Bloated public employee benefits a good starting point for budget cuts
To the editor:
Local officials frequently claim that property tax relief will force devastating cuts to public services. However, this standard tax-and-spend narrative ignores massive internal waste that local governments could easily cut instead. Our forensic audits of local public agencies across Lee and Collier County reveal systemic financial drains that burden taxpayers:
Banked Leave Hoarding: Lee County government has accumulated over $46 million in unused leave liabilities, and the Lee County Port Authority (RSW) carries over $3.4 million. Enforcing a strict 60-hour banked leave cap-mirroring modern private-sector standards-would immediately unlock millions in taxpayer savings.
Pension Spiking: Allowing employees to cash out these massive reserves at their peak career salaries artificially inflates terminal compensation, which directly spikes guaranteed public pension calculations.
The “Triple Dipper” Crisis: Thousands of Florida bureaucrats use the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) to collect both a pension and a paycheck simultaneously for up to eight years while taxpayers foot an exorbitant 22.02% FRS contribution rate. Many were not satisfied with a five-year pension bonus; bureaucrats demanded and got an eight-year pension bonus, some over $1 million!
Meanwhile, 85% of private-sector taxpayers have no traditional pension at all.
Eliminating pension bonuses, capping banked leave at 60 hours, and adopting privatization and localization reforms can fully fund meaningful property tax relief without harming essential public safety.
Residents can review our complete forensic audits and data at tripledippers.org.
Dave Jaye
Chairman, Lee County Taxpayers Association
Lead Researcher, tripledippers.org
Bonita Springs