Sheriff Seeks To Settle Retirement Payment Issue

FLINT (WWJ/AP) - Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell's attorney says her plan to resolve payments mistakenly made to his retirement account doesn't involve giving back any money.

Cynthia Billings wrote in a Dec. 21 letter to county officials that Pickell is willing to settle the issue, but wants his monthly pension uninterrupted. He also doesn't want Genesee County to collect money it mistakenly contributed to the retirement account.

MLive.com reports that tens of thousands of dollars were accidently paid to Pickell's non-pension retirement account.

County commissioners voted last month to cut off retirement payments and said Pickell never should have received double retirement payments.

Pickell, who allegedly didn't realize the county had registered him to receive non-pension retirement payments until the question was raised several years ago, said he looks forward to a settlement meeting on the issue.

Billings' letter was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

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