GOSHEN – The Orange County Legislature on Wednesday approved a voluntary retirement incentive program for eligible faculty at SUNY Orange.
The college board of trustees set aside $1 million for the program that is expected to make payouts to about a dozen employees, said legislature Chairman Stephen Brescia.
“They had the money in their budget that they set aside for this – $1 million – and I think it’s going to help reduce costs in the long run, but it’s going to be a two-year payback for the $1 million,” Brescia said following the session. “Nobody liked the percentages with the retirement inventive because it was higher than all the rest of our retirement incentives, but it was kind of a unique situation so voted for it.”
The one-time incentive will range, depending upon the number of years at the college, from 42 percent to 75 percent of a member’s base salary.
SUNY Orange is facing a $1.6 million budget deficit and officials expect to make up the $1 million payout in two years.
Two legislators, James O’Donnell and Michael Paduch, voted against the measure while Legislator Jeffrey Berkman abstained.
