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TRANSPORTATION AGENCY FOR MONTEREY COUNTY Memorandum | |
| | | | | | | | | To: | Board of Directors | | From: | Rita Goel, Director of Finance & Administration | | Meeting Date: | January 23, 2019 | | Subject: | Addition of Half-Position - Retired Annuitant |
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| | | | | | | | | RECOMMENDED ACTION: | | APPROVE adding a retired annuitant position to the Agency staff to perform tasks related to property development. |
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| | | | | | | | | SUMMARY: | | The Transportation Agency owns property on the former Fort Ord based on an economic development conveyance. The use of this property is intended to help fund transportation projects as well as provide a transit-oriented development. The Agency does not currently have staff with the appropriate expertise in land development. Rather than hire a consultant, the Agency proposes to hire a retired annuitant specialized skills and knowledge on a temporary basis to perform these tasks. |
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| | | | | | | | | FINANCIAL IMPACT: | | The costs of this activity estimated not to exceed $90,000 per year. These costs are well below what the Agency would be expected to pay a consultant or a regular staff member because of the limitations on the compensation and hours set for CalPERS retired annuitants: they may not work more than 960 hours, they may not be paid more than the top hourly wage for a similar position, and they are may not be paid any benefits or other compensation on top of the hourly pay. Although the costs associated with this hiring are not formally in the adopted FY 18/19 Agency budget, there are sufficient funds in the Railroad Leases Reserve. The workload is not expected to exceed 960 hours per year, and the term of service is not expected to extend beyond three years, likely much less. |
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| | | | | | | | | DISCUSSION: | TAMC owns certain property located on the former Fort Ord, in the City of Marina, within the Marina Dunes Specific Plan and the Dunes development project. While originally contemplated for possible use connected to the Monterey Branch Line and other transit connections, currently the property is generally vacant and is a relative drain on TAMC resources.
Recently, some interest in parts of the property has been expressed by private, third parties. To best understand and evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to TAMC’s continued ownership of the property, TAMC wishes to engage the services of someone with specialized skills and knowledge in the area of land development. It has been determined that the most flexible and cost-effective manner to conduct this work would be by hiring a retired annuitant.
A retired annuitant is a CalPERS retiree who works as an at-will employee of a CalPERS employer (in this case, TAMC) with certain restrictions so as not to jeopardize his or her pension payments. Post-retirement employment of such retired annuitants with a CalPERS contracting agency is allowed under certain circumstances, as governed by state Government Code Section 21224. A retired person may serve, without reinstatement from retirement or loss or interruption of benefits, upon appointment by the public agency employer because the retired person has specialized skills needed in performing work of limited duration. The compensation for the appointment cannot exceed the maximum monthly base salary paid to other employees performing comparable duties as listed on a publicly available pay schedule. A retired person appointed pursuant to this section does not receive any benefit, incentive, compensation in lieu of benefits, or other form of compensation in addition to the hourly pay rate. A retired annuitant appointed pursuant to this section cannot work more than 960 hours each fiscal year regardless of whether he or she works for one or more employers and the appointment must be temporary.
The FORA redevelopment work proposed to be performed by the retired annuitant would require the same level of expertise and years of experience that applies to the Deputy Executive Director. Like the position of Deputy Director, the employee will be engaging in highly specialized and detailed studies, determining the sources of impacts on existing facilities, assessing future needs, evaluating alternatives, and preparing and presenting reports and recommendations. Additionally, the work is expected to entail the coordination or several different senior officials from other jurisdictions and will analyze land use plans and other issues affecting the Agency’s needs with respect to the specific area described. The applicant needs (and meets) the “Job Requirements” section of the Deputy Executive Director, including knowledge of theories of planning and management; federal, state, and local laws and regulations affecting both transportation and the affected area; possesses techniques for coordinating the work of, and securing the support of, other independent agencies, without line authority; and possesses a thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of personnel management, supervision, staff development and employee evaluation.
Legal counsel has reviewed and advised staff on this proposal and concurs with the recommendation.
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