County May Exclude Perks From Pensions : Benefits: Retiring official will get a yearly payout about $35,000 more than his salary. Molina wants changes in the calculations.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to decide next month whether to eliminate a rule that allows fringe benefits to be counted as part of compensation when calculating an employee’s pension.

The issue of pension reform has received renewed scrutiny recently with the disclosure that because of the fringe benefit rule, public works Director Thomas A. Tidemanson will be able to retire in March with a yearly pension that is about $35,000 more than his annual salary.

Aides to Supervisor Gloria Molina said Friday that she is working on several motions to revise pension rules, including one that would prevent the kind of lucrative deal that Tidemanson will receive.

“What we have is an individual who did put in his time and who is a good employee but is able to walk away with more money than he was making (with the county). That rubs people the wrong way,” Molina spokesman Robert Alaniz said.

Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke said she too believes that reforms must be instituted, but cautioned that changes will have to be negotiated with employee unions and may land the county in court.

“We need to remember that people gave up certain things to get current benefits, so there will have to be careful review,” she said. “But we do have to move forward with a new method of calculating benefits.”

The board is scheduled to consider pension reforms at its Feb. 8 meeting. Among items that will probably be discussed is a report by the county Citizens Economy and Efficiency Commission, which also recommended limiting pension benefits.

Tidemanson, 61, announced this week that he is retiring after more than 38 years of county service. He has served as director of the Department of Public Works since 1985 at an annual salary of $157,586. Under current rules, Tidemanson will be able to count more than $36,000 in fringe benefits--including a $6,000 car allowance--as salary when calculating his pension.

In addition, under his retirement plan, Tidemanson is eligible to receive about 99% of his highest annual salary, officials said.

The rule was implemented in 1991 by former Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon and led to a so-called pension-spiking scandal when it was determined that the change would cost taxpayers $265 million to $400 million over the next 30 years.

The resulting uproar led to Dixon’s retirement under pressure in February. A taxpayers group also sued to block the pension rule but a judge dismissed the suit.