Should Retired Judges Get a Pension and a Salary?
Thursday, July 22, 2010
A state senator is calling for legislation that would bar retired judges from collecting their pensions if they are also receiving a salary from the state, after retired Superior Court Associate Justice Mark Pfeiffer was appointed as receiver for the city of Central Falls.
“At a time when the state cannot properly fund education and can’t find the money to reimburse cities and towns for the automobile excise tax – so communities are turning to the property taxpayers – it is simply over the top for a recently retired justice who is already bringing in a six-figure pension to accept that kind of money,” said Sen. William Walaska, D-Warwick. “What ever happened to community service? What ever happened to volunteerism?”
As the receiver for Central Falls, Pfeiffer (pictured left) will earn $200 an hour, capped at a total salary of $164,000 for the six-month term of his contract, according to Amy Kempe, a spokeswoman for Gov. Don Carcieri. But he will continue to collect the $123,490.80 annual pension he receives as a retired judge.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“If you’re collecting a pension from the state of Rhode Island then perhaps you should not be working for the state and making money,” Walaska said (pictured right). “It just seems to be a matter of fairness. You read that and you got to say something is wrong with this.”
Walaska told GoLocalProv that next year he will file legislation that would prevent it from happening again.
State Law Exempts Retired Judges
Under state law, most public employees, including teachers, state, and municipal workers, can be rehired by a state, city, or town—but for not more than 75 work days, or 150 half days in any one year. If they work longer, their pension payments are suspended. But state law exempts all retired judges from these rules, according to Frank Karpinski, the executive director of the Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island.
Karpinksi said the exemption had been in place for at least 25 to 30 years.
Walaska said he won’t be able to file his bill until next December at the earliest, but in the meantime, he says Pfeiffer can still do the right thing and decline to accept a salary.
Pfeiffer did not return a call seeking comment yesterday.
He was appointed as receiver by Gov. Don Carcieri and the Department of Revenue last Friday. As the receiver, he will oversee all of the finances and other operations of city government in Central Falls. Although he is state-appointed, the bill for his services will go to the already cash-strapped city, in keeping with a new state law.
Pfeiffer is well-qualified to deal with the financial challenges facing Central Falls, according to Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe.
He served on the Rhode Island Superior Court from 1988 until 2009, when he retired. Prior to his term on the court, he was the director of the Department of Business Regulation and a Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Old Colony/Newport National Banks.
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