Red Bay passes on state DROP program

By Staff
Nathan Strickland
RED BAY- The Red Bay city council voted unanimously to not get involved in the State of Alabama Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) program during their bi-monthly meeting Monday night.
The council believed the program, which is designed to give people an incentive to stay longer instead of retire, possessed more disadvantages than advantages. The people who would have been eligible for the program include any persons involved in the Retirement Systems of Alabama (RSA), Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) or State and County Officers and Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) who is age 55 or older (age 52 for state police) with 25 or more years of credited service.
Council members also decided that the cost to get involved was too high.
The minimum DROP period is 36 months and the maximum is 60 months. A penalty will result for members who voluntarily terminate employment or withdraw from DROP in the first three years of participation. There is no penalty for involuntary termination, disability, involuntary transfer of his/her spouse, or death of the participant in the first three years.
Councilman David Tiffin said any program a person has to sign up for and can’t get out of once signed up for is just a bad deal.
After much discussion Councilman Mike Stockton made a motion to decline participation in the State of Alabama Retirement DROP Program and Councilwoman Fancher seconded the motion and it was unanimously passed.
In other business:
A ribbon cutting ceremony of the new Red Bay School sign is scheduled at 5:30 p.m. prior to the next city council meeting held on Monday, April 19 at 7 p.m. inside city hall.