It's Time to Ditch DROP

I'm speaking of the Deferred Retirement Option Program that made such a lucrative payout to Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good. He's not the only public official getting rich from this excessively generous policy. In editorials yesterday and last Sunday, the Orlando Sentinel lists officials who stand to be paid...

By Thomas Francis

March 30, 2009

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I'm speaking of the Deferred Retirement Option Program that made such a lucrative payout to Hallandale Beach City Manager Mike Good. He's not the only public official getting rich from this excessively generous policy. In editorials yesterday and last Sunday, the Orlando Sentinel lists officials who stand to be paid like "AIG executives." The paper called on Florida policymakers to join with other states in terminating the program, which allows a public official to retire, so as to collect a pension, only to return to his job and its regular paychecks.

As complex as the program is, the problem really is quite simple: Public employees and elected officials shouldn't collect government salaries and state pensions at the same time.

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