All Articles Tagged "pension reform"
Reed Focuses On Next Challenge
(AJC) — An hour after he pushed a $547 million budget through the Atlanta City Council and a day after coaxing council members to vote 15-0 to overhaul the city’s pension plan, Mayor Kasim Reed sat in a conference room Thursday and ate dinner with them. It was self-serve, so he made his own plate of ziti and salad while casually chatting, laughing and hugging the very council members who had bitterly battled him for months over the pension system. Two reporters waited outside for him, but he took his time, savoring the moment. Reed’s victory in the pension debate — closely followed by national leaders — is a triumph the mayors of many other major U.S. cities are still trying to achieve. It has the potential to position his tenure in office as a period of historic change.
Reed Ups Pressure on Pension Reform
(AJC) — In his most direct and blistering appeal yet, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed warned the City Council that if it did not agree on changes to the city’s pension system immediately, it would have to answer to angry voters when services are cut and city workers are laid off. A clearly agitated Reed said he has grown tired of waiting on the council to make a decision on the measures he has proposed to reduce the city’s $1.5 billion unfunded pension liability. He is also frustrated that the council is considering pushing a decision on changes back to Sept. 30. He prefers a June 30 deadline, which would coincide with passing the city budget. “Enough is enough. It would be a huge mistake not to deal with pension reform right now, before June 30,” Reed said Wednesday afternoon at a hastily called news conference. “The council needs to vote up or down so we can end this and not end up firing people. Critical services are now being placed at risk.”
Reforming the District’s Pension System
(Washington Examiner) — Calling it a “down payment on responsible government in the next 10 years,” At-large D.C. Councilman David Catania introduced legislation this week that would begin to reform the city’s pension system. The federal government now shares the District’s pension obligations, pitching in most of the roughly $500 million in retirement benefits distributed each year. But the city’s contribution is escalating. In 2007, the city paid $46 million in retirement benefits. In 2010, the District paid $71 million and it’s expected to shell out $130 million this fiscal year.
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