 |
 |
|
 August 11, 2005 As you remember in February of 2004, the Mayor vetoed a proposed ordinance (Ordinance 5038) that would have put restraints on his ability to load up the City with his appointees. The City Charter specifies some appointees and the figure of 102 is supposed to be the Charter approved figure. The Mayor and the City Council compromised and some of the over 400 appointees were given civil service status. That still left 281 eligible to retire under the January 2001 pension resolution allowing elected and appointed officials to retire after 12 years regardless of age and start receiving their pensions and health care benefits. In looking over the list in November 2004 of those who had already retired under the 2001 pension deal and were at that time costing $675,000 per year and would cost many millions in the future, some interesting names and retirement amounts jump out. Roland McElrath $33,110.16/year age 44, Danny Wray 28,844.40/year age 55, Mark Brown 32,212.56/year age 48, John Conroy 35,850.24/year age 59, Rick Masson 64,665.12/year age 51, Roland Wyatt 26,013.60/year age 51, Richard Eldred 39,389.52/year age 60, Robert L. Spence Jr 32,927.52/year age 47, Debra Brown 29,506.08/year age 50, Robert Bishop Jr 39230.64/year age 57. We have been following one of the above, Mr. Roland McElrath, since we found out when he retired from the City of Memphis he went to a six figure job with the Memphis City School System. There he was involved in the SchoolTran Contract which you can read about in an article date May 3, 2005 on memphiswatchdog.org website under todays news and mail. Then in 2003 he went to a new six figure job ($119,975.16) at the Memphis Housing Authority. In an open records request we asked if Mr. McElrath was still receiving his January 2001 pension payment and if he was working on a new pension. The answer was finally received on August 10, 2005 in a letter from Sara Hall, the City Attorney. It is shown below. Keep in mind that the Memphis Housing Authority is not supposed to be part of the City of Memphis but Robert Lipscomb, head of Housing and Community Development, is also head of MHA and received part of his dual salary from MHA and the rest of it from HCD. But MHA is not part of the Memphis Pension System which allows Mr. McElrath to start dipping into another pension system and continue to receive his City of Memphis pension. August 10, 2005 Mr. Joseph Saino 6560 Kirby Forest Cove Memphis, Tennessee 38119 Dear Mr. Saino: Pursuant to your Open Records Request, regarding Roland McElrath's pension. Mr. McElrath is still receiving his City pension under the January 2001 Pension Resolution. As you are aware, Roland McElrath is employed by the Memphis Housing Authority, a separate legal entity from the City and their pension is not a part of the City's pension plan. It is my understanding that the MHA is a participant in the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement Systems(TCRS) and all MHA employees are enrolled as non-contributory participants. It is also my understanding that MHA employees do not contribute to the plan; however, MHA contributes 7.17% of the employee's salary to the plan for the employee's benefit. Our office has been informed that Mr. McElrath became a participant in TCRS in May 2003 and started out with zero (0) years of credible service. Finally, it has also been brought to our attention that Mr. McElrath was a participant in TCRS during his employment with Memphis City Schools, in which this plan was a contributory plan. When Mr. McElrath left MCS, he withdrew his contribution and this resulted in zero(0) years of credible service within the State pension plan. When he was hired by the MHA, he re-entered TCRS with zero (0) years of credible service. Sincerely, Sara L. Hall City Attorney  June 28, 2005 Remember Mr. Roland McElrath. He is one of the many people who retired in March of 2001 with 12 years of service due to the stupid January 2001 pension resolution allowing appointed and elected officials to retire after 12 years regardless of age. Remember that 11 of the 13 current City Council members voted for that resolution. Well Mr. McElrath went to work for the City of Memphis School System as the finance and administration director at $116,000 per year plus the $33,110 pension mentioned above. At the City of Memphis School system he helped negotiate the infamous SchoolTrans contract shown on this website. On Today’s News and Mail read the article entitled “The Incredible Story of the SchoolTrans Contract”. Well Mr. McElrath is no longer with the Memphis School System but he landed on his feet again as the new Chief Financial Officer for the Memphis Housing Authority. We have written the following open records letter to the MHA asking about Mr. McElrath and other matters at the MHA and the HCD. When we get the answers we will publish them. June 27, 2005 Mr. Robert Lipscomb Memphis Housing Authority 700 Adams Avenue Memphis, Tennessee 38105 Dear Mr. Lipscomb, As a taxpayer of the City of Memphis I would like to inspect the municipal documents, records, letters and communications, both written and in electronic form, that contain information relevant to the following subjects. 1) Specifically I want to inspect the documents, records and communications that contain the names, job titles, salaries and car allowances of all the regular and appointed employees of the Memphis Housing Authority. Also I want to inspect the documents and records that show the years of creditable service towards retirement of the above employees. 2) Also I want to inspect the documents, records and communications that show the situation concerning Mr. Roland McElrath, who I understand is employed by the MHA as Chief Financial Officer/Deputy Executive of MHA. I want to inspect the records and documents that show if he is continuing to receive his pension under the January 2001 pension resolution while he is working at the MHA. I assume his salary will be shown in item 1, but if not, then I want this information. Also I want to know what his years of creditable service are at this point in his new employment and if he is entitled to a City of Memphis pension or some other pension system. Did his receipt of the January 2001 pension cancel his years of creditable service and is he starting out at zero in this new job? Did his time at the Memphis School System count on this new job? 3) I want to inspect the documents and records that show the source of revenues for the Memphis Housing Authority and the Division of Housing and Community Development for the fiscal years 2003, 2004 and 2005. Also I want to inspect the documents and records that show the projects for those years and how the money was spent and what contractors and individuals received the benefits of these expenditures. I trust that you will inform promptly whatever department and personnel are necessary to prepare these documents for my inspection. In accordance with your policy concerning copies and cost of copies, I may want copies of some or all of the documents. Since I assume also that the documents containing the information requested should be available readily on a computer, I should like to inspect the documents on July 5, 2005 at a time on that date which is convenient. If you need additional information or have questions about this request, I am available during working hours at 754-0699. Sincerely yours, Joe Saino 6560 Kirby Forest Cove Memphis, Tennessee 38119 | FIRE AND POLICE NEWS | PARK SERVICES | CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE | PUBLIC WORKS | ENGINEERING DIVISION | FINANCE DIVISION | SALARY & BENEFITS | APPOINTED CITY EMPLOYEES | MEMPHIS SCHOOL SYSTEM | RIVERFRONT DEVELOPMENT CORP | INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT BOARD | HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT | MEMPHIS SHELBY COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY | | Return Home | TODAYS NEWS AND MAIL | MEMPHIS CITY GOVERNMENT NEWS | MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL NEWS | MLG&W NEWS | SHELBY COUNTY GOVERNMENT | CONTACT US | FAQ Page | MEMPHIS BRIDGE | |
||
 |
 |