By Andrew Seidman
The Philadelphia Inquirer
GLOUCESTER COUNTY, NJ — Gloucester County corrections officers voted to drop their lawsuit against the county Wednesday in exchange for early-retirement incentives for officers with at least 20 years of experience.
County Administrator Chad Bruner said about 70 percent of the officers voted in favor of the deal.
“For them it was something they requested, something we did not object to,” he said. “It’s a good deal for them. I believe everyone is pretty excited about it. It’s a big step in the right direction.”
The vote comes as the county, in a cost-saving effort, prepares to close its jail in Woodbury and ship its 270 adult male inmates to four other counties by July 1, leaving many officers without jobs.
The county Board of Freeholders passed a resolution April 24 entering into direct contracts with Cumberland, Salem, Burlington, and Essex Counties to house Gloucester’s inmates.
The freeholders say operating the jail costs $28 million annually, about 13 percent of the county budget. The county has said that closing the jail will save $2 million for the remainder of 2013, $7 million in 2014, $8 million in 2015, and $10 million for each year thereafter.
The county sent its juvenile and female inmates in 2009 and 2010 to Camden, Salem, and Cumberland Counties, and says those agreements have each saved $1.8 million annually.
In a lawsuit filed May 2 in Burlington County Superior Court, the officers alleged that the contracts violated the state Uniform Shared Services and Consolidation Act by failing to preserve their tenure, pension, and seniority rights.
A hearing had been scheduled for Thursday.
But in recent weeks, the unions representing the roughly 110 officers began considering an alternative. The state offered early-retirement incentives to officers with at least 20 years of experience as a police officer. Officers typically must serve 25 years to be eligible for retirement benefits.
The offer “saves more people from being laid off,” said Brad Schmidheiser, president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 97, which represents the officers.
About 20 corrections officers are eligible, according to county and union officials.
Thirty-seven officers are set to be laid off, Bruner said. Some will then have the opportunity to transfer to corrections units in other counties, he said. Had the officers rejected the offer, 53 would have been laid off.
The remaining officers will transport inmates to and from court.
The county’s plan still faces opposition from public defenders. A suit filed May 13 by state Public Defender Joseph Krakora, his office, and three inmates at the jail alleges that public defenders “will encounter substantial impediments” to providing effective counsel under the plan. A hearing on that lawsuit is scheduled for Thursday in Burlington County Superior Court.
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