‘No one wants to leave a house half-painted’: Weeks after saying he’ll resign, retirement board chairman hasn’t left and some town officials aren’t happy
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More than a month after Hampden County retirement board Chairman Richard M. Theroux said he’ll resign in the wake of a highly critical state audit, he hasn’t set a date for his departure.
And in his first interview with The Republican since the audit’s release, Theroux said he plans to stay on until he and his fellow board members address the issues flagged by the state’s Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission.
Longmeadow may cut ties with Hampden County retirement system, Select Board exploring options masslive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from masslive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Markel told the board that the reason his interview needed to be rescheduled from Monday to Thursday was that he was in an extended meeting with his current employers, the select board in Hampden. “They decided to offer me a contract to run through June 30, 2022,” Markel said. “I don’t have that contract. I’ve been thinking in my own situation all day what makes sense for me and what may make the best sense for the town. “I understand you have another candidate who can probably provide full-time work. At best, I could do part-time work, 20 hours. It may be in your interest to take the other candidate if you’re satisfied with that person. Because unless I resign in Hampden, I’m not able to function full-time. … My inclination would be to sign a contract with Hampden. If the other candidate is satisfactory to the board, that may be your best decision.
Hampden County retirement board members say ‘system is sound,’ but some officials unsatisfied with answers about audit
Updated Mar 03, 2021;
Members of the Hampden County Regional Board of Retirement say they are confident they can continue managing the system, despite a recent audit flagging issues with the board’s spending and questioning documentation but several representatives from communities within the system say they aren’t convinced.
In a discussion that was at times heated Wednesday, the five board members as well as Executive Director Julianne Bartley fielded questions from town officials across Hampden County. The participant list included board Chairman and Treasurer Richard M. Theroux and board members Patricia C. Donovan, Karl J. Schmaelzle, Patrick O’Neil and Laurel A. Placzek.
In wake of critical audit, local officials to question Hampden County Regional Retirement System board members Wednesday
Updated Mar 03, 2021;
While members of the Hampden County Regional Retirement System do not have the authority to remove those who sit on its governing board, interim Hampden Town Administrator Bob Markel is hopeful that if there’s enough outcry, change can come.
In a strategy session Monday attended by community representatives from the western edge of Hampden County in Chester to its eastern reaches in Wales, Markel spearheaded a discussion of the next steps in the wake of a critical audit released in February by the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission.