Apr. 20—The Thurmont Board of Commissioners has voted to enroll town police officers into a new state pension program and remove the town oil recycling center.

Town officials on Tuesday said the pension program, the Law Enforcement Officers' Pension System (LEOPS), will offer enhanced benefits along with a lower retirement age and will help recruit new officers.

Thurmont police officers are currently enrolled in a different program, the state's Employees Pension System (EPS).

Under LEOPS, officers will be eligible for retirement after 25 years of employment or when they turn 50 years old. The EPS time frame is a combination of age and years of eligible employment totaling 90 years.

For example, an officer with 35 years of employment who is 55 years old will be eligible for retirement under EPS.

Police Chief Greg Eyler on Tuesday said prospective recruits are looking for strong benefit packages when they consider employment. LEOPS enrollment will attract those recruits and retain officers, Eyler said.

"The younger people are looking at this now. It's a good thing, it's a major step forward, and I think it's going to help us in the long run," Eyler said.

Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird agreed.

"It's another tool to keep officers and keep a qualified and dependable police force in the town of Thurmont," Kinnaird said.

Kinnaird and the Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the resolution to switch programs during Tuesday's town meeting.

Eligible Thurmont police officers hired before June 30 can submit a written application to the state retirement agency to be enrolled. All eligible officers hired after July 1 will be enrolled automatically.

Linda Joyce, the town's chief financial officer, said transferring the department's roster to LEOPS will cost the town $45,000 per year over 20 years. She said the amount previously paid to EPS each year will be redirected to LEOPS and will cover a portion of the cost.

Oil disposal siteDuring a meeting on April 11, the town approved the removal of its oil disposal site near the Thurmont Regional Library.

The site also hosts a recycling dumpster that the town voted to closed in February. Access to both services will be cut off April 25, according to Jim Humerick, the town's chief administrative officer.

Town officials on April 11 said the oil disposal site had been treated "disrespectfully," with people often stacking jugs of oil next to the disposal tank after it reached its capacity.

Humerick said he was concerned with spills at the site and the burden it puts on town employees to maintain it.

"We don't benefit from it, we don't pay anything for it, we don't get paid anything back for it," Humerick said. "So it's really a service that we provide right now for no costs, other than the headaches and additional labor that it causes our staff to deal with down there."

For town residents searching for alternative oil recycling sites, Humerick said Tracy's Auto and Advance Auto Parts in Thurmont both accept recycled oil.

Employees for both businesses confirmed on Wednesday that they accept used motor oil.