⏲︎ This article is more than a year old.

Lebanon police chief Todd Breiner, the city’s chief law enforcement officer since 2016, has retired.

His last day on the job was Monday, Oct. 17.

Mayor Sherry Capello confirmed Breiner’s retirement at Thursday’s pre-city council planning meeting. Police Captain Bret Fisher has been appointed interim chief, Capello said.

Breiner had been on the force since the 1990s, serving as a patrol officer, detective, lieutenant, and captain before becoming chief.

Plans to search for a successor have not been announced.

Capello said that Breiner retired under Pennsylvania’s Deferred Retirement Option Plan, which allows an employee who would otherwise be eligible to retire to keep working. Instead of continuing to add years of service – which would increase the employee’s pension benefit amount – the employer makes contributions to an interest-bearing account.

When the employee finally retires, he receives the full value of the account in addition to his already accrued pension benefits. This allows the employee to continue earning some retirement benefits while in the DROP program, while the employer gets to retain the employee’s services without further increasing the employee’s pension payout.

Breiner entered the DROP plan in February 2021, Capello said.

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Chris Coyle writes primarily on government, the courts, and business. He retired as an attorney at the end of 2018, after concentrating for nearly four decades on civil and criminal litigation and trials. A career highlight was successfully defending a retired Pennsylvania state trooper who was accused,...