Botched State’s emergency radio network boss gets sweet PERS deal

AFP-Oregon

AFP Pension Reform TV Ad Focuses on Bureaucrat Who Potentially Cost Oregon Taxpayers $200 Million – Enjoys Gold-Plated Retirement

Sublimity – With States across America reforming the way government employees are compensated, AFP-Oregon today continued its ten-week television ad project to educate Oregonians about problems with the State’s Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) and to urge reform of the system during the 2011 Legislative Session.  The series will highlight some of the retired public officials who have cost taxpayers millions in cost overruns on public projects or lawsuit settlements and are now retired on generous pensions – all financed by the hard-working families of Oregon.   Viewers are encouraged to visit www.americansforprosperityoregon.com to learn more, and to contact their Legislators to demand reform of the troubled retirement system.

The second ad in this series, which begins running today, features State bureaucrat Lindsay Ball.  After a stint as Director of the Department of Administrative Services, Ball was given a salary of $171,000 per year and the responsibility of managing construction of the State’s emergency radio network (OWIN), a job which was plaqued with problems under his leadership.  Not only did the expected cost of the network balloon from $400 million to $600 million under his watch, but, as The Oregonian reports, Ball’s agency deliberately misled the Legislature and the Governor about the costs of building the radio network.  Despite Ball being forced from the project, his errors are still being felt to this day according to yesterday’s Oregonian.  Ball retired in August 1 of 2010, having not paid a penny toward his own retirement since 1980.  Based on his high final salary, Ball is now enjoying a benefit of around $15,000 per month, despite costing Oregon taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Taxpayers in our state are struggling under a growing burden from PERS,” noted AFP-Oregon State Director Jeff Kropf.  “For too long, the Legislature and the Governor have failed to act to curb double-dipping and self-dealing.  It’s time for strong action that will remove Legislators, the Governor and Oregon Judges from PERS, and require all government employees to pay at least 6 percent of their salaries into their ownretirement plans.  Without these and other steps, PERS will continue to be an albatross around the neck of Oregon’s private sector.”

The AFP-Oregon ads are running in media markets across the State. www.americansforprosperityoregon.com.