CC Comm Purchases Retirements Credit for Feest, Replacement for New GM Proves Difficult

The Churchill County Commission approved the purchase of retirement credit for the CC Communications general manager at the July 3 CC Communications management meeting. Commissioners approved the purchase of up to $94,342.61 of Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) credit for general manager Mark Feest. However, due to the difficulty in finding a replacement general manager, commissioners did not place a time limit on Feest’s retirement.

The Retirement Incentive Plan, which has been in place for all employees for over 25 years, Policy 7.6 allows all employees with approval based on savings and seniority, to apply, enables the company to purchase up to one year of service credit, encouraging a higher-paid employee to retire. This allows for the replacement of the retiring employee with a new employee who starts at a lower pay rate. The cost savings are calculated for three years, assuming the new hire receives merit increases in years two and three.

Commissioners also approved a new general manager contract, which will take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, to allow more time to recruit his replacement. Feest’s current contract expires on May 5, 2028. Under the old contract, he would have had to retire by June 30, 2026, to exercise the retirement credit purchase, as the retirement credit must be used in the fiscal year in which it was awarded.

Feest encouraged commissioners to consider a new GM contract with a hybrid-remote option that would allow the GM to work remotely with in-office provisions for attending 50% of board meetings and working an average of 7.03 days per month in office over six months.  The discussion suggested that offering a hybrid-remote opportunity may make it more attractive to potential new hires and provide a test period to prove whether the remote-hybrid model works.

Chief Civil Deputy District Attorney Joe Sanford explained that Feest expressed an intent to retire in the next year or so. However, the succession plan and recruitment for Feest’s replacement have been difficult. He said the hybrid-remote contract was designed to allow him to continue working while also allowing him more family time. Sanford said the new contract will enable CC Communications to keep Feest for two and a half more years while the search for his replacement continues. The new contract is effective Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2027. Feest added that the $94,342.61 in retirement credit will be held until he has a firm retirement date.

Commissioners also approved establishing a 457(f) retirement plan with Principal Financial Services for CC Communications executive-level employees who are affected by the PERS salary cap. CC Communications utilizes the NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association Compensation Report to determine salaries for C-suite employees; however, the salaries in the 75th percentile of the NTCA report exceed the PERS salary cap. Feest provided an example where approximately $17,000 of an executive’s salary would not be included in the PERS retirement benefit calculation, resulting in the employee incurring $12,750 per year in retirement costs. It would also save the company about $18,600 in PERS contributions.

The 457(f) plan allows CC Communications to deposit the PERS savings into a separate retirement account for the employee, allowing those funds to grow. This program is only available to key managerial employees and was added to the benefit package in hopes of recruiting qualified candidates to Fallon. The benefits under the 457(f) plan will not apply to Feest and will only be available to newly hired or promoted employees.