After playing the game long enough, a small select few within The City of Tallahassee have discovered the cheat code category OPE. OPE category is short for Other Personnel Expenses. A category so hidden that when 850CapitlTea searched for a description on the City of Tallahassee webpage, we were directed to the 2024 adopted budget.
What We Know About The Mythical OPE
We initially discovered this position after an arbitration process between The City of Tallahassee and the Tallahassee Firefighters. Our post about Firefighter Arbitration Case: The Witnesses included one of the members of the OPE category. We were informed that this category is designed to allow members to be paid a full salary without paying into the city pension system. At the same time they are collecting a full retirement.
We submitted a public records requests for a list of employees in the OPE category and their benefits. The OPE category membership list is short with only three employees on it. They are Robert McGarrah, Chief Revell Lawrence, and Stephen M Shafer.
Robert McGarrah
Robert McGarrah is paid $175,091.28 annually as well as paid time off and holiday pay.
McGarrah worked for the City of Tallahassee as the General Manager for the city’s Electric Utility for 30 years. He retired for about 22 months prior to being asked by the City Manager, Reese Goad, to return. He has been interim Human Resources and Workforce Development Director for a year.
Robert McGarrah took over as Human Resources and Workforce development Director after Ellen Blair was terminated from her position. Ellen was terminated following her strong cautioning over the positive drug test by a police officer. Some people have speculated her termination was retaliatory based on her stance and outspokenness surrounding the officer.
Chief Revell Lawrence
Chief Revell Lawrence is paid $225,000.41 annually and all the benefits offered to the City Executives with the exception of the Defined Contribution Plan (401k), contribution match, Pension and Car allowance. He is also “eligible for uniform and salary supplements available to other police supervisory staff.”
Chief Revell Lawrence was appointed December 2019 as the Tallahassee Police Department Chief. Chief Revell was announced after St. Petersburg Assistant Police Chief Antonio backed out of the application of the position and TPD Major Lonnie Scott, another candidate, resigned. (read more from The Tallahassee Democrat here: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/12/26/lawrence-revell-named-new-tallahassee-police-chief/2737684001/ ).
Stephen “Steve” Shafer
Steve Shafer is paid $228,457.90 annually. He also receives all the benefits of the executive with the exception of the Defined Contribution plan (401k), Contribution match, pension, car allowance, executive supplement, and flex bucks.
Shafer is now the Director of Underground Utilities and Public Infrastructure. Prior to this position he was an engineer with the City of Tallahassee Public Works Department.
The OPE Power Up
850CapitalTea asked ourselves: What does this mean and why does it matter? Much like cheat codes in video games, this category gives an unfair advantage to only a select three people. Three people who have the cheat code that no one else has access to.
While McGarrah was only supposed to be an interim Director, he currently has a position with the city indefinitely. Him as well as the other two employees can draw from their retirement while also making a full salary. This means that those three high paying positions are not contributing to the city pensions like every other city employee.
The lack of transparency on this category results in the rest of us drawing our own conclusions. Was this category created specifically for these three people? Is there a process in which any employee could be allowed to continue to work for the city after they have retired while allowing them to draw their retirement and make a full time salary? Is there a plan to fill an the interim Director of Human Resource position?
In the gaming world these characters would be considered overpowered. If money is power then it feels that way in the real world too, OverPowered employees. OPE.
Update to add the pensions along with the salaries
McGarrah
- Pension: $12,282.41/month
- Yearly Pension total approximately: $175,091.28
- Combined compensation paid by Tallahassee: $322,480.20
Revell
- Pension: $7,679.77/month
- Yearly pension total approximately: $92,157.24
- Combined compensation paid by Tallahassee: $317,157.65
Shafer
- Pension: $12,250.90/month
- Yearly pension total approximately: $147,010.80
- Combined compensation paid by Tallahassee: $375,468.70
