Brown will get retirement pay

He is a convicted and imprisoned embezzler and has lost his voting privileges, but Greg Brown of Sisters is still entitled to full retirement benefits -- though incarcerated at an out-of-state federal prison at Nellis Camp in North Las Vegas, Nevada.

The only criteria for benefits, according to a representative from PERS (Public Employees Retirement System), is "that the person serve 20 years as a public employee and reach the age of 50."

Former Sheriff Greg Brown will be 50 this summer. He served in the Sheriff's Department for more than 20 years before his defeat by current Sheriff Les Stiles in the general election for sheriff 2-1/2 years ago.

Brown embezzeled $575,000 from Deschutes County and the Sisters-Camp Sherman Rural Fire Protection District. He made restitution of 98 percent of the funds.

A spokeswoman for the Deschutes County Sheriff's office said that the issue is "totally out of our hands. We have no opinion and absolutely nothing to do with the (former Sheriff Brown's) situation."

Mike Maier, County Administrative officer, said the issue is "entirely up to PERS," and that Deschutes County "had no say in the matter whatsoever."

Most of the major daily papers in the state have editorialized on the embattled state retirement program issues if not precisely on the Brown entitlement.

State Representative Tim Knopp is the majority leader of the State House of Representatives and chairman of the House PERS committee. Ian Hay, a Knopp staffer, said that, "at present there is no provision in the retirement contract to void benefit payments to a convicted felon."

Hay said that "the committee, in it's discussions on the entire Public Employ- ees Retirement System, will undoubtedly consider this type of extraordinary situation."

Although not a part of Knopp's efforts, there is pending legislation to take away retirement pay from convicted felons. Senate Bill 894 was introduced by Ryan Deckert from Washington County. This would not be retroactive.

A local newsweekly, The Bend Bugle, ran a feature story by Barney Lerten stating that, "State Public Employee Retirement System officials later confirmed ... that Brown still will receive his full PERS benefit starting when he turns 50 this summer, although the federal plea deal still leaves him vulnerable to efforts by the Internal Revenue Service to collect unpaid taxes, or the state elections and ethic agencies to impose fines and penalties."

PERS has a significant budget effect in cash-strapped school districts.

PERS is costing the Sisters School District "slightly over $900,000 this year," according to district financial officer Diane Shelly. "Of that amount, we (the district) contribute $623,263 which is 12.73 percent of our district salaries. And, in this district, we also pay the employees' portion of 6 percent to the retirement fund. That's another $277,000," she said.

Maier said Deschutes Count, "and two special districts here contributed to PERS a total of $5,849,800 last year.

This breaks out to $5,623,057 for the county; $208,853 for the 911 Service District and $17,890 for the 4-H Extension," he said.