HONOLULU -- KITV4 News has learned Honolulu's fire chief is retiring, but he's staying in his job as part of a "special arrangement" with the city's Fire Commission.
It's all an effort for him to keep working without losing pension benefits.
The case is an unusual arrangement, especially for someone who directs a city department. However, the chairwoman of the city's Fire Commission said it's worth it, to keep Fire Chief Attilio Leonardi on the job.
"I've got things I want to accomplish. I'm not ready to retire. I love my job, but there's other considerations you have to look at," Leonardi said.
Leonardi, 58, has been fire chief for five years. He's been a firefighter for 33 years and he'd start losing pension benefits if he stayed on the city payroll another year.
"You work your whole career to peak at your benefits, not to lose benefits. I think that's the dilemma I'm in, you know," Leonardi said.
Fire Commission Chairwoman Sandy Au Fong said Leonardi's in the middle of several major projects like building a new fire headquarters in Kakaako, which got underway in September. The department is also coming up for national re-accreditation.
"We would like for him to finish these major projects before he steps down," Fong said.
The Fire Commission will allow him to retire at the end of the year, but keep serving as chief on 89-day appointments. That's just under the 90-day limit that would halt his pension benefits.
Firefighters and police are allowed to retire after 25 years, because of their physical jobs regardless of their age. Therefore their pension benefits max out at 32 years. Leonardi's retirement pay would permanently be cut by at least several hundred dollars a month if he kept working.
"It means that I would lose lifetime benefits. That's what it amounts to," Leonardi said.
"After he's worked so hard all these years so that he can have a comfortable retirement, it just doesn't seem fair to have someone penalized," Fong said.
So Leonardi will be double dipping, continuing to collect his $112,000 annual salary, on top of his pension pay, which is roughly 80 percent of his current salary.
"It's no different than if I were to go and work somewhere else. My retirement is what I already worked for. It's my retirement, no matter where I go, what I do, I still get the retirement," he said.
Fire commissioners said they don't see this special arrangement stretching longer than about two years. The commission expects to give final approval to the chief's first 89-day appointment at a meeting next month.
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