The Mooresville Board of Commissioners on Dec. 16 heard a presentation on a proposed town-funded special separation allowance for full‑time firefighters and E‑9‑1‑1 communicators and gave direction to refine actuarial assumptions before final adoption.

Corky Curtis, chief employee experience officer, told the board the policy was developed using North Carolina
GS 143 Article 12D for law enforcement as a starting point and with outside counsel and input from the police chief, fire chief and E‑9‑1‑1 communications director. "This initiative directly supports the town's operational excellence strategic priority and the goal to attract and to train the best talent to meet the community's needs," Curtis said.

Curtis described eligibility as: 30 or more years of credible service at any age, or 25 years of service if the employee reaches age 60, with the benefit payable through age 62 and ending at death or on reemployment with another local government employer. The presentation listed the benefit calculation as 0.8885% of base pay at retirement multiplied by years of credible service; base pay as defined in the proposal excludes longevity pay, shift differential, unused leave and reimbursements.

Commissioners pressed staff on several implementation details during a sustained question-and-answer period. Commissioner Dingler asked whether a younger hire would realistically qualify under a 30-year rule; Curtis and staff agreed to provide a side-by-side comparison of the police and fire programs and to run actuarial scenarios showing the financial impact of alternative eligibility (including a 25‑year credit or a five‑year transfer credit for time served elsewhere). "If we give credit for work in another organization, our taxpayers are paying for that service," CFO Chris Quinn cautioned, recommending actuarial analysis before making policy changes.

Council members also emphasized fairness to current employees: staff noted three current firefighters would be eligible in the near term under the proposed rules and said the FY26 budget already includes funding for the proposal. The board directed staff to prepare the requested side‑by‑side and actuarial projections for consideration at the February retreat and confirmed that any final change that affects the budget would need to be adopted by June 30 so benefits could begin on the proposed implementation date.

What happens next: staff will ask actuaries to model alternative eligibility scenarios (including a 25‑year scenario and transfer credit), provide a comparison with police separation-allowance provisions and return with financial projections to the board ahead of budget adoption.