Republicans Question Sheriff's Participation in Retirement Plan

Fairfax Republicans are attacking Sheriff Stan Barry's participation in a county retirement plan with the launch of a new website.

Drop Stan Barry publicizes the sheriff's participation in the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP), a county retirement program Barry's critics say was not intended for elected public officials. Even if Barry can legally be in the program, Republicans say, DROP rules mean he is not eligible to run for re-election this November.

Under DROP, a county employee eligible for retirement can choose to continue working for three years. While they receive their usual salary and benefits, they also begin receiving the money they would have received if they retired. The money is sent to a retirement account, which the employee does not have access to until they leave government.

After the three-year DROP period ends, the employee must retire, according to a county document (PDF) explaining the program. The decision to enter the DROP program is irreversible, according to the document—exiting DROP would mean the end of employment with the county.

While he is currently accumulating DROP benefits, Barry told Patch he will stop receiving them and make sure they don't collect interest if he is re-elected. Even if his DROP participation makes him ineligible to run, Barry says he will retire, then return as sheriff without receiving a salary after his re-election.

"What I want to do is be re-elected sheriff," Barry said. "I’m not looking for any extra pay.”

The DROP Statute

Because Barry entered the program in 2009, Republicans say, he must leave office in early 2012, rather than run for another four-year term this November. Barry said he was not sure exactly when he entered the program.

"The county statute clearly says that at the end of three years, you must retire," said Anthony Bedell, the chairman of the Fairfax County Republican Committee. Bedell said this means that Barry cannot run as the Democratic candidate in November's election for sheriff.

Even if Barry did retire in 2012, his participation in DROP is not legal, according to Bedell. The Drop Stan Barry website features a video where members of the Board of Supervisors question whether elected officials like Barry should participate in DROP.

Bedell estimates that, according to a county retirement calculator, participating in DROP will bring Barry $436,230 after three years, in addition to his yearly salary and benefits.

"We thought on the basis of honor and fairness, we wouldn't be doing that," Mason District Supervisor Penny Gross (D) says on the video, referring to elected officials participating in DROP. The video was taken from a June Board of Supervisors meeting. Gross says on the video that the DROP law does not explicitly excluse elected officials, however. She did not respond to a request for comment.

"He is intentionally not abiding by the spirit of the law," Braddock District Supervisor John Cook (R) told Patch. After discussing DROP at the June meeting, Cook said, the supervisors discussed the issue in a closed session. While Cook would not say what happened in the session, no action has been taken by the supervisors against Barry or to limit elected officials from participating in DROP. 

County Attorney Weighs In

Both Republicans and Barry agree that Fairfax County Attorney David Bobzien says that Barry can participate in DROP and legally run for office again, even though Republicans disagree with Bobzien on that point. Bobzien did not respond to a request for comment.

“Apparently, [the Supervisors] had a convincing argument from the county attorney,” Barry said.

Bedell insists that, even though Bobzien allows the campaign, Barry's participation in DROP is illegal.

“The county attorney is covering for the Democratic-majority Board, covering for the Democratic Sheriff." Bedell responded. "What a coincidence.” 

Republicans have no grounds to criticize him, Barry said, because his Republican opponent, Bill Cooper, is also retired. Bedell said Cooper's retirement doesn't matter because he was not an elected official before his retirement and did not participate in DROP.

The Republicans plan to continue criticizing Barry's retirement plan, according to Bedell, with two more emails explaining the issue planned. He said the committee is also considering buying advertisements about the issue.