City employees will have greater benefits
A new retirement benefits plan will bring East Ellijay city employees better compensation.
“This is just a little bit of an enhancement to it,” East Ellijay Director of Public Safety Lary Callahan said.
The changes to the retirement plan will allow long-term city employees who have worked for the city for at least 25 years to retire when the sum of their age and their years of service equals 80.
City employees must work 30 hours weekly during these years to receive a pension.
“Once you hit that magic number, you can retire with the maximum benefit,” Callahan said.
The plan will cost roughly $4,500 to $5,000 more per year than the city’s previous retirement plan.
“That’s pretty good for an entire city,” he said.
This change will make it possible for some employees to retire sooner than under the previous plan. But Callahan said he doesn’t expect a wave of new retirements.
“I’ll actually be the only one that will be eligible under the new plan for several years,” he said. “And I have no plans of leaving anytime soon.”
Many other cities have a similar plan.
In city government, there’s always a competition between towns to attract good workers, Callahan said.
Research from Gallup Polls suggests that hiring a new employee can cost up to half to twice their annual salary.
Raising employee pay and benefits also helps create an organizational culture, preserve institutional knowledge and build stronger teams.
“We want to hire the best and we want to keep them,” Callahan said. “It also takes care of your employees who have elected to devote a large part of their work and life to the city.”