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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — REAL News Michiana has learned St. Joseph County Council Attorney Jamie O’Brien has been collecting thousands of dollars in retirement benefits at taxpayer expense, despite not appearing to legally qualify for the program. RNM has confirmed O’Brien has been receiving the benefits, known as PERF, since he began his role as Council Attorney in January of 2023. The benefits are reserved for elected officials or employees working 1,000 hours or more per year; O’Brien does not appear meet either of those criteria. RNM confirmed O’Brien has been collecting PERF benefits through his publicly available payroll records.
It’s unclear how the mistake to O’Brien’s benefits package was made. O’Brien was previously a Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Member of the County Council which both appear to be PERF eligible positions. It’s possible his employee profile was maintained with the PERF eligibility by mistake.
That being said, it’s unclear why O’Brien didn’t at least questioned his eligibility. Not only is O’Brien an attorney for the county, he is also a licensed CPA (Certified Public Accountant), former County Council Member and professor at Notre Dame where he teaches law and tax related courses.
Further, as a former Member of the County Council himself, O’Brien should have intimate knowledge of PERF requirements. By law, the County Council is in charge of implementing employee benefits.
Since becoming the County Council Attorney, O’Brien has had nearly $5,000 in taxpayer money placed into his PERF account. O’Brien would see these payments on his bi-weekly pay stubs. He also receives annual PERF statements which would be used in preparation of his annual tax returns.
Although the county employs at least SIX attorneys on a part-time basis, county officials tell RNM no other attorney on the county’s payroll receives PERF benefits — with the exception of a full-time lawyer who works for the St. Joseph County Police Department.
RNM reached out to O’Brien for comment, where he claimed he has no input on if he is put into the PERF program or not.
“I really have no role in deciding if my position as Council Attorney is a PERF position or not.” O’Brien wrote in a text. “That is HR and/or maybe the Auditor’s office role when the new employee paperwork is completed.”
O’Brien went on to state his predecessor as Council Attorney was also collecting PERF. It turns out, the alleged misallocation of funds goes back a decade or more as RNM has confirmed former Council Attorney Mike Tripple too was apparently improperly collecting thousands of dollars in benefits.
However, all of this calls into question how the County Council, which is again in charge of allocating employee benefits, has allowed what appears to be a violation of PERF rules to do apparent favors for their respective attorneys. RNM reached out to Council President Mark Root for comment. Root has been on the Council for nearly 20 years. He did not respond to our request for comment.
It’s important to note, the County Council only has DIRECT oversight with hiring and firing capabilities of TWO employees — the Council Attorney and an Administrative Assistant. Two months ago, the Administrative Assistant, Jennifer Prawat, praised the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump. Despite widespread calls for her termination, she is still currently employed by the Council.
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