Mayor Steve Bach and City Council Presidente Scott Hente
As promised, Mayor Steve Bach and the City Council have sent separate letters to the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee in support of legislation sponsored by Sen. Ken Lambert that would allow local governments to increase employee contribution rates for Public Employees’ Retirement Association.
The city currently pays 13.7 percent and employees pay 8 percent.
Here is the mayor’s letter:
Hand Delivered
January 20, 2012
The Honorable Bob Bacon
The Honorable Betty Boyd
The Honorable Kevin Grantham
The Honorable Rollie Heath
The Honorable Tim Neville
The State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee
200 East Colfax Avenue
Room 346
Denver, CO 80203
Re: SB12-016, “Local Government Option to Change PERA Contribution Rates”
Dear Senators:
This is to express my strong endorsement of State Senator Kent Lambert’s above referenced bill. In conjunction with the City of Colorado Springs’ City Council, we strongly recommend your support of this legislation.
Our City, in order to achieve fiscal sustainability, needs the flexibility to change the sharing of contributions to the Public Employees’ Retirement Association pension fund just as the State of Colorado has for its employees.
Thank you for your leadership and consideration.
Sincerely,
Steve Bach
Mayor
cc: Senator Kent Lambert
Colorado Springs Delegation Senators Cadman, King, and Morse
Danny Tomlinson and Ed Bowditch, Tomlinson and Associates
Kevin Bommer, Colorado Municipal League
Here is the council’s letter:
January 20, 2012
The Honorable Rollie Heath
Colorado State Capitol
200 East Colfax Avenue
Room 346
Denver, CO 80203
Dear Senator Heath:
The Colorado Springs City Council joins Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach in urging your support for SB12-016, “Local Government Option to Change PERA Contribution Rates,” sponsored by Senator Kent Lambert.
Municipalities across Colorado face the same budgetary challenges that prompted the state to legislate a “PERA timeout” in each of the previous two sessions of the General Assembly. SB12-016 would grant elected officials in cities that participate in the Public Employees Retirement Association the same option – to legislate timeouts for their local jurisdictions. Currently municipalities are bound by the state PERA statutes, but the latitude the state granted to itself in the past two years was not extended to other jurisdictions in the PERA system.
State law currently requires the Colorado Springs City budget to contribute 13.7 percent of an employee’s salary to PERA, while the individual employee contributes 8 percent. Senator Lambert’s bill would not reduce total contributions to the Local Government Division of PERA, but would allow local officials to institute a rate swap between employer and employees of up to 2.5 percent. Moving toward an ultimate 50/50 PERA contribution match would give the City additional flexibility to achieve long-term fiscal sustainability.
If the City of Colorado Springs had had this option, it would have allowed us to reduce our 2012 General Fund expenditures by approximately $1.625 million, freeing those funds for other critical needs.
The City Council recently passed a resolution in favor of this proposed legislation and the Council requests your support of this bill.
Sincerely,
Scott Hente
President of the Colorado Springs City Council
Copies: Senator Kent Lambert
Colorado Springs Delegation Senators Cadman, King and Morse
Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach
Danny Tomlinson and Ed Bowditch, Tomlinson and Associates
Kevin Bommer, Colorado Municipal League
Attachment: Colorado Springs City Council Resolution 7-12
… Of course, wouldn’t consider running this by the honorable PERA members first, but went straight to their fellow politicians.
Who, exactly, are the “honorable PERA members” that you refer to?
Of course this went to council/officials. When fat cats are about to get their wallets squeezed, you don’t ask them for permission first.
Why should they?
The PERA people are yet another reason why the city is and will be broke until something is done about the overspending and giving out five dollars of pay for a bucks worth of work.
Like with most liberal “buy the votes of greedy people” programs you can only live of of your unborn grand kids credit cards for so long before you max them out. Guess what, Obama and the democrats have maxed them out.
The city employs 250-300 fewer PERA members than 5 years ago, which more than offsets the 2% proposal here. And the greatly city expanded its geographic area, population and tax base over the same time span. That would be a good thing if the ratio hadn’t passed a threshold of diminishing returns for the taxpayer. Take a number and get in a longer waiting line to be served by fewer civil servants – at least it’s not costing you as much tax money as in years past.
This would get better traction