DROP Equals Bedbugs

IN THE LONG history of bashing the DROP program - a history almost as long as the program itself - the deferred retirement option plan has usually been referred to as a "management tool" or a "planning tool."

The whole reason it was created was supposedly to make succession planning easier for department heads. Now we know it's a flawed program, a perk for city workers and elected officials that cost the city plenty and delivers little in return.

On Aug. 3, Mayor Nutter heard the results of a report that put the cost of DROP over the last 10 years at about $25 million a year. He said the city couldn't afford the program and made moves to end it.

As if we needed further proof that the proram was a sweet payday for workers, from that day until Aug. 17, 625 city workers raced to sign up for the program before it ended; 44 percent were from the police and fire departments.

How can a program that requires no management approval, that offers supervisors no recourse or input on who can enroll, possibly be called a management tool?

Here's what we'd call DROP: One of the bedbugs infesting City Hall. *