New Haven Independent

Members said they need more information before they make a decision.

Pointing to what he said was a public perception among his constituents that some of the city’s double dippers are allowed to return to work based on “favoritism and nepotism,” Fair Haven Heights Alderman Robert Lee (at right in photo) urged fellow committee members to get rid of the practice altogether.

Click here to read a background story on the two sides of the issue.

Emmet P. Hibson, Jr. (pictured above, left), the city’s director of organizational development, testified that the Human Resources Department concluded a blanket ban on double-dipping would hurt government’s ability to fill positions with the most qualified candidates. He argued that the savings from employing retired workers part-time made fiscal sense during a time of budget cutbacks.

Committee members asked Hibson to return with hard data, including an official list of all city employees currently double-dipping, as well as clarification on the distinction between returning “contract” and “part-time” workers. Committee Chairman Yusuf Shah said the distinction remains unclear and could be important in determining how much the city actually saves in benefit costs by hiring previously retired workers.

“I think what we’re asking is that you go back, look at the documents, look at the amount of people that we have on contract or brought back on part time who are also receiving pensions, and bring that back to us,” he said.