By Judi Villa
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 21, 2000
Chief Deputy Dave Hendershott had been accused of "double dipping" after he retired as a peace officer and was immediately rehired as a civilian. The move allowed him to collect a $51,000 pension and his $120,000 salary.
County supervisors responded in November by cutting Hendershott's salary to $69,0000, a decision that Judge Susan Bolton ruled "was without any legitimate rational basis, violated the law and constituted an abuse of the board's discretion."
"The board cannot penalize (Hendershott) for his election to receive his normal retirement pay," Bolton wrote.
A state statute, revised in 1985, allows a peace officer to retire and be re-employed by the state, counties, fire districts and other entities without losing his pension. Three chief deputies before Hendershott did just that.
"When you're entitled to a retirement, that retirement clearly is separate and apart from what you are doing presently," said Jack MacIntyre, head of intergovernmental relations for the Sheriff's Office.
In July, before Hendershott elected to retire, the board set his salary at $119,787.
"Surely," Bolton wrote, "no one could suggest that a $69,000 salary in 1999 was rationally based when the annual salary seven years earlier for a similarly situated chief deputy was $89,273 per year."
Supervisors now must negotiate a new salary for Hendershott, which Chairman Andy Kunasek said Thursday is nothing new.
"The judge has instructed the board to negotiate, which we have been offering to do all along," he said. "Frankly, this whole legal exercise has been a big waste of money."
a citizen complains about double dipping and writes az leg
(a letter addressed to all the elected house and senate members in arizona)
Dear Sirs:
Please repeal this law which allows unethical public servents to DOUBLE DIP and collect a salery and a pension by quitting their job one day, and being rehired the next day.
Government stinks when the state law allows government employees to engage in sweatheart deals like this which allow a government employee to be grossly overpaid.
While the Maricopa County Supervisors got shot down by the court system their intent was correct - to prevent Hendershott from being a grossly overpaid public servent. Please repeal the law that allows unethical public servents like Hendershott to legally double dip.
In private industry a salery is pay you get for doing your job and a pension is pay you get after you retire. private companies dont pay people both a salery and a pension. neither should the government.
Please repeal this law that allows Sheriff Joe and Chief Deputy Dave Hendershott to make a mockery of the system.
Thanks
Chris Acuma