FLORIDA PENSION NEWS STORIES ON POLICE AND FIREFIGHTERS

Prepared by Fred Nesbitt, Director of Public Information This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   December, 2011

Florida legislators target extra pension benefits for police, firemen
By Laura C. Morel, Bradenton Herald, December 25, 2011

Cities throughout Florida would no longer be required to fund extra pension benefits for police and firefighters under a proposed bipartisan bill.  Instead, cities could apply those funds to basic pension benefits in the future, or avoid having to increase property taxes to pay for the enhanced benefits, proponents of the bill say.  The Florida League of Cities is lobbying hard for the proposed legislation. The bill negates a law passed in 1999 under then-Gov. Jeb Bush, requiring cities to dedicate growth in tax revenue from property and casualty insurance premiums to extra police and firefighter pension benefits.  The legislation, known as HB 365 or SB 910 calls for collective bargaining between cities and unions to negotiate both basic and additional benefits. The proposed legislation also calls for more transparency from the pension boards of trustees -- which are independent of the cities -- that oversee how pension dollars are invested.“They ought to be more accountable, more transparent,” Dudley said. The proposed legislation would also change disability presumptions. Under current law, the cause of any police officer or firefighter suffering from heart disease, tuberculosis or hypertension is presumed to be job-related.

Naples leaders to firefighters: Take our final contract offer or we reach impasse

By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Naples Daily News, December 30, 2011

 It's the final offer.  That's the message Naples officials sent to the union representing the city's firefighters during a meeting to discuss ongoing negotiations.  The offer includes either a 2 percent increase in base pay or a 2 percent bonus, as well as changes to health benefits and the pension plan. It states that "pension reform is critical to controlling personnel expenses" and that the city's final offer for a voluntary three-year agreement includes changes to the firefighters' pension plan.  Under the city's proposal, the current pension plan would be frozen as of May 31 and all employees would be vested in the frozen benefits earned through May 31. A new plan — with reduced benefit levels — would be created on June 1 and all employees would be enrolled in that program.  The pension plan would be similar to the Florida Retirement System.

Proposal weakens Florida's presumption that police, fire jobs create work-related ills

By Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, Naples Daily News, December 25, 2011

 Two bills — House Bill 365 and Senate Bill 910 — meant to reform local police and fire pension plans also take aim at the so-called disability presumption outlined by several state laws.  Disability presumption works like this: If a police officer or firefighter suffers from certain conditions — like heart disease or high blood pressure — it is presumed to be work-related. Those ailments are then covered under workers' compensation and disability pensions.  But supporters of disability presumption reform said a change needs to occur to ensure employees aren't gaming the system.  Florida League of Cities said the addition of disability presumption to the association's platform is meant to recognize that "disability presumption has an impact on the pension system."  Changes to disability presumption, however, wouldn't prevent someone from applying for workers compensation or disability benefits, but it would just flip the burden of proof onto the employee.

States expand lucrative pensions to more jobs

By Thomas Frank, USA TODAY, December 9, 2011

Special retirement benefits once reserved for police, firefighters and others with dangerous jobs are now being given to tens of thousands of state workers employed as park rangers, foresters, dispatchers, coroners, even highway laborers, museum guards and lifeguards.  The trend will add heavily to the $70 billion that state taxpayers owe state retirement funds each year and are costing states such as Florida and Maryland $15 million to $30 million annually, a USA TODAY analysis shows.  A 25-year Florida crime lab analyst can get a $60,000 pension at age 50 and collect $1.8 million by age 80, compared with $575,000 if the person was not in the state's "special-risk class."  Florida exemplifies the cost. Elected officials have expanded the state retirement system's "special risk class" five times since the 1990s, adding prison medical workers, paramedics and forensic specialists. "Special risk" workers retire five to seven years earlier than regular workers and get a lifetime pension after 20 years on the job equal to 60% of their salary. A regular worker retiring after 20 years gets a pension equal to 32% of his or her salary.  The additions helped boost the special-risk class to 75,135 workers from 48,188 in 1993, and spike taxpayers' bill for special-risk pensions to $903 million this year, state records show. That's more than double the $383 million cost in 1993. Meanwhile, the number of workers in the "regular" retirement plan has increased only slightly and the cost to taxpayers rose to $2.4 billion from $2.1 billion in 1993.  "Our workforce is shifting into special risk. That's a ticking time bomb," said former Florida state Rep. Juan Zapata, a Republican who sought to restrict entry into the special-risk class. "It has been morphed into something that was not its original intention — into this system that everybody tries to justify being in."

