The town of Greece last month ended what newly elected Supervisor Jeff McCann described as an “appalling” policy that allowed managers to cash out unused sick time upon retirement.
“Sick time is an insurance policy for employees,” he said at the time, “not a retirement bonus.”
But it was for Robert Luedke, who retired in December as the town’s public works commissioner.
Newly released records show Luedke cashed out 1,440 hours of unused sick time for $101,973 — far and away the largest payout made under the policy.
The sick time benefit only came into existence in 2022, but ended up costing the town and its taxpayers nearly $340,000 in combined payouts to five retirees before it was canceled this year. Had it not ended, records show, the town was on the hook for another $635,000 in cash-outs, records show, bringing the total liability to nearly $1 million.
“That’s a ton of money for the town,” said McCann, who took office in January.
Greece has a $72 million town budget, and he said the latest payouts had not been a planned expense.
WXXI News obtained the payroll records through an open records request. McCann had outlined the cash-outs in broad strokes back in February, when announcing the policy change. The town also reversed a companion benefit that waived retiree health insurance premiums for management, including for surviving spouses and dependents.
“I think everybody realizes that this is really outrageous, and it's not something that is typical,” McCann said. “It's not something that was here when they signed up for the job. So I don't know that a lot of people had the expectation that they were going to, you know, get a 50-, 60-, 100-thousand-dollar windfall when they left.”
Good reason, or 'nonsense'
Both the sick leave and health insurance benefits were enacted during former town Supervisor Bill Reilich’s final term in office. As an elected official, he was not eligible for the benefit.
The rational at the time was that negotiated benefits for the town’s non-management employees had surpassed those for managers, creating a disincentive to move up, Reilich said.
"It makes no sense for somebody to take a promotion into management if you're going to suffer,” he said.
So the decision was made to mirror New York state, which allows up to 1,500 hours of retirees’ unused sick time to be applied to offset health insurance premiums, until the total is exhausted. Greece did not have the systems in place to replicate that process, Reilich said, so it made it a lump sum payment instead — while also waiving premiums.
The management benefit extended to fewer than two dozen positions, Reilich said. But no assessment was made of what the benefit might cost the town.
Reilich is a Republican. McCann is a Democrat, which is notable as McCann characterized Reilich’s explanation as “complete nonsense.”
Managers’ standard workweek is 35 hours, with a workday constituting seven hours paid with one hour unpaid for lunch. Sick leave is awarded at the rate of one day per month.
By that measure, it would have taken Luedke a minimum of 17 years to accumulate what was the equivalent of 180 days of unused sick time, officials said.
Only two other managers — one also retired, one not — amassed more than 1,000 hours of unused sick time. But Luedke had by far the largest bank.
Six-figure payouts
Luedke also cashed out the maximum allowed in unused vacation and compensatory time, for a total retirement payout of $141,629, which exceeded his base salary. The sick time cash out does not factor into final average salary for pension calculations.
"The people we're talking about, I don't remember them ever calling in sick in the years I've been there,” Reilich said.
“They were good employees," he said. "Good, you know, hard workers. If they were a problem, they would have been dealt with. But from a standpoint of how much sick time he had built up, whether it be Luedke or (former Deputy Supervisor) Kirk Morris or (former Finance Director) John Hellmann, they were always there. So whatever the dollar amount translates to, it isn't a shock from that standpoint.”
Morris and Hellmann also retired at the end of last year, cashing out 826.5 and 1,253 hours of unused sick time, respectively, for about $70,000 each.
In a statement, Morris said he retired after 32 years, and not being asked to remain in his position. He said he understood the benefit changes were only made in 2024, "and I was not made aware of those changes at the time."
“I didn’t even know about the sick time benefit payout until mid-2025,” Hellmann said.
He worked for the town since 1989, and echoed Reilich, saying pay raises between management and non-management were not always comparable, as both received step increases but non-management would also negotiate cost-of-living adjustments. Still, he said, he had decided eight years ago that he would retire when Reilich left, and informed McCann he was vacating the position so McCann could pick his own finance director.
“I never really thought much about it (cash-outs) in terms of retirement,” he said, adding “I think it did (factor in) for others.”
Morris is the only other manager with a six-figure cash-out, when adding in unused vacation and comp time. He did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment.
"The other thing, you have to be realistic about it,” Reilich said of the sick time accrual and cash out, arguing it is “human nature” that if people have extensive hours banked "and you're in the last year or two before you retire, and you don't get paid out on that, a lot of people would call in sick quite a bit.”
That then creates a need for others to work overtime, or leaves operations short staffed, he said, adding: "I think you'll see that in a lot of law enforcement where that occurs in the last three years of employment.”
McCann, again, disputed the claim.
When the town added the cash-out option in 2022, the policy limited payouts to 25% of unused time. Nonetheless, records show, the town paid out at 100% that year.
The percentage restriction had been eliminated by 2024, records show, when Michelle Marini, director of constituent services and former deputy supervisor, cashed out more than 690 hours of sick time for $56,522.
With unused vacation and comp time, her total retirement payout reached $93,693 — paid on June 25, 2024, records show, the same day a federal indictment was unsealed charging her with multiple felonies for allegedly stealing for the town to get work done on her house and those of her children. Marini, 64, had retired the day before, and would later plead guilty.
The town continues to cover her health insurance, as the policy stated: “This is a vested benefit. Therefore, once and employee retires with the benefit, it cannot be eliminated by the town for the retiree, spouse or applicable dependents.”
