Retired police officers who hope to collect a pension while working as a local police chief are facing new obstacles to double dipping.

A 2008 state law has imposed a more stringent review process before any state retiree is granted a waiver allowing him to collect a government pension while holding a government job, the Middletown Times Herald-Record reports.

Since the modifications, the number of waivers issued by the state Civil Service Commission has been cut roughly in half in the executive branch and Attorney General’s Office, according to a report. Locally, only about 24 people still held civil service waivers in May 2010, down from 49 in June 2008. The waiver process has gone from a rubber stamp to a big project, said Alida Graham, Orange County civil service director. Towns must show they recruited for a position and that no qualified non-retiree is available.

“It’s very difficult to show there’s no one qualified for the position,” Graham said.

In March, the county held a police chief’s exam and established a list of qualified candidates for the towns of Deer Park, Goshen and Wallkill to consider. All three employ police chiefs who collect a pension.

In Ulster County, Marlborough Chief Steven Fafjer is seeking a waiver renewal. Saugerties Chief Louis Barbaria Jr. was denied a waiver in September but stayed on after the town appealed.

Under state law, retirees can collect their full pensions while holding a state or local government job if: they are over 65; limit their annual earnings to $30,000; or are granted a waiver because they are deemed uniquely qualified for the job. A fourth option: a retiree can collect a full pension if elected to public office.

Local governments liked hiring retirees, because they didn’t have to pay pension or health insurance costs, the newspaper reports.

According to Town of Hyde Park Police Chief Charlie Broe, the 2008 waiver law will encourage retired cops, in their forties, to leave New York state to find employment.

However, retirees can continue to work in New York if they defer collecting their pensions.

Originally Published: NY Public Payroll Watch, July 12, 2010