This Lawrence County Commission may have given its OK for an early retirement incentive plan. But it will be the next commission that will have to figure out how to pay for the buyouts.

On Thursday, the commissioners approved opening up the plan to their two administrators, the county’s custodial staff, union workers at the Union-Rome Sewer District, and the county’s EMS union members. The only departments under the commission’s jurisdiction not eligible are the department of job and family services and child, animal shelter employees and child support.

Terms of the plan are that the county will purchase up to three years service for every eligible employee paying solely the county’s regular contribution.

So, if employees need 25 years for retirement, but only have worked 22 years, the county can purchase those three years allowing early retirement.

However, the employees will have less retirement income from those three years because their contribution will be missing.

Who is eligible for the early retirement will be determined by the Public Employees Retirement System. That is because time served can come from other places of employment, not just Lawrence County, as long as the employee is covered under PERS

“It depends on how much service time you have,” Chris Kline, chief deputy auditor, said.

The first step for the commission would be to send details of the plan to the PERS for it to accept. Then the PERS will send the county a list of those eligible.

It is PERS who knows who can participate in the plan. The county doesn’t know until notified by the state.

So until the county gets that list, it doesn’t know what the costs for all the buyouts would be. However, since it has already enacted the plan, the county is committed to the buyouts.

The plan won’t go into effect until Dec. 1, but the commission has 30 days before it has to pay. That means the commission that takes office in January will be responsible for that bill.

“They can pay in a lump sum or in a payment plan, but there are interest charges,” Kline said.