Bonner County Sheriff temporarily resigns to claim retirement benefits

In an effort to receive his government pension while still working full time as sheriff, Bonner County Sheriff Daryl Wheeler announced his temporary resignation this week for 30 days. It’s possible the move might not work the way he intended.

Wheeler, who won re-election in November, plans to become sheriff again when he is sworn in for his sixth term early next year.

Wheeler posted on Facebook Monday that he had given his official resignation to Bonner County commissioners last week and planned to file for retirement following five terms as the county’s sheriff “after much prayer and reflection.”

“To be eligible to receive those benefits, I am required to be separated from county employment for 30 days,” Wheeler wrote.

Idaho legislators changed the law surrounding the state’s retirement system in 2022 and 2023. The purpose, according to the legislative bill, was to allow first responders to be rehired after retirement.

“It was meant to hire experienced people back when there were shortages,” said former Idaho Sen. Scott Herndon, who was present for the passage of the law.

Herndon criticized Wheeler’s decision on social media, however, saying that because Wheeler was guaranteed employment again by the county, he is not eligible to begin receiving benefits. Wheeler’s assistant did not respond to a request for comment.

Wheeler earns $106,315 annually as the sheriff of Bonner County.

Idaho law says if someone retires and is again hired as planned within 30 days by a state agency that offers pensions run by the state’s Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho , like a police or sheriff’s department, they are ineligible for benefits because it’s not considered a separation from service. But if they come back more than 30 days later, they would have been considered separated from service. The law is also “clunky” and easy to misinterpret, Herndon said. One subsection implies a person like Wheeler cannot be guaranteed employment and also receive benefits, while another subsection implies he could.

When asked, a PERSI spokesperson wrote in an email that “PERSI is restricted from disclosing or discussing any member information” but also said, “guaranteed re-employment with regards to ‘bona fide separation’ is an arrangement between the employer and employee prior to separation. Employers cannot have a guaranteed arrangement with an elected position, as the employer cannot hire or terminate an elected official.”

In the case of Nampa, Idaho Police Chief Joe Huff, he announced his retirement in July of last year, but left his plans open-ended, the Idaho Press reported. He told the city council that he planned to take “30-45 days off, kind of see what this retirement gig is all about, and then if there are other options for me out there.”

He was rehired a little more than a month later, the newspaper reported.

Herndon said in Huff’s case, he was never guaranteed re-employment with Nampa Police, so he likely was eligible to collect retirement benefits.

The PERSI law also has a sunset provision, meaning it expires in 2027 so lawmakers can assess whether letting law enforcement earn a salary and benefits at the same time significantly increased costs.

“It could come to the point where too many people retire and then rehire … That’s why we built a sunset date,” he said. “At that point, we will have collected data to see how many people took advantage of that.”

In the meantime, Wheeler’s undersheriff, Ror Lakewold, has assumed the role as acting sheriff until Jan. 13 when Wheeler is sworn back into the office.