
Richmond paid over $550K to dead retirees
Richmond has paid over half a million dollars to dead people in the past nine years, according to a recent audit of the city's retirement system.
Why it matters: It's yet another example of why many Richmonders have lost trust in the city's ability to properly handle taxpayer dollars.
Driving the news: The city audit, released Friday, says the Richmond Retirement System (RRS) not only failed to prevent and detect the problem but hasn't recovered most of the money.
And one retired City Hall employee received nearly $250,000 in benefit payments over seven years after his death.
What they found: The payments happened because of "several control weaknesses," per the audit, including:
Lack of oversight or management not knowing this was happening.
Staff failing to identify when a retiree died.
Inconsistent tracking of overpayments.
Not acting to recover overpayments even when identified.
Incomplete death reports.
By the numbers: RRS paid 44 deceased retirees in that period, 32 of whom had been dead for over two months.
Nine of those retirees died between January 2019 and October 2023 and received payments totaling over $110,000.
Between the lines: These overpayments are a small fraction of the total benefits RRS administers.
And in response to the audit, RRS — which is governed by a seven-member board — wrote to the city that privacy law changes have made getting death information increasingly difficult.
What's next: Improvements at RRS are already underway, including using better death auditing services, operating procedures and tracking processes.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. ICE protests: Two demonstrations planned for today as tensions rise over immigration arrests
Immigrant-rights activists plan to descend on San Francisco City Hall and a highly trafficked BART station Monday afternoon to protest a spate of recent federal immigration arrests and the Trump administration's most recent travel ban. The protests Monday would come on the heels of a chaotic altercation in San Francisco Sunday that resulted in the arrest of around 60 protesters. Protests on Monday were scheduled for 4 p.m. outside of San Francisco City Hall and at 6 p.m. at the 24th and Mission BART plaza, according to organizers of the respective demonstrations. They were organized in response to the immigration arrests in Los Angeles over the weekend and in the Bay Area in the last two weeks. Supervisors Shamann Walton and Bilal Mahmood were scheduled to attend the protest outside of City Hall on Monday, the event's organizers said. The arrests and the travel ban 'are connected by a shared goal: to criminalize, isolate, and silence our communities,' organizers of the City Hall news conference said Sunday in a social media post. Demonstrations over immigration raids erupted over the weekend in Los Angeles, with some protesters clashing with local law enforcement. Buildings were vandalized and vehicles set on fire, and local law enforcement deployed tear gas and flash-bang grenades on protesters. The Trump administration deployed National Guard troops, without the request of the governor, in an effort to quell the protests, but Gov. Gavin Newsom said local law enforcement did not need the help and sent them to escalate tensions. Protesters on Sunday gathered near the San Francisco U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office downtown in solidarity with the protesters in Southern California. But the demonstration soon turned into a chaotic standoff between protesters and police and an unlawful assembly was declared. Police said 60 people were arrested and that three officers were injured, one of whom was hospitalized. There was no immediate indication that federal officials also planned to send National Guard troops to San Francisco. 'Everyone in this country has a right to make their voice heard peacefully, and local law enforcement will always protect that right and the rights of everyone in our city to be safe. But we will never tolerate violent and destructive behavior,' Lurie said, referring to some protesters allegedly vandalizing Muni vehicles and shattering windows of local businesses. San Francisco police said Sunday they were working with the San Francisco Sheriff's Office to monitor the protests in Los Angeles County and that their priority is to keep San Francisco residents safe if protests occurred in the city. Police spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the planned protests on Monday. 'As always, individuals are free to peacefully exercise their First Amendment rights here, and we have developed an interagency plan to protect public safety in that scenario. Violence, property destruction, and other criminal activity will never be tolerated,' the police department said. Outside City Hall Monday, San Francisco Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the city's largest Latino neighborhood, told a crowd President Donald Trump has 'railroaded due process' and has 'tested the boundaries of the Constitution.' 'The people Trump is disappearing are not criminals,' Fielder said. 'They are mothers, fathers, toddlers. ICE is not promoting public safety. It's promoting violence and racism.' Fielder said San Francisco must 'defend people's rights to due protest' and said demonstrations are happening because 'our neighbors are under attack.' 'When the government turns on its own people, it's up to the people to put the government in check,' Fielder said.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
NYC to remove Bain Center jail barge in South Bronx, replace it with marine freight terminal
Mayor Adams announced Monday the shuttered Vernon C. Bain Center jail barge in the South Bronx will be removed with the location being converted to a terminal for off-loading freight from cargo ships. The removal of the massive 800-bed barge will make away for a new Hunts Point Marine Terminal, said Adams, who announced the move with Andrew Kimball, president of the city Economic Development Corp. The terminal will act as a transfer point to other transportation modes for deliveries across the city. The Bain Center, which was brought to the city in 1992 to help alleviate jail overcrowding, was decommissioned and ceased being used as a jail in 2023. As part of the current plan, EDC will ask for proposals from companies which can undertake the project of moving the barge. The future use of the barge, if any, remained unclear Monday. 'Today, we are adding yet another stop to that harbor by clearing away the old jail barge in the Bronx and building a new Hunts Point Marine Terminal in its place,' Adams said. 