The chair of the board that oversees North Dakota public employees’ retirement and benefits has resigned less than six months after her appointment by the governor.
Michelle Kommer submitted her resignation as chair of the Public Employees Retirement System board in an email Monday evening to Gov. Doug Burgum.
At Kommer’s first meeting in November, she was the tie-breaking vote to fire former PERS Executive Director Scott Miller, who was a vocal opponent of legislation last session to close the public employee pension to new hires. Miller has said he was following the direction of the board, which also opposed the legislation.
Earlier this month, Kommer recommended the hiring of a new executive director, Rebecca Fricke, who had been serving in an interim role. The board unanimously supported Kommer’s recommendation.
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“I believe I was the right person at the right time to help this important agency navigate some necessary change,” Kommer wrote in her resignation letter. “I’m proud of having led the board through a leadership transition which will serve members for years to come.”
Kommer did not indicate at the Feb. 13 PERS board meeting that it would be her last. She did not immediately respond to an email from the North Dakota Monitor requesting comment Tuesday.
“It came as a surprise to me today,” said Sen. Dick Dever, R-Bismarck, one of four lawmakers who serves on the board.
North Dakota lawmakers changed the makeup of the PERS board during the October special legislative session. The changes included clarifying the law to make it clear that the governor could remove his appointees.
Last fall, Burgum had asked Kommer’s predecessor, Mona Tedford Rindy, to resign and she had refused to step down. After the law change, Burgum replaced her with Kommer, former state Commerce commissioner.
Under the law changes in October, the governor now appoints four members to the PERS board, including the chair. In addition, there are now four lawmakers on the 11-member board, with no requirement that the minority party be represented. The changes also removed a retired state employee from the board, along with appointees by the attorney general and state health officer.
The changes came on the heels of the approval of House Bill 1040, which closed the public pension plan to new employees starting January 2025, shifting new hires to a 401(k)-style plan. The former PERS board opposed the legislation during the 2023 session. The public employee pension plan, which will remain open to existing employees, has an estimated $1.9 billion unfunded liability.
Kommer said in her email that she has “profound confidence” in the PERS leadership team.
“I encourage the executive and legislative branches to continue to collaborate to eliminate unnecessary distraction from NDPERS mission, and to finish the important work of addressing pension underfunding in the 2025 session — what an incredible legacy to leave retirees who served North Dakota,” Kommer wrote.
The board makes decisions that affect the retirement plans for nearly 60,000 employees and retirees and health plans for about 60,000 North Dakotans.
The board’s next meeting is March 12. None of the members holds the position of vice chair.
Candidates who express interest in the position and complete an online application will be considered for appointment to the board, Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said.