Law enforcement pension costs are shocking

The pension benefits being paid to Nassau and Suffolk police and sheriff employees, as well as many other public employees, are unsustainable ["LI's costly cops," News, June 13]. I cannot afford to retire in my own county, and do not want my children to be burdened by the current tax rates we face here either.

If employees don't take sick time, why should they get paid for it when they retire? Most employees lose their sick time if it is not taken that year. The employees should be happy they are healthy. If I get sick, I don't earn anything. That goes for vacations as well.

A Nassau police officer was reported to have earnings of $106,700 and overtime of $111,500. Why so much overtime? A logical solution would be to abolish all overtime and hire new police officers at reasonable salaries ($45,000 to $50,000) for that work.

This would have a multifaceted benefit to the county. It would save at least $61,000 in annual payroll per employee, and it would help ease our high unemployment rate. This solution would result in a 50 percent savings in overtime, which could save more than $33.5 million for Nassau County alone. As the kids say, this is a no-brainer.

Why should the taxpayer have to pay for the voluminous payroll and retirement packages, and then pay for their own retirement as well? These public servants are generously paid, and they should pay for their own retirement, as the rest of the workforce does. This self-funded retirement concept should be implemented from now forward, at the very least.

It is unconscionable that the law enforcement sector is decimating our budgets, while our school budgets are being cut by millions, and a tax cap is being proposed to further destroy our schools. It is my opinion that our children are at least as important as our police force, if not more so.

I plead for someone to apply logic and common sense.

Susan B. Lyons, Baldwin