Geneva, decorated cop parting ways after pension dispute

A decorated Geneva police officer is leaving the department, under a separation agreement OK'd by the city council.

Under its terms, Sgt. Tim Baker must agree to not seek another job with the city and to not pursue any claim for age discrimination.

In return, the city will pay him $18,000 for accrued benefits. The deal was approved Monday by the council, but Baker's name was not made public until Wednesday.

Baker, who has worked for the city for 31 years, had wanted to retire, then take a civilian job as a community service officer.

But the city refused to consider his application, he told the city council in April 2015, because of pension issues.

As a retired police officer, he would receive a pension from the city.

As a civilian employee, he and the city would have to contribute to the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, and he would become eligible for a second pension if he worked long enough to become vested.

Baker told the council he had been told by city administrators it would be "unethical" of the city to hire him, because at the same time it was trying to get state legislators to change laws to prevent pension "double-dipping."

He said refusing to consider his application for the job seemed to violate a city policy that called for all job openings to first be posted internally and for current employees to be given preference.

"The narrow interpretation of this is 'Tim Baker can't apply for this job, but anybody else can,'" Baker told the council.

At that April 2015 meeting, the mayor said it was an administrative issue and urged the city council to avoid discussing the matter. "This is not the bailiwick of the city council," he said.

A year earlier, the council gave Baker the "Exceptional Duty Award" in recognition of his work with the Greater Fox River Valley chapter of Operation Snowball. And in 2009, he received the American Red Cross "Hometown Heros" award for the same. The program works with teenagers to encourage them to make wise choices about drug and alcohol use.

The separation agreement is not final until Baker signs it and it has been approved by a "court of competent jurisdiction," according to city spokesman Kevin Stahr.

Baker could not be reached for comment Wednesday.