In a unanimous vote on Thursday, the Frederick County Commissioners approved a voluntary retirement incentive program for county workers.

Tracy Lobuts, the Assistant Director of Human Resources, says employees who opt in will receive $25,000, which will come from the county's fiscal year 2014 operating budget, not the employees' pension plan. It will not come from the workers' budgeted annual rate of pay.

The projected cost of the plan is $1.9-million.

She says 154 county workers are eligible, and she says the Commissioners have described it as a way to reduce personnel costs. "Which provides budgetary relief for the county relating to the structural deficit,"  Lobuts  says.

Employees who are interested have until May 13th to apply, and until May 20th to withdraw their applications.

The county says in a statement that it will be limited to 75 employees, with seniority a deciding factor. Officials can also limit the number of employees from each department and division to avoid violating any licensing or coverage requirements, and impacts on service levels.

Commissioners' President Blaine Young says it helps the county reduce costs, as well as let employees who want to retire to do so with a financial boost. "Some have said that this board has not shown enough care for our employees as we have addressed serious budget issues," Young said in a statement. "But this plan shows we are looking outside of the box to provide a special incentive for faithful employees."