TIFTON — County commissioners are looking into programs to improve employee retention and recruitment.

During their Dec. 3 meeting, members of the Tift County Board of Commissioners reviewed a proposed amendment to their Defined Benefit Plan that would provide continued retirement benefits to county employees who have reached retirement should they carry on working with the county.

County manager Jim Carter explained that the county’s current benefit plan has an established period that grants a county employee retirement benefits once they have worked for the county for thirty years, but that following that time, they would not receive any additional funds if they decided to retain their employment with the county.

Carter identified this as an issue, as it disincentivized retiring employees from continuing to work with the county, especially in their public safety department, due to the risk that would come with passing away while working and leaving their spouse only with the initial retirement funds, unlike the continued benefits they would receive had they been fully retired.

The amended plan would instead allow retired county workers to continue receiving these benefits past this thirty year period were they to continue serving Tift County. Carter was optimistic it would draw in more seasoned and experienced workers, as well as entice their existing staff to remain employed with the county to receive the extended benefits.

He assured the commissioners that the amendments had been covered in their upcoming budget for 2025, and that the plan would be structured around a five-year period as a sort of test run of its effectiveness. At the conclusion of that time, the commissioners could review the program and discuss their next move.

The county commissioners elected to place the proposed amendments on their regular agenda for their Dec. 9 meeting, intent on discussing them further.