2 years ago
A former Erie County worker is collecting a big state pension, while drawing an even bigger state salary at the same time! All this with a huge state deficit looming.
Sheila Kee was appointed as Associate Commissioner of the New York State Health Department for the Western Region in 2007. But at the time, as a state retiree, she was collecting a pension of $99,000. Typically, if someone is going to enter back into the state public workforce, collection of their pension is suspended until they retire again. But in the case of Sheila Kee, she continues to collect her pension, while also being paid $143,013 as Associate Commissioner.
State Health Department spokesman Jeff Hammond said Kee was busy and would not be available for comment. Asked how it is that Kee is essentially collecting two salaries from the state, Hammond said she had applied for a waiver from the State Civil Service Commission.
You may best remember Kee from the Erie County Control Board where, as a member, she spoke out against waste. But Kee was also President and CEO of Sheehan Memorial Hospital. Before that she worked at ECMC, eventually becoming the medical center's CEO. The State Health Department spokesman says she balanced the hospital's budget, spearheaded several service expansions and initiated numerous quality improvement measures. But she eventually resigned from ECMC, one source says, under pressure.
Sheila Kee was Erie County Budget Director for nine years under the Gorski Administration.
She is able to collect both salaries because of the so-called "211 waiver." According to Civil Service Commission spokesman David Ernst, the waiver permits, under certain circumstances, a person to go back to work for the government while continuing to receive pension payments.
"They are used in very set circumstances where looking for people to fill a particular vacancy who have not retired from government is just very difficult," said Ernst. "The law permits us to turn to people who have retired from government and take advantage of their special experience and expertise, and re-employ them in government."
According to Hammond, Sheila Kee is "uniquely qualified. She brings a tremendous amount of not only hospital and health care experience to the department, she also has a very strong financial background."
Ernst says of the estimated half a million people in the state workforce, only about 700 waivers have been granted. He says the Civil Service Commission does not have much discretion in deciding when waivers should be granted. He says they can only determine if the applicant is uniquely qualified, and if the salary is in line with the market. He says they don't know what the pensions are of the applicants. "The civil service commission makes no judgment nor would it be allowed to make judgment according to law as to whether it's appropriate that the person receive both pension and salary," he said.
Sheila Kee collects a salary of more than 242-thousand dollars. The 99-thousand dollar pension, incidentally, is state tax-free as long as she lives in New York State.
While Ernst says he can understand why people would be troubled by the so-called "double dipping," he said waivers are often used for people deemed too valuable to lose. New York State is expected to face a deficit of about 21 billion dollars over the next few years. Only legislators can change parameters of the 211 waiver. New legislation would be needed to change the law.
