DATE: Saturday, June 21, 1997               TAG: 9706210320

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   58 lines

VIRGINIA [BRIEFS]

CENTRAL

Some employees

were paid too much

in state job buyout

RICHMOND - Taxpayers will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars because the state overpaid some employees who took part in a buyout plan to reduce the size of the state bureaucracy, the governor's office said Friday.

The state began an investigation in May after it was revealed that some departing employees had been paid too much while others had been shortchanged.

After reviewing the records of 6,113 employees who had retired or accepted buyouts, officials determined there were errors in 524 cases, said Jay Timmons, Republican Gov. George Allen's chief of staff.

The review found $341,909 in overpayments and $291,410 in underpayments. The Department of Planning and Budget calculated that a total of about $185 million was paid to departing employees.

Timmons said state employees who received less than what they are owed will get the full amount plus interest. They will be notified within the next two weeks.

The state will not seek repayment of the amounts overpaid. Allen has asked the state attorney general to forgive those debts.

The Virginia Retirement System said incorrect figures from state agencies caused the problem.

The Allen program cut the state work force by about 5 percent. Workers who took the offer were barred from returning to the state payroll for two years. Most of the employees left in 1995.

SOUTHWEST

Grass-roots lobbying group

is set to gather today

ROANOKE - A lobbying group for average citizens who usually don't have a voice on issues affecting their communities will hold its founding convention today.

Members of the Virginia Organizing Project are concerned about falling wages, workplace safety, racial discrimination and garbage dumps. Many focus on single issues but haven't accomplished much because they were unable to pull together large numbers of supporters.

The idea behind the Virginia Organizing Project is to bring diverse groups together. For example, workplace-safety advocates could call on people concerned about toxic waste dumps for support when there's a public hearing on workers' compensation. When local pollution fighters need help, they could call on the workplace-safety advocates - and others - to join their fight.

``You're not out there by yourself,'' said Jill Carson of Lee County, VOP's vice chairman. ``You can pick up the phone and say: `We've got an issue. We need some phone calls. We need some letters.'''

Today's organizing convention at Smith Mountain Lake in Franklin County is expected to draw about 150 people.

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