Bill Cotterell: 'What ifs' would give any state worker pause

Tallahassee Democrat, January 2, 2012

When they come to town next week, legislators will start the 2012 session with a revenue shortage well in excess of $1 billion. There would be no possibility of a tax increase, even if this weren't an election year, so that leaves budget cutting. And what if they took another whack at the Florida Retirement System? Last year's session added the 3-percent pension contribution. OPPAGA said about $111.9 million might be saved by having fewer pension classes, cutting the top ones down to the Career Service level.  Or they could limit the higher "special risk" retirement benefit to police, firefighters and correctional officers — the original beneficiaries. That would save the state about $20 million, based on that 2008-09 data, OPPAGA said.  Finally, OPPAGA repeated its call for defining the purpose of the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, which allows employees to continue working for five years (or eight, for teachers) while stockpiling their pensions. Last year's Legislature cut the DROP interest rate from 6.5 percent to 1.3 percent for new enrollees, but lawmakers have still never said why we have the popular program.  Is DROP meant to keep good employees working, after they could afford to retire? Or is intended to ease them out, making room at the top for others to move up?  Come to think of it, what if they just dropped DROP?

Cities want to rollback pension standard OK’d under Jeb Bush

By John Kennedy, Palm Beach Post, December 12, 2011

Florida cities said Monday that they are poised to make another attempt at revamping costly pension requirements that emerged under former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.  The current Republican-led Legislature may be wary of antagonizing police and firefighter unions, a frequent election-year ally. But Florida League of Cities officials said they hope a pocketbook appeal might drive changes when lawmakers reconvene in January.  This pro-union law also has the tantalizing history of being the first measure enacted by Bush and Republican legislators in Florida, then the first GOP-controlled government of any state that had been part of the Confederacy.  Bush eagerly signed the measure ­- relishing the symbolism of making good in a hurry on a campaign promise made while getting the endorsement of the Florida Police Benevolent Association and Florida Professional Firefighters Association.  Bush and Republican leaders, however, are rarely thought of as being allied with unions. Indeed, Bush earlier this year co-authored an Op-Ed in the Los Angeles Times, decrying the financial woes of states, putting much of the blame on union contracts.  Bush’s co-writer was Newt Gingrich, now a front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination.

Lake Wales to seek help with pension funds

By PHIL ATTINGER, News Chief, December 7, 2011

The city will need help figuring out how to fix its pensions.  Lake Wales was nearly $8 million short of fully funding its three pension plans for police officers, firefighters and for its remaining employees.  Mayor Mike Carter made it clear from the start of Tuesday's workshop that he would not support any change in benefits for current police officers or firefighters.  Jim Linn said Lake Wales can consider reducing benefits for new hires, reducing benefits for all employees, increasing employee contributions to the system or have the city get out of providing pensions by joining the Florida Retirement System.  The only problem with joining the state system, Linn said, is that once the city decides to do that, it can't ever go back to a self-funded system.  Apparently at least part of the problem is that investment returns are lower than the pension boards projected, according to information provided to the city's pension boards by Foster & Foster actuarial firm. 

Scott drops plan to 'recapture' pension savings from local governments, sources say

By John Kennedy, Palm Beach Post, December 6, 2011

 Gov. Rick Scott appears to have dropped his push to make counties, school boards and other governments return millions of dollars in cost savings earned this year when public employees were forced to contribute 3 percent to their retirements.  Those familiar with Scott's budget proposal also say the governor will not call for increasing the 3 percent payments demanded of 655,000 teachers, police officers, firefighters and other public workers who belong to the Florida Retirement System. 

City pensions the elephant in the room

Editorial, The Times-Union, December 30, 2011

The biggest impediment to fiscal health of the Jacksonville is unrealistic pension benefits, especially those in police and fire.  It’s incredible that about half the police and fire payroll now goes to pay benefits. That will increase to about 70 percent in just a few years if nothing changes.  The transition report from Brown’s team puts it in difficult perspective.  A few choice quotes:  - “It is expected that Jacksonville’s pension costs could skyrocket by more than 50 percent or more in the next five years if the current pension structure remains in place.”  - “Without a substantial increase in city revenues (greater than 35 percent in the next four years) … the city of Jacksonville could be forced to reduce all other city services by 10 percent to 25 percent to compensate for the growing pension obligation problem.”  A possible model could be found last year in South Florida. The city of Hollywood gave voters a chance to decide if they wanted to pay higher taxes or cut benefits for public safety and general employees.  The pension changes increased retirement ages, eliminated automatic cost-of-living adjustments, altered formulas that calculate pensions and excluded overtime and vacation pay from the plans.  The voters chose the benefit cuts rather than higher taxes.  Jacksonville supports its public safety employees, but shared sacrifice is needed.

Lakeland Commissioners Approve Pension Plan Changes

By John Chambliss, The Ledger, December 19, 2011

Lakeland city commissioners voted 6-1 Monday to accept changes to the city pension plan that require employees to increase their contribution rate and offer a new alternative option that will be required for new employees.  City employees who stay with a defined benefit plan will be required to increase their contributions from 8.5 percent to 11 percent of their salaries, but a 2.5 percent raise for employees will offset the additional pension contribution.  Employees who choose the new option will contribute 6.25 percent of their salaries to a pension. They will then have an option of investing additional money into a 401(a) plan and receiving a match of up to 5 percent from the city for the first three years. Commissioners would vote on any future match after that time.