffs, legislature, St. Lucie County
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May 26th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Wow layoffs from paper pushing govt. workers, how tragic. They definitely were not worth their wages/benefits anyway. Guaranteed cola raises, pensions, paid holidays…where does the madness end. These jobs are overpaid for high school graduate level employees that hassle the public more than serve.
Think of the workers at the DMV(state but same caliber), property appraisers office, tag office etc. would anyone honestly care if they canned 3-5 out of each office?
May 27th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Yes bye bye, people are loosing their jobs and you of course take the high road being glad about it. I just hope that the sewer backs up in your house and you call your lazy public servants to help you out. I hope that you loose your job, your house and everything else that you own. I assume that you are a college graduate by your undermining tone? Maybe someone at your place of business is looking at your overpaid underworked self right now! You are a scumbag!