Is Halley luncheon appropriate?

State employment agency officials could cut short a crucial meeting today to celebrate the retirement of executive director Roosevelt "Ted" Halley, who decided to leave early as news broke that he failed to tell state lawmakers about a key law change.

Tens of thousands of out-of-work South Carolina residents were missing out on additional federal money because of the omission.

The retirement luncheon will be held only a few hours after the S.C. Employment Security Commission's area managers meeting, where top officials will discuss training programs and the state's insolvent unemployment insurance fund.

Those meetings typically last three to four hours, according to agency spokesman Clark Newsom.

"It's probably not the best use of the agency's time," Becky Richardson, one of the agency's three commissioners, said of the retirement party.

Agency officials have no short list of problems to discuss.

The agency's 23-year-old computer system has slowed payments to South Carolina's jobless, a problem that could take months to fix. The agency has also accidentally mailed out several batches of duplicate checks, and state Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom complained earlier this year that a financial audit found the agency hadn't balanced its books for a year.

Originally, the managers meeting started at the same time as the luncheon, so agency leaders moved their meeting two hours earlier.

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Two commissioners, McKinley Washington and William McLeod, also rearranged their usual hearings schedule to be able to attend the celebration. Richardson said she will not go. "I was never in favor of putting on this luncheon anyway," she said. "I was not pleased with his performance or management style."

Richardson said she expects more details about the agency's mismanagement to surface later this month when the Legislative Audit Council reveals its findings.

The luncheon costs $25 to attend, which will cover the food and a gift for the outgoing director. The invitation instructed attendees to make checks payable to "Roosevelt T. Halley Retirement."

Halley started at the commission in 1973 and rose through the ranks to the agency's top position in 2003.

State records show that Halley made $134,227 during his last year in office. His retirement benefits package is not publicly available.

Halley's luncheon takes place immediately before the agency's annual Christmas celebration.

Reach Katy Stech at 937-5549 or kstech@postandcourier.com.