ROBERTDALE, Alabama — The Robertsdale City Council approved a change in its benefits which will allow all its employees to retire with 25 years of service, or at age 60 with 10 or more years of service.
Currently, only employees hired prior to 2013 under the state benefits package with Retirement Systems of Alabama are considered Tier 1 employees.
All employees hired after Jan. 1, 2013 are considered Tier II, which means that they are only eligible to retire at age 62.
At its meeting on March 2, the city council voted to authorize Tier I benefits for Tier II employees. The change in benefits will go into effect Oct. 1, said Mayor Charles Murphy.
“All of these employees would still be considered Tier II employees,” said CFO Ann Simpson at the council’s meeting on Jan. 21. “Under the new plan, they would just be eligible for Tier I benefits.”
Currently 60 of the city’s 93 employees are considered Tier I. Of those 60 employees, 54 will be eligible for retirement over the next 10 years. Anyone hired to replace those employees would be considered to be Tier II employees.
Employees who are considered Tier I employees are required to contribute 5 percent of their income to the RSA program, Simpson said. Under the regulations, police department and corrections employees considered Tier I employees are required to contributed 6 percent of their income. If the city had a paid fire department, those employees would also be required to contribute 6 percent, but since Robertsdale does not have a pair fire department, that does not apply.
Tier II employees are required to contribute 6 percent of their income to the program, 7 percent for police department and corrections employees.
In order to receive Tier I benefits, Tier II employees would be required to increase their contribution to 7.5 percent, or 8.5 percent for police and corrections employees.
The city would also be required to pay a fee of $85,596 called an Unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability, which would be amortized over 15 years in monthly payments. Year one estimated amortization would be $8,165 with a normal cost change of $10,204 for a total impact of $18,369 or $1,530.75 per month.
The rate changes on a yearly basis, based on the amount of benefits paid by the system, officials said.
The city council also voted on March 2 to authorize a 3 percent cost of living raise for all employees.
In other business March 2, the council heard from a representative of Adams Stewart on Phase III of the Centennial Park Project.
Phase 1 of the park improvements, designed by Adams Stewart Architecture LLC in Robertsdale, was dedicated on July 4, 2019, and included the installation of new sidewalks, which increase booth space for the annual Honeybee Festival. Existing sidewalks which surround the park were also removed and replaced.
The bid for the first part of Phase II of the project, a new public works complex, was awarded at the Jan. 6 council meeting, including a 23,000 square-foot administration office for the complex, which will be located on property the city owns on Chicago Street, north of the police station.
The remainder of the project includes five additional buildings, two warehouses, a mechanic shop, equipment shed and maintenance shop. Site work on the project has already begun.
Phase 3 of the project, which will include an amphitheater, parking and restroom facilities, has also been scheduled as a $1 million cash capital expenditure project for fiscal year 2020.
While the project was scheduled for completion as part of the city’s Centennial Celebration in 2021, slight delays in the project will likely push the completion back to the end of the year, Murphy said.
In other business March 2, the council:
•Awarded a bid for the city’s 2020 resurfacing project to Bill Patterson Construction in the amount of $385,913.45. Only one other bid was presented at the March 2 meeting, $444,027 from Asphalt Services Inc. Murphy said the winning bid came in under budget.
•Approved an ordinance authorizing a $1.525 million Water, Sewer and Electric Revenue Warrant with the Alabama Drinking Water Finance Authority to convert Robertsdale’s water system to AMI meters. The total project will cost $1.95 million, but includes principal forgiveness of $421,460.
•Authorized a landlord waiver to Swift Supply Inc. for property on Fairground Road.
•Recognized the 90th anniversary of the Robertsdale Garden Club.
