Deis severance deal pays $331,000; boosts pension

Former Sonoma County Administrator Bob Deis will receive a year’s pay and benefits — a package valued at about $331,000 — under a termination agreement signed by county supervisors.

In addition, the deal enables Deis, who is 53, to qualify for a annual pension of about $70,524 a year when he turns 60, along with $500 a month for health insurance.

Deis resigned Tuesday, giving 24 hours notice that he would relinquish the county’s top administrative post that he’d held since September 2004.

Although he retained majority support from the board, he said changes in the board’s political alignment brought on by last year’s election made it difficult for him to effectively manage the county’s 4,000 employees and its $1.2 billion budget.

For the next year, Deis technically will be on administrative leave but available for “limited consulting services,” according to the agreement.

He will continue to receive his annual salary of $236,500 and benefits valued at $94,735, which were included in the 2009-2010 budget.

The extension of salary and benefits allows him to complete the 10 years of county service required to qualify for $500 a month for health benefits upon retirement.

In addition, when calculating his pension, the extra year will give him a higher base salary and it will add a year to his service time with the county.

Had Deis been fired by the board, his contract with the county would have entitled him to roughly the same amount under a formula in which he would receive a certain amount of salary per month for every year with the county. However, the $331,000 would have been issued as a taxable lump sum and it would not have given him another year’s credit.

Deis was appointed assistant county administrator in 2001 and became county administrator in September 2004, following the retirement of Mike Chrystal.

Deis will be eligible for a pension amount at age 60 of roughly $70,524 a year, which is a defined benefit with no cost of living increase, according to the Sonoma County Employees Retirement Association.

The amount is based on an employee’s highest annual salary. The limit of the defined benefit is reached at age 60, so unlike Social Security or most company pensions, there is no advantage in taking the money in later years.

The pension is based on a factor determined by multiplying the number of years service by a percentage set by the county retirement system.

In Deis’ case, the factor is obtained by multiplying 10 years of service by the retirement system’s 3 percent and applying it to his $236,500 salary, equaling a pension of about $70,950 annually. If the retirement system’s factor drops to 2.5 percent, his annual pension would be $59,125.

Those calculations do not include any amounts he has earned from working in previous government administrative posts in Sacramento; Eugene, Ore.; Washington County, Ore.; and in the Seattle suburb of Shoreline.