FROM: Christina Cintron, Chief of Member Services
SUBJECT: Returning Retiree Certification: Sidney Hultquist
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Approve the request to extend the employment of Sidney Hultquist from August 12, 2025, through December 26, 2025, in accordance with SBCERA Benefits Policy No. 032, "Retirees Returning to Work." The request meets the policy criteria for extensions beyond the 18-month employment limit, based on the employer's demonstration of extreme necessity and the time-limited scope of a defined project.
body
BACKGROUND:
The California Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) sets forth limitations for retirees returning to work in the same retirement system from which they receive a pension. Under SBCERA Benefits Policy No. 032, extensions beyond 18 consecutive months of re-employment must be approved by the Board of Retirement and are allowed only under conditions of extreme necessity for a limited duration.
Sidney Hultquist retired from the Barstow Fire Protection District on August 21, 2017. He was re-employed as Assistant Fire Chief beginning September 3, 2019, to support ongoing departmental operations. During this time, he served as Acting Fire Chief under a COVID-19 emergency authorization from March 24, 2020 through June 30, 2021. Following expiration of that authorization, the Board approved an extension through December 31, 2021.
Most recently, at its January 9, 2025 meeting, the Board approved Chief Hultquist's re-employment from January 11, 2025, to August 11, 2025. This seven-month appointment was intended to support the San Bernardino County Fire Protection District in completing an after-action review of the Line and Bridge Fires-two major natural disasters that required significant emergency response coordination.
CURRENT REQUEST:
Due to the complexity of the review and the time-intensive nature of the tasks involved-including data collection, stakeholder interviews, field visits, and evaluation o...
Click here for full text