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Turning Off Turnover Payouts

Bergen County, New Jersey, is a great place to retire if you're a public servant. Retirement benefits are so generous, in fact, that they've become the subject of both state legislation and a lawsuit.

Bergen County, New Jersey, is a great place to retire if you're a public servant. Retirement benefits are so generous, in fact, that they've become the subject of both state legislation and a lawsuit.

In last year's elections, partisan control of the county turned from Republican to Democratic for the first time in 18 years. That led to a lot of personnel departures. As a result, the county got stuck unexpectedly with more than $1 million in payouts for unused sick days and vacation time.

Among the recipients were elected officials, including outgoing county executive Pat Schuber, who received more than $30,000 in accrued benefits. Payouts such as those to Schuber led to the introduction of a bill in the state legislature to block elected officials from receiving such compensation.

But the payout problem was not limited to elected officials. Some taxpayers were incensed that many of the employees receiving retirement packages went directly to other public-sector jobs. A controversy along these lines is playing out in Norwood, a borough in Bergen County, where Mayor Gus D'Ercole cast the deciding council vote to award more than $36,000 for unused sick days to a police officer who signed up with the county as a detective. Three of the city council members are suing to block the payout, which they argue should only go to officers who are retiring from employment.

The officer is D'Ercole's "brother's son-in-law and also his nephew through his wife," says councilman Michael Kaplan. "This is the problem with a small town. He should have recused himself."

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