Retired cops sound alarm on pension board shift

A group of retired police officers are questioning the qualifications of a new appointee to the Oklahoma Police Pension and Retirement Board amid worries it could tip the balance of the board to a powerful police union.

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, who has one appointee on the 13-member board, named John Weber to the board in March. Weber is a captain at the Sallisaw police department and a vice president of the statewide Fraternal Order of Police.

Weber’s appointment gives current officers seven members on the board, enough to push through any policies or approve retirements and disability benefits. By law, six board members are elected by current law enforcement employees across the state on a regional basis for three-year terms. One board position is elected statewide by retired members. Three candidates are running for the retired position, with ballots accepted until April 21.

Police retirees concerned about the board makeup have been discussing the matter on social media and are meeting tonight in Shawnee to discuss that and cost-of-living adjustments. The last cost-of-living adjustment came in 2020; it was the first one since 2010.

The Oklahoma Coalition of Retired Peace Officers emailed the pension board’s attorney and executive director last week outlining their concerns about Weber’s appointment.

“While we acknowledge that individuals within our organization who know Mr. Weber personally describe him as a good man, none can confirm that he meets the qualifications required for his current position,” the email said. “Additionally, we believe that a board member – who also serves as president of the state FOP lodge, where Mr. Weber is a vice president – should be well aware of Mr. Weber’s qualifications.”

Six of the board members of the police retirement system are appointed to four-year terms by various officials, including the governor, Senate president pro tempore and speaker of the House.

Weber replaced Tim Foley, who was first appointed in 2013 by former House Speaker T.W. Shannon and reappointed by former Speaker Charles McCall in 2021. Foley, a former Edmond police sergeant, is an attorney with an Oklahoma City oil and gas company.

Under the law setting up the police pension system, board appointees from the governor and legislative leaders should have professional experience in investments or pension fund management, have a law license or be a certified public accountant.

In a written statement, Hilbert said Weber was a much-needed rural voice on the board.

“As the vice president of the Oklahoma Fraternal Order of Police and the past president of the Sallisaw FOP, he has helped negotiate countless contracts, serves as the chair of the state FOP funds management for the legal defense fund, and has been advising members on pension-related questions and concerns for over 15 years,” the statement said. “I look forward to working with him on the Police Pension and Retirement Board.”

Weber is chairman of the board of trustees of the Oklahoma FOP Legal Defense Plan, a nonprofit set up in January 2023. The nonprofit insurance trust connects FOP members to attorneys for cases arising from disciplinary actions or suspected retaliation.

Mark Nelson, president of both the state and Oklahoma City FOP, said he had no concerns over Weber or any board trustee’s ability to maintain their fiduciary duties for the system. He said the state FOP has about 500 retired members and they haven’t expressed any concerns to him about Weber’s appointment.

“John will work his rear end off as an FOP board member, or as a pension board member, to help all FOP members,” Nelson said. “It just looks a little different if you’re active than if you’re retired. I wouldn’t have any concerns about John’s ability to be everything that a trustee should be on that board.”

Weber’s term expires March 12, 2030.

Senate President Pro Tempore Lonnie Paxton recently appointed Leslie Griffith, a certified public accountant and chief financial officer for Chickasaw Nation Industries, to his one position on the police pension board.

Aside from concerns about possible board conflicts, some at the retiree association are frustrated by a bill backed last year by the FOP. They said the changes favored officers close to retirement at the expense of retirees already drawing pensions.

Overriding a veto by Gov. Kevin Stitt, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 102 last year. The bill, pitched as a recruitment and retention measure, allows law enforcement officers near the end of their careers to boost their pensions.

Actuarial estimates presented to the Pension Commission in June showed the system would take a 10-percentage point reduction to its funding status from SB 102, with recovery back to 100% by 2031. The police pension system is among the best-funded of the state’s public pension systems. The statewide FOP has already endorsed Republican Attorney General Gentner Drummond in his bid for governor in 2026. Stitt’s appointee to the police pension board, former state senator Mike Mazzei, officially kicked off his GOP campaign for governor last week in Jenks.

Oklahoma Watch (OklahomaWatch.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.