Retirement Incentive Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2000
PR 13-825

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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to authorize the Mayor to establish early out and easy out retirement incentive programs during the remainder of fiscal year 2000.

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the "Retirement Incentive Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2000".

Sec. 2. (a) There exists an immediate crisis regarding the need to reduce the number of positions within the District government by approximately 1,000 by the end of the current fiscal year.

(b) Although reductions in force are available to assist in this effort, there are numerous disadvantages associated with them, such as potential adverse impact on recently hired employees who lack the protection afforded by tenure in a reduction in force.

(c) Reductions in force are also expensive to administer, require payment of severance pay (which can often be higher than the maximum allowed under a retirement incentive program), result in appeals (often prolonged and expensive), and require reemployment priority programs and placement assistance for employees separated.

(d) Retirement incentive programs are able to avoid the disadvantages of conducting reductions in force, and achieve the desired results desired by management in a manner that is positive and has the support of employees, which is generally not the case with reductions in force.

(e) Since reductions in force require advance notice to employees followed by lengthy periods of severance pay, savings during a given fiscal year can only be achieved by conducting the reductions in force early in the fiscal year, thus minimizing the usefulness of reductions in force for the remainder of the current fiscal year.

(f) Unless action is taken immediately to authorize retirement incentive programs for the remainder of fiscal year 2000, the orderly reduction in the size of the District government's workforce will be seriously jeopardized, thereby threatening cost overruns in FY 2001

Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the "Retirement Incentive Emergency Act of 2000" be adopted after a single reading.

Sec. 4. The Council shall transmit a copy of this resolution, upon its adoption, to the Mayor and the Chief Financial Officer.

Sec. 5. This resolution shall take effect immediately.