Council delays decision on pension

Since the Bartholomew County Council was first asked to consider pension and benefit upgrades for sheriff merit deputies earlier this month, members have received much of the information they had requested on the subject.

But as more data was provided Tuesday by Sheriff’s Merit Board president Susan Thayer Fye, many more questions and concerns were voiced by the seven council members.

As a result, only one of three proposals came up for a vote Tuesday. Although no start date was established, the council did unanimously agree to establish a “Drop Accumulation” program, where deputies of retirement age can delay partial pension payment if they wish to continue working up to a maximum of 32 years. When they finally do retire, the accumulated money will be given to the deputy in one large lump sum.

However, most of Tuesday’s discussion dealt with the current policy requiring merit deputies, including the sheriff, to serve eight years and one month to receive a pension. If the proposed change is adopted, current Bartholomew County Sheriff Matt Myers and his successors will be eligible for pension benefits after serving exactly eight years.

Rather than support a vote, council member Bill Lentz asked Thayer Fye to research two separate topics. After noting that many former sheriffs live long after they retire, Lentz said he wants to first learn the entire sheriff’s budget in other counties, and then what percent of their budgets goes into pensions. He also asked how these pension might impact Social Security payments.

During the meeting, Lentz revealed he has received recent calls from people “with long ties with the department” suggesting that the sheriff’s pension be determined on what other merit deputies make, instead of basing it on the pay scale of elected officials.

“It’s hard to be fair because everyone has a different opinion, and people aren’t shy about voicing it,” Lentz said.

Another council member spoke her mind in a straight-forward manner. According to Evelyn Strietelmeier Pence, it doesn’t seem right that government employees can receive pensions after serving only eight years while many private sector companies have stopped offering pensions.

Although it doesn’t direct apply to the sheriff’s pension, a new concern was expressed by council member Mark Gorbett, a former two-term sheriff. Gorbett said he is seeking assurances that anyone appointed chief deputy sheriff who does not have a law enforcement background would be ineligible for an pension after eight years.

That concern certainly doesn’t apply to current Chief Deputy Sheriff Maj. Chris Lane, a retired Columbus Police captain who had 22 years of law enforcement experience when appointed by Myers in late 2014. However, Gorbett said he does recall one former sheriff who gave that position to a person with no police experience as a matter of political patronage. Gorbett asked the merit board to consider creating a policy to address that type of scenario in the future.

A concern was expressed that rates on return applied to pensions could wildly fluctuated if the economy goes sour in the near future. After noting that last year’s investments received an impressive 7.05% rate on return, Thayer David reminded the council that rate returns for pensions are factored in as averages over a five-year period.

Nearly 90 minutes of questions and concern were voiced before Thayer Fye reminded the council that every elected county official holding a constitutional office becomes vested after exactly eight years of service. Beside the sheriff, the other four constitutional offices are auditor, treasurer, clerk and recorder.

But only the sheriff, who is limited to a maximum eight years over two terms, is required to put in an additional month of service in order to become vested, Thayer Fye said.

She also noted there are statutes that state the sheriff is entitled to a pension as an elected official after turning 55. The pension for Myers is already funded, so it will not cost taxpayers any additional money.

In the third proposal,the council voiced a clear consensus that payments to the spouse and children of a deputy who dies in the line of duty should be raised substantially from their current levels. However, a number of council members said they want more time to determine how much they should increase those payments.

There has never been a deputy killed in the line of duty since Bartholomew County was established in 1821. The last lawman killed in the line of duty within the county was Indiana State Police trooper Earl L. Brown, who was shot to death by a hitchhiker near Jonesville in 1955.

Since several questions were asked Tuesday, council president Matt Miller decided to postpone a vote on the matter. The matter will be discussed by the council again during an April 6th work session, and possibly voted on during the regular monthly meeting on April 14th.