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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Councilman in DROP: I'll work for free

City Councilman Frank DiCicco last week announced that he would run again in 2011, even though he is enrolled in the DROP program, a retirement incentive that allows any city employee to collect up to four years of pension payments while also working for a salary.

While those employees are normally required to retire after those four years, elected officials have discovered a loophole that allows them to collect their DROP payment after being reelected, and return to office.

Last week, DiCicco's spokesman said the South Philadelphia/Center City councilman would not exploit that loophole, and said he was exploring ways around it.

Today DiCicco said he has found the solution -- if reelected, he will collect his $392,194.56 DROP payment at the end of 2011, and return to office and work for free. DiCicco, who is a licensed Realtor, said he would donate his entire salary back to the city and live off that lump-sum DROP payment for four years. As a City employee, DiCicco said he would not collect his $89,604 annual pension until he leaves the city for good.

Click here for Philly.com's politics page.

Posted by Jeff Shields @ 12:20 PM Permalink | 29 comments

Comments

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 12:55 PM, 04/23/2009

Retirement means you do not come back to work. It means you are done. There is no such thing as retiring for a day. These people should be sued in court to recover the DROP money. This is Council stealing our money right in front of our faces.

— rhawnhurst

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:01 PM, 04/23/2009

they did not " discover a loophole " they added themselves to the program by creating the changes in the original proposal.

— DennisR

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:10 PM, 04/23/2009

and will he sign up for DROP again when "retires" later???

— xatsmann

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:12 PM, 04/23/2009

DiCicco is another of our Coucil scum who talks out of both sides of his mouth. He took the double-dip and now plays "holier than thou". Nutter should get all those people who lined their pockets with DROP money to give it back, but they're his buddies so this "game" continues and Philadelphians get screwed!

— teckie

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:23 PM, 04/23/2009

$89,604 * 4 = $358,416 != $392,194

— Politburo

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:34 PM, 04/23/2009

Start on May 19...vote incumbents out of office. The City Solicitor SHELLEY R. SMITH should review this and stop this practice.

— rhawnhurst

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:38 PM, 04/23/2009

teckie...nutter cannot make them give the money..he is not king...council wrote the rules - only council can change thm...seperation of the branches of government...you cannot in this on nutter...he wants elected officials to be banned from DROP and in fact - I believe nutter is NOT enrolled in DROP...he has more ethics than many former mayors (Street/Rendell/Goode, etc) and most, if not all of City Council

— gogglespaisano

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:39 PM, 04/23/2009

meant to say...you cannot PIN this on nutter...not IN this on nutter

— gogglespaisano

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:40 PM, 04/23/2009

Are we fools, to vote for this fellow again? Has this city been run by the Democrat bosses for too long? Answer the second question first!

— DonQ

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 1:44 PM, 04/23/2009

throw them all out, don't let them back into city hall, problem solved. philly needs to clean house. many of these council members run unopposed, they were barely elected in the first place.

— yawns

Comment removed.

0 like this / 0 don't • Posted 2:22 PM, 04/23/2009

If someone told me I couldn't have the pension money that I contributed out of my paycheck for the past 22 years, I'd hire a lawyer.... when you get a job and your employer says they will contribute to your pension at the same rate that you contribute, you should be able to count on that money, not have people say "Oh, never mind, the economy is bad so you can't have your pension." That's all the more reason why I need it!

— SueBoo