BAKERSFIELD, CA - Kern County's undersheriff is about to retire, but she is not leaving the department or the payroll.
According to Sheriff Donny Youngblood, RoseMary Wahl will be getting both her pension and a salary totaling $260,000. But, the sheriff said this will actually save the department money.
Undersheriff Wahl will retire in a couple of weeks after 30 plus years of service. But, she will immediately come back as the undersheriff, only this time she will work part-time with no benefits.
The 51-year-old has managed the department as undersheriff since 2010.
Sheriff Youngblood said Wahl's work ethic, experience, and talent are unparalleled, which is why when she told him she would retire he asked her to stay on as extra help.
This means however, Wahl will get paid twice: once for her pension and again for her part-time work. Right now, according to the County Auditor-Controller payroll records, Wahl gets paid $184,834.61 per year.
Although the County Administrative Office said it could not reveal Wahl's pension yet, according to an online Kern County retirement calculator, when Wahl retires she'll get an annual pension of about $183,000. As a part-time employee she'll also get $77,000 a year.
The Sheriff said this should save the department and the county $200,000 a year. Here's how he figures. If the Sheriff's Department hired a new undersheriff or kept Wahl on full-time, the department would spend more than $277,000 in salary and benefits. Sheriff Youngblood hiring Wahl part-time will cost the department $77,000 a year, and because Wahl's pension is already budgeted and the department doesn't have to pay her benefits, Sheriff Youngblood said this will save the department about $200,000.
"You can look at this in a negative standpoint if you choose to, " said Sheriff Youngblood. "You can look at this from a double dipping standpoint. I tend to look at it in how this is going to affect the taxpayer and it's going to affect the taxpayer over $200,000 less. That's what's important to me."
Sheriff Youngblood said hiring Wahl part-time also means no one in the department moves up the ranks. He said while this may be disappointing for some internally, he thinks this is the best decision for the department as the county faces a budget shortfall this year.
Wahl will be recognized for her retirement in Tuesday morning's Board of Supervisors meeting.