Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Personnel Costs topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Controller proposes 1.5% payroll premium to pre‑fund termination payouts
Summary
County controller proposed a termination pool funded by a 1.5% charge on benefited employees’ payroll plus a $1 million one‑time infusion to pre‑fund OPEB and separation payouts, with plans to monitor attrition savings and adjust rates over time.
Davis County’s controller proposed creating a termination pool to smooth and pre‑fund future payouts for retirements, sick‑leave and separation by charging departments a premium on payroll.
"This was a charge of 1.5% on all gross payroll that would be charged to each department ... It would be accumulated in a termination pool and that would be used to pay out the OPEB, the sick leave," Speaker 1 said. The proposal calls for charging the premium to benefited employees (those who qualify for retirement benefits) rather than all payroll, and for an initial one‑time infusion—Speaker 1 suggested $1,000,000 of interest revenue—to seed the fund.
Speaker 1 described a phased approach: start with the one‑time infusion and a 1.5% ongoing premium, monitor realized attrition savings and adjust the premium in later budget cycles if needed. Participants raised questions about how the pool would apply to departments with large part‑time payrolls (for example, the county golf course) and whether departments that do not typically trigger termination payouts would be assessed. Speaker 1 responded that the premium would be applied to benefited employees and that the pool spreads risk across departments to avoid sharp mid‑year budget cuts.
No formal vote was taken. Staff said they would refine calculations, present a funding schedule and return with implementation details, including whether to create a separate fund for transparency and accounting.
