Nearly 250 veteran Nassau cops have agreed to a buyout as part of an early retirement incentive program, officials said.
The deal is being pitched to employees with more than 10 consecutive years of full-time work under their belt as part of a cost-cutting plan by Nassau Executive Bruce Blakeman, who previously estimated the measure would save taxpayers about $27 million.
So far, 241 cops have cashed in, taking the lump sum payments of $2,000 for each year of service under their belts, the department confirmed. The offer, which is open to all county employees, remains on the table until March 5.
“Our early retirement program is a win-win for both our police officers and for the taxpayers,” Blakeman told The Post.
“To make up for any loss, we will continue to hire new police officers so that we operate at full strength.”
The “voluntary separation incentive program” was passed by the Nassau County Legislature and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority last year.
The Nassau Police Department employs roughly 2,500 officers that are overseen by 14 chiefs, although they are expecting to lose about 10 of those chiefs in just a few weeks, a spokesperson for the department confirmed.
But the department remains optimistic about the future — as the next class of about 100 recruits are set to graduate from the police academy soon, with another 150-member class joining the ranks come May, the spokesperson said.
“Public safety remains our highest priority, and we are confident that staffing levels will be responsibly maintained to ensure the continued protection of our communities and the safety of our police officers,” Nassau County Police Benevolent Association President Tommy Shevlin said.
“We congratulate those members who have chosen to take advantage of this incentive and thank them for their years of dedicated service and sacrifice on behalf of Nassau County residents.”
The post Hundreds of LI cops expected to cash in on Nassau’s early retirement buyouts — as county eyes $27M in savings: ‘A win-win’ appeared first on New York Post.