'We'll unload cargo from all across the world for delivery throughout New York City, put even more New Yorkers to work in vibrant industries, and continue to show that cities can do bold, ambitious things.' City Hall estimated the new terminal would create 400 construction jobs, 100 permanent jobs, and generate $3.9 billion in economic impact over the next 30 years. It would also removed an estimate 9,000 monthly truck trips from the city streets thus reducing congestion, the officials said. The site is adjacent to the massive Fulton Fish Market Cooperative, a crossroads for the city's food distribution. The city is also investing more than $28 million to extent bike paths along the area's waterfront, officials said. Added Kimball, 'The Hunts Point Marine Terminal will advance a robust and sustainable food distribution supply chain and deliver on critical commitments, including in our 'Hunts Point Forward' plan and as part of our Harbor of the Future.' Officials said the city has been trying to increase the use of its waterways to transport goods. The measures also include $18 million to upgrade port operations at the 122-acre Brooklyn Marine Terminal and a federal grant of $164 million to modernize that terminal. The intended removal of the Bain Center also earned plaudits from jail advocacy groups. Stanley Richards, president and CEO of the Fortune Society, called it a landmark moment. 'Dismantling the jail barge is not only about reducing jail capacity — it's about healing a painful legacy and advancing environmental justice for neighborhoods that have long borne the brunt of carceral infrastructure,' Richards said.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
National guard deploys in downtown LA amid eerie calm after two days of unrest
On a foggy, unseasonably cold morning in Los Angeles, the national guardsmen suddenly pressed into service by Donald Trump to quell what he called a 'rebellion' against his government were nothing if not ready for their close-up. Outside a federal complex in downtown Los Angeles that includes a courthouse, a veterans' medical centre, and a jail, two dozen guardsmen in camouflage uniforms were arrayed in front of their military vehicles with semi-automatic weapons slung over their shoulders for the benefit of television and news photographers clustered on the sidewalk. They stood with the visors of their helmets up so the reporters could see their faces. Most wore shades, despite the gloomy weather, giving them the eerie appearance of extras from a Hollywood action movie more than shock troops for the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. After two days of unrest in response to heavy-handed raids by Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in downtown Los Angeles and in the heavily Latino suburb of Paramount, the day started off in an atmosphere of uneasy, almost surreal calm. Related: Trump uses LA protests to redirect dissent from policy failures to the 'enemy within' The skyscrapers and government offices of downtown Los Angeles were ringed by vehicles from multiple law enforcement agencies – Los Angeles police and parking enforcement, county sheriffs, highway patrol and private security guards. Most, though, were deployed for an entirely different event – a festival and two-mile walk organized by the non-profit group the March of Dimes to raise money for maternal and infant health. The streets around Grand Park, across from City Hall, were closed to traffic, but the police seemed less interested in sniffing out anti-Ice protesters than they were in posing for pictures next to a bubble machine with March of Dimes volunteers dressed as Darth Vader and other Star Wars characters. 'We had the LAPD's community engagement Hummer come by earlier and they told us we had nothing to worry about,' event organizer Tanya Adolph said. 'They said they'd pull us if there was any risk to our safety. Our numbers are down markedly, I won't hide that, but we've still managed to raise $300,000.' Local activists have called for demonstrations against the immigration crackdown; one demonstration set for Boyle Heights east of downtown and the other outside City Hall. Many activists, though, were worried about continuing Ice raids, particularly in working-class, predominantly Latino parts of the LA area such as Paramount – and worried, too, that any national guard presence heightened the risk of violence. Governor Gavin Newsom's office reported on Sunday that about 300 of the promised 2,000 national guardsmen had deployed in the LA area. In addition to the small presence downtown, a group of them was reported to have driven through Paramount, scene of clashes between protesters and local police outside a Home Depot on Saturday. Trump congratulated the national guardsmen on a 'great job' after what he called 'two days of violence, clashes and unrest' but, as several California political leaders pointed out, the national guard had not yet deployed when city police and sheriff's deputies used tear gas and flash-bang grenades to clear the streets. Both Ice and local activists estimated that about 45 people were arrested on Friday and Saturday, and several were reported to have been injured in confrontations with the police. Nick Stern, a news photographer, said he was shot in the leg by a less-lethal police round and was in hospital awaiting surgery. David Huerta, a prominent union leader with the Service Employees International Union, was also treated in hospital before being transferred to the Metropolitan detention center, the federal lockup in downtown LA. One of many slogans spray-painted on the walls of the federal complex, within eyeshot of the national guard and the news crews, read: 'Free Huerta.' Related: British photojournalist hit by non lethal rounds during Los Angeles protests Others, daubed liberally on the walls of the complex around an entire city block, expressed rage against Ice and the Los Angeles police in equal measure. 'Fuck ICE. Kill all cops!' one graffiti message said. 'LAPD can suck it,' read another. Elsewhere in downtown Los Angeles, little seemed out of the ordinary. Homeless people slept undisturbed on a small patch of lawn on the south side of City Hall. Traffic moved unhindered past the county criminal court building and the main entrance to City Hall on Spring Street. Alejandro Ames, a Mexican American protester, who had traveled up from San Diego sat at a folding table on the west side of City Hall with a hand-scrawled sign that read: 'Republic against ICE and the police'. Ames said he was a Republican and hoped this would give extra credence to his plea for restraint by the federal authorities. 'I don't want 'em to go crazy,' he said. 'I want 'em to go home.'