BACA'S BENEFITS TO BE RESTORED.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

A Los Angeles judge ordered county officials on Friday to restore Sheriff Lee Baca's retirement benefits, allowing him to collect a $200,000- plus pension when he retires.

The case stems from Baca's resignation as a sheriff's chief July 21, 1998, when he decided to run full time for sheriff against incumbent Sherman Block. Baca was elected that November, a month after Block died.

At the time, county officials assured Baca both orally and in writing that if he resigned he would be able to keep his 33 years of service to the county. Baca started as a sheriff's deputy in 1965.

But after he won election, county officials said they had erred and he would have to start over again as a new employee or take his pension, which then stood at $140,000 a year.

``If the sheriff had not won (in Friday's ruling), as odd as this sounds, he would have been forced to began receiving retirement benefits from his years as a deputy sheriff and at the same time receive his salary as sheriff,'' said Pasadena attorney Charles T. Mathews, who represented Baca in the lawsuit. ``Sheriff Baca didn't want to do that. He didn't think it was right.''

County officials could not be reached for comment.

Mathews admitted that when Baca does retire, his final pension will be more than $200,000 a year, substantially higher than the $140,000 pension he would have received had he lost the lawsuit.

``This is part of a larger problem,'' said Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. ``We have more than 1,700 county employees making more than $125,000 a year and this is the same county that says it doesn't have enough money to provide essential services, like trauma care.

``I suppose if this weren't the only instance of someone about to receive an astronomical pension it would be less of a concern. But the fact is, there are many county employees making much more in retirement than the average taxpayer is able to make who has no pension benefits other than Social Security.''

Baca's salary is now approaching that of his predecessor, Block, whose widow received a $232,908-a-year pension in 1999.

Block - who at the time was the nation's highest-paid public official - had overcome bouts of cancer, but the 74-year-old needed frequent dialysis until he died in October 1998 shortly before the election. His widow was granted a full pension because the county retirement board deemed that Block's death was tied to his job as sheriff.

Superior Court Judge James Otero granted Baca's motion for summary judgment to restore his retirement benefits, but two motions are still unresolved, including a breach of fiduciary duty for failing to advise Baca that if he retired and returned to county employment, he would be required to pay Medicare taxes as a new hire.

``That's where the sheriff was given erroneous advice about what his benefits would be if he retired or resigned,'' Mathews said.

``The third cause of action says since the county gave him bad advice, they can't deny they gave him bad advice.''

Mathews said those issues could go to trial in January, but that he hopes the county will agree to settle the case.

``We hope the county will stop fooling around and do the right thing and stop,'' Mathews said. ``My guess is they have spent well over $150,000 in legal fees on this.''