Mike Foley, Auditor of Public Accounts
Nebraska State Auditor Mike Foley is urging the Public Employees Retirement Board to reconsider plans to pay its departing executive director through October 31, alleging the arrangement includes more than $23,000 in salary and benefits for work not performed.
In an October 6 news release, Foley said Thomas Pfeifle submitted his resignation September 21, returned his state-issued equipment and stopped working for Nebraska Public Employees Retirement Systems that day. His resignation is effective October 31.
Foley said the planned compensation covers five weeks of work Pfeifle did not perform. The release describes an intended payment; it does not establish that the entire disputed amount has already been paid.
The auditor’s criticism follows questions raised at a September 30 special board meeting. The Nebraska Examiner reported that accounting staff member Teresa Zulauf told board members Pfeifle had not been in the office since submitting his resignation and asked whether he would continue receiving compensation.
The board did not answer during public comment. NPERS legal counsel Tag Herbek subsequently told the Examiner the agency could not discuss employee personnel details. He also did not answer whether Pfeifle would continue working from Lincoln or could perform the job remotely, the newspaper reported.
According to the Examiner, board Chair Janis Elliott read Pfeifle’s resignation letter at the meeting. He said he was leaving to be closer to his children in Colorado. The board accepted the resignation.
Foley said Pfeifle’s May 18 employment agreement provided an annual base salary of $205,000 and allowed the board to terminate his employment in accordance with state law. According to the auditor, Pfeifle began work in early June and stopped less than four months later.
Foley questioned whether continued compensation would violate Nebraska’s restrictions on gratuitous government payments and the board’s fiduciary responsibilities. His release does not announce a court ruling finding the payment unlawful.
State law requires appointed retirement board members to act in the interests of retirement system members and beneficiaries, including providing benefits and covering reasonable administrative expenses. A separate statute gives the board authority to set the executive director’s salary and remove the director.
Foley also questioned the cost of recruiting Pfeifle. He said NPERS paid Ford Webb Associates, a Massachusetts executive search firm, $49,950 — $50 below what Foley identified as the $50,000 competitive-bidding threshold. The release does not establish that the fee was deliberately set to avoid bidding.
Foley said board members, including the chair, had cooperated with his staff’s requests for supporting documents.
The board’s published schedule lists its next regular meeting for October 19. The Examiner reported that Herbek said further leadership succession issues would be addressed then.