Union County Economic Development Director Eric Phillips is retiring this month but won’t be away from tending to county business for very long.
County Commissioners held a public hearing at the regular meeting Wednesday morning to discuss the process of Phillips retiring and then getting rehired back into his position as director.
Phillips said despite being at retirement age, he’s not ready to stop working with the county, which he has done for the last 21 years.
“(Commissioners) have given a very solid support system to support collaboration and partnership with economic development and I want to continue to do that,” Phillips said. “At the same time, I’m eligible for retirement, and I want to take advantage of that retirement.”
He said he would like to continue his role for “some time” and doesn’t see himself leaving the area anytime soon.
Human Resources Director Ginger Yonak said the county looks at Phillips staying around as an asset to the community.
“We look at it as a really great thing. We get to retain a key employee who has all this knowledge and connections and is so stable in his position,” Yonak said, noting that Phillips sticking around wouldn’t cost the county more money. “We continue to pay into OPERS (Ohio Public Employee Retirement System) just as we would. This is simply an OPERS benefit that he is retrieving.”
Yonak said under OPERS guidelines, if a retiree is re-employed by another public employer within the first two months after retiring, he or she will forfeit their retirement pension benefit during this two-month period.
Phillips plans to retire from OPERS on Sept. 30 and get rehired into the county system on Oct. 1.
“Eric’s desire is to be rehired immediately following his retirement, without a two-month break in employment, which speaks volumes about his commitment and dedication to duty,” she said. “We also believe this timeline is the best approach for the county, to ensure there is no interruption of economic development services provided to our community.”
Commissioner Dave Burke agreed with Yonak, noting Phillips’ dedication over more than two decades.
“The work that Eric has done bringing this county together on the township level, on the village level with an economic development incentive policy and other things that he has done have added great value to every life,” Burke said. “Not just personal value and happiness around the kitchen table, but a value to people’s homes, the revenue that flows into the school districts and all those things.”
He said the county has an advantage that other areas around the state do not, which is to be united under one economic development system.
“To have Eric continue down the pathway clearly willfully…to stay here and continue that prosperity, working hard – especially with Intel in the vicinity and what that will bring to this county, I can’t thank Eric enough for the service he has given,” Burke said. “I’ve never seen anybody as optimistic and dogged on economic opportunities as Eric Phillips.”
The county is working with Phillips on a new employee agreement, which Yonak said isn’t quite finished. She said details of the position would be ironed out in the coming days, but his current salary with the county is $110,240 per year and whether that will change hasn’t been determined.
Phillips will celebrate 22 years with the county in February.