×

Hoppel to join ranks of ‘retired’ officials

HOPPEL

LISBON — Columbiana County Commissioner Jim Hoppel is about to join the ranks of other county officials who retire but remain in office.

Hoppel filed a letter last December informing the county elections board he was considering retiring when his current four-year term expires at the end of 2016. He is running unopposed for re-election on Nov. 8, however.

Elected officials who intend to retire and run again are required by law to notify the elections board of their intention to seek re-election 90 days prior to the primary, which was in March this year. The board, however, is not required to do anything with the letter other than file it away, and the Journal did not ask until last week if any notification letters had been received lately.

“Yes, I did,” Hoppel said, when asked if he had filed retirement paperwork with the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (PERS). “I just got to the point, with my age and the changes going on down there (with PERS), I felt if I didn’t do it now, it might not be there.”

The practice of elected officials who retire and continue collecting a salary for holding the same position has been called “double dipping,” which is allowed by law. Other county officials in recent years have done the same things, including fellow commissioner Mike Halleck, Auditor Nancy Milliken, judges Mark Frost and Melissa Byers Emmerling, Prosecutor Robert Herron, Sheriff Ray Stone and Clerk of Courts Tony Dattilio.

While not a big fan of double dipping, Hoppel said recent changes made to the PERS system would likely result in less benefits should he wait to retire in four years. He noted it will not cost county taxpayers anything more since commissioner salaries are the same, regardless of who occupies the position.

“You call it double dipping but it’s my money,” Hoppel said, noting he contributed into PERS for the past 20-plus years.

Already the longest-serving commissioner in county history, Hoppel, 78, will start his record fifth term come January. “I wasn’t going to run again but some people I talked to basically talked me into it,” he said.

“My children thought I shouldn’t run again. They think I should get out and have more fun … My health, as far as I know, is still good. I’m here everyday and it’s still a challenge, and I enjoy that.”

tgiambroni@mojonews.com

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today