by KYW's vice president and general manager David Yadgaroff


It's not a bad deal -- except for the taxpayers of Philadelphia. They'll shell out well over $1 million to four or more guardians of the public trust who are snagging retirement benefits but are back at their desks working for $100,000-plus salaries right now.

Wish we could all do that!

City Council stalwarts Krajewski, Verna, Rizzo, and DiCicco have all applied for the retirement windfall under a program intended to keep senior city employees who hold critical positions on the job after reaching retirement age (see related news story).
 
Krajewski alone will take nearly $300,000 -- and keep working.

And by the way, when former Mayor Street waved farewell, he took with him nearly half a million dollars from the program (see related news story).

But other than in the minds of a few, including its author DiCicco, it was never meant for elected officials -- the people who are supposed to preserve the public's money.

Michael Nutter, while in City Council, tried without success to bar elected colleagues from what he saw as an unjustified cash grab. He should be broadly supported now as mayor in trying to end it.

To submit a comment or reply to this editorial, send an e-mail to yadgaroff@KYW.com.