Awad seeking county benefits

By Mary Carey
Staff Writer

Published on July 04, 2008

Outgoing Select Board member Anne Awad's recent bid to join the Hampshire County retirement system is under legal review, with a decision about her application expected next month.

Elected officials in Hampshire County are eligible to join the system provided they apply within 90 days of their election. "The question came up that she did not apply within the 90 days," Patrick Brock, chairman of the Hampshire Country Retirement Board, said last Friday. "She's being represented by counsel, and the legal counsel raised some issues. Our legal counsel is reviewing the issues."

If officials do not enroll within 90 days of their election, they automatically are enrolled in a defined contribution account and have 71/2 percent of their pay automatically deducted, said Kay Zlogar, who works in the Amherst Human Resources office.

Awad's attorney is asking that she be granted membership outside the 90-day enrollment period, Brock said. "Hopefully it will be directly addressed at the next Hampshire County Retirement Board meeting." That meeting is July 24.

Meanwhile, the Board of Registrars was to have held a meeting on July 3 to decide whether to summon Awad and husband Robie Hubley to defend their right to vote in town. The board is required to call the meeting because Town Meeting member Larry Kelley filed a complaint questioning their eligibility.

Awad, 62, a three-term Select Board member, announced at the June 23 Select Board meeting that she is resigning her position on the board as of Aug. 31, because of having been harassed and stalked by a citizen. She has been on the board for eight-plus years.

Kelley has repeatedly posted on his blog that Awad's and Hubley's primary residence is South Hadley.

Their North East Street condominium is for sale, but Awad maintains that her primary residence is Amherst and that she plans to move to South Hadley in the future.

Kelley alleges that the fact that a Declaration of Homestead in South Hadley by the couple can still be seen on the Hampshire County Register of Deeds Web site, despite Awad's contention that they've had the designation removed, is evidence she is misleading the public.

Awad is the director of Caring Health Center Inc. She formerly was the regional manager for maternal and child health and health access programs at the Department of Public Health's Northampton office and is enrolled in the state retirement system.

A state employee must have 10 years of service and be age 55 or have 20 years of service at any age to receive retirement benefits.

The member's annuity is calculated according to what he or she contributes and a formula to determine the pension. The formula is the employee's number of years of service multiplied by a number based on the employee's age with the percentage applied to the average of the employee's three highest years of salary.

A year's service as a Select Board member is equivalent to a year of full-time work in the county system. If a member is also a state employee, he or she would not be credited twice in the county system, Zlogar explained. "You only get a year, period."

The only role the town would play in the disposition of Awad's requested membership in the county system would be to verify her term of office, Zlogar said.

Mary Carey can be reached at mary.carey@att.net.