SUN-GAZETTE File Photo William E. Nichols, Jr. at the Trade and Transit Center II.

A former Williamsport finance director and general manager of the bus and transit service had his pension and medical benefits revoked this week by a city board.

William E. Nichols Jr., 72, appeared before the city Officers and Employees pension board which met Wednesday afternoon and held a 45-minute executive session before taking a 6-1 vote to revoke his pension and medical benefits, with the lone vote by member William Schweikart, a retired public works employee, according to PennLive.com.

The board was authorized to act under law which said an employee convicted of a felony conviction can have his or her pension taken away. Those terms are listed on the city website.

Nichols’ pension and benefits revocation is from May 5 when Nichols was sentenced in Dauphin County. He no longer receives benefits moving forward but the vote by the board does not impact what he already received. He also is required to pay back $33,356 that he has received since the sentencing. Nichols served eight administrations and was fired by Mayor Derek Slaughter in January 2020.

Nichols pleaded guilty to felony charges of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and tampering with public records brought by the state attorney general’s office.

Evidence showed that Nichols did not benefit personally from commingling funds and misappropriating grant dollars from 2013 to 2020.

As a result of investigations into Nichols, the city has been paying the Federal Transit Administration $1.4 million that the agency said was spent on unauthorized uses overseen by Nichols.

Recently, Public Financial Management (PFM), of Philadelphia, a consulting firm assisting the city with its strategic management plan, said the repayment to the agency is among the additional challenges the city faces in its 2026 budget.