Pay-plus-pension rules adjusted

Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002 | 9:01 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Board of Examiners Tuesday made a minor adjustment to its controversial policy of allowing certain state workers to draw their paychecks and their pensions.

The board accepted the recommendation of Secretary of State Dean Heller that affected jobs must be reviewed every two years to determine whether a critical shortage exists. Gov. Kenny Guinn, the board chairman, said changes to the law might be made during the next session of the Legislature.

The 2001 Legislature allowed the state and other political entities to hire somebody who is drawing a pension from the Public Employees Retirement System to be hired in a job declared to have a critical shortage.

The issue of gained attention after the board made a controversial decision in the case of Dick Kirkland, director of the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety when the law was passed. Soon after, Kirkland and some of his executive staff applied for the extra benefit.

Kirkland had qualified for a $70,000 annual pension for his 29 years with the Reno Police Department. When he took the job, the law prohibited people from drawing both a state salary and pension. But the law was modified last year, in part an effort to attract retired schoolteachers back to the classroom.

Kirkland was the first to take advantage of the law, adding his pension to his $103,000 annual salary.

The Examiners Board last summer declared that the state directorship Kirkland already filled was a critical position, despite the fact it had not been vacant and no effort was made to fill it.

Since allowing the first 22 positions to be declared critical, the board has not voted to add other state jobs that would allow for what some have referred to as "double dipping."

Also Tuesday, the board adopted a policy for the state to be more vigilant in routine inspections of buildings where there may be mold that can cause worker illness.

Mold was discovered in the Sawyer State Office Building and at the Child Care Center on Charleston Boulevard.

State Budget Director Perry Comeaux said, "Our routine inspections have to be beefed up." The mold usually occurs when water seeps into the walls or ceilings.