The city has drafted an agreement that would allow Lee Bercaw, a 28-year veteran with the force, to[retire and then] immediately be hired back by the city as a contractor to continue serving as chief after he retires in September.
The maneuver would allow him to cash in on an annual pension payment worth at least $96,000 while continuing to collect one of the largest paychecks in city government. The proposal, which includes a double-digit pay raise, is set to go before the Tampa City Council later this week.
He would earn a $241,000 salary per year plus benefits such as annual leave, health insurance and sick pay. He also would be entitled to pay bumps associated with annual performance reviews and for cost-of living increases applicable to other city management employees.
It’s cool how people with anointed titles can get raises and cost-of-living bumps while huge swaths of the population try to eke out a living with flat incomes for long stretches of time.