Mayor Don Plusquellic had extended the program by 10 days beyond the original deadline of August 14.  During that week and a half, 17 more City employees agreed to the VSP, or buyout.

In this group are two cabinet members with nearly 70 years of combined service, and an employee of the Civil Service Commission:

• Deputy Mayor for Labor Relations James Masturzo has accepted the voluntary separation agreement after 32 years of serving the city and four mayors as a labor relations expert. Masturzo began working for the City in March of 1977;
• Deputy Director of Finance Catherine Watson has worked for the City of Akron since 1974 when she began working as a clerical intern in the Department of Planning and Urban Development. She has also served as a tax auditor, an internal auditor, the audit and budget supervisor and the City’s director of finance;
• Virginia Robinson is the City’s director of personnel and was hired by the Civil Service Commission in February of 2006.

The City previously announced that it faces a projected budget deficit of approximately $12 million before year’s end and that layoffs were inevitable.  Minimizing them meant having as many people as possible take advantage of the separation plan.  

Plusquellic thanked those who stepped forward to take buyouts, saying, "These employees have helped save other people’s jobs. I can’t thank them enough. And I also must express thanks to the AFSCME (municipal employees union), the CSPA (civil service) and the Akron Nurses Association. These three---of our five--- unions have continued to work with us to cut costs, as unions from many other cities have."

The separation agreement offer has now expired, and Plusquellic says the next move will be layoffs coming in September of permanent, full-time city workers on multiple levels. He has told employees that some may have mistakenly thought that if they are not in entry level positions, they would be immune from layoffs. The city has previously said that layoffs will occur in many job classifications and in all departments and divisions.

Not since 1982 has the city been required to take such drastic steps. The City of Akron’s operating budget has been hard hit due to decreasing revenue from income taxes, property taxes, investments, and state tax-sharing formulas that are impacting every Ohio city.

"By and large, employees with a pension ‘safety net,’" as the mayor called it, "accepted the buy-out to save the jobs of those who have no net at all. Every full time employee as of January 4, 2009 is eligible for the VSP benefit, and all five bargaining units of the city agreed to make the incentive available to their members."

The 123 departures represent an annual payroll expense of more than $7 million, according to Finance Director Diane Miller-Dawson. In addition to the savings in salaries, the city will also reduce other benefit costs for each employee, including health care costs, pension benefits paid by the city, and other expenses. The Voluntary Separation Plan is effective for all who accept it September 30, 2009.

If an employee is eligible to retire, in addition to benefits he or she may receive as pensions through the Ohio Public Retirement System or the Ohio Police and Fire Retirement Plan, the employee will receive a one-time cash payment calculated as follows:

A lump sum payment equal to 30% of the first $50,000 of base salary plus an additional 5% of that portion of the employee’s base salary that exceeds $50,000.

For example, an employee making $70,000 per year would receive $15,000 + $1,000, or a $16,000 lump sum payable at separation, in addition to other benefits to which retiring employees are entitled.