Judie Italiano, the president and general manager of the 6,000-member Municipal Employees Association, said she is retiring from the presidency she has held for two decades because she expects the city’s retirement board to approve her bid for retirement.
Italiano filed for retirement in 2004, and tax attorneys have been reviewing the application for two years because of a special benefit bestowed upon the union president that allows her to base her retirement on her union – rather than city – salary. She recently received word that retirement system staff and tax attorneys had approved her retirement and that the retirement board is scheduled to finalize it May 19.
She will continue to serve as the union’s general manager during a “transitional period.”
Check tomorrow’s issue for more on this story. Read Italiano’s resignation letter here.