(Omaha, NE) -- Omaha's Police Chief says he has no plans to retire and that he will defer retirement, although he is eligible to leave the department.
Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert's office says in February, Chief Todd Schmaderer completed 25 years of service in the Omaha Police Department, making him eligible to retire. Stothert's office says Schmaderer informed them that instead of retiring, he plans to enter the Deferred Retirement Option Program and wants to continue serving as Chief for up to five more years.
“I am pleased that Chief Schmaderer will continue to serve as our police chief. We have made a lot of progress together to make Omaha a safer city,” Stothert said. “He is a valued member of my team, an advisor and friend. He is a strong and respected leader in the police department and in our community.”
Schmaderer has been Omaha’s police chief since 2012, making him the city’s second-longest serving Chief of Police. The mayor's office says that also makes him one of the longest-serving major city chiefs in the country.
DROP is made available to sworn Omaha Police and Fire personnel, allowing them to remain on the job for an additional five years beyond their scheduled retirement. The action freezes their pension so no further accruals are paid out, but the employee still makes contributions to the Omaha Police and Fire pension fund in the amount of 15.5%-16.5% of their income, the release states. The employee also isn’t eligible for Social Security nor for promotions or “other benefits such as tuition reimbursement or longevity pay” during this time.
After the DROP period, the employee gets a lump payment of all pension accruals from that five-year period; when they actually retire, they then begin receiving monthly pension benefits, which would amount to a gross monthly payment of $14,796.45 for Chief Schmaderer.
The mayor's office says the city’s Police and Fire pension and personnel boards will consider Schmaderer’s DROP application at their April meetings.
(Photo by WOWT 6 News)