By Howard Packowitz

NORMAL – Budget belt-tightening in the town of Normal will include offering early retirement packages for some long-time government employees, if the town council backs the idea.

Two weeks after receiving a report detailing numerous financial headwinds, the council is being asked tonight to authorize early retirement plans for 18 eligible non-union employees, who will have put in at least 15 years in their jobs, and will be at least 55-years old by the end of next year.

Employees opting to take early retirement would receive full health and dental insurance coverage for a year, and the town plans to offer financial incentives for workers who choose to leave their jobs next March, instead of later in 2018.

Employees would have until the middle of next month to make their retirement decisions, so that town staffers can more quickly account for cost savings in the next budget.

The staff blames the city of Bloomington’s decision to terminate the west side Metro Zone revenue-sharing agreement for an unexpected annual loss of $1.1 million.

A newly-imposed fee for the state government to collect sales taxes creates a $300,000 annual budget hole.

A recently-completed financial trend and condition report for Normal showed a two-year decline in state and local sales taxes, with not much hope for future sales tax growth, which is a major source for general fund revenue.

Howard Packowitz can be reached at [email protected].