Subject: Mullica workers due $359,000 in accumulated time: By ANDREW JOHNSON Staff Writer, The AC Press: The Township Committee recently agreed to pay Capt. Matthew Ricco an additional $77,891.20 well in advance of his retirement. The additional funds cover 114 sick days he never took, 291/2 unused vacation days, 480 comp hours and 70 vacation days he says he will hold onto for the next two years. Ricco is not the only person due a substantial payout upon retirement in this 6,000-person township. Township records show that five other employees each have at least $29,000 coming to them when they leave their jobs. The cost to taxpayers is $359,000 for 1,767 days not taken by employees, some of whom spent decades in their positions. The 2005 budget for this small township is about $4.5 million. There are 27 employees. This year, the township will appropriate $15,000 to help pay for Ricco's retirement at the end of 2006. Police Chief Robert Pennese got a separate check for nearly $80,000 in accumulated time, paid out at the highest pay level possible when he retired at the end of 2003. The township paid former township Clerk Mary Lou Simon $28,153 to settle nearly six months of time never taken upon her retirement last year. "I'm not worried; I'm concerned," township Chief Financial Officer Dawn Stollenwerk said about the township's ability to meet the large payouts expected within the next 10 years. Three police officers, Sgt. Joseph Barbera, Sgt. Larry Surkin and Chief James Davis, will all have 25 years on the job by next year, Davis said. A total fund reserved at the end of 2004 for payouts was just under $16,000, according to township records. Aside from Ricco, if they retired today, Tax Collector Bertha Cappuccio would expect $52,000 for accumulated time, Surkin would get $42,000, Barbera would receive $39,000, Davis would cash out at $30,000 and Township Clerk Kimberly Johnson would get more than $29,000. Atlantic City has paid out millions of dollars in terminal leave to police and firefighters for thousands of unused sick days and vacation days over the years. Johnson said her amount could conceivably go down if she takes some of the 175 accumulated days she has carried with her so far. State Department of Personnel spokeswoman Janeen Lawlor said the state began imposing limits on terminal leave payments in 1973. Lawlor said that a $15,000 cap on the payments to state employees has been in place since 1986. But, there has been no legislation to limit terminal leave payments by municipalities. Faced with large payouts, Stollenwerk said that the township has closed the loophole of accumulated time slightly over the years by securing more favorable contracts with employees. Aside from a few employees who negotiate their own contracts, three separate unions represent administrative personnel, police and Road Department workers in the township. Under their contracts, union police officers can no longer accumulate sick time over a period of years. They now have a cap of 280 comp hours they can stockpile and can accrue a limit of two years worth of vacation. Chief Davis said that 480 comp hours in Ricco's case may seem like a lot in some eyes, but for years police officers were not allowed overtime pay. Mayor Kathy Chasey has said that by agreeing to a special payment schedule with Ricco, the township will save money by not paying the captain in one lump sum. That exact amount of savings is $3,327.36, according to the township clerk. The township will start paying Ricco in 2005 at his 2004 salary with a first payment of $24,458.56; he will be paid next year at his 2005 salary in the amount of $28,488; and he will be paid $24,944.64 in 2007 at his 2006 salary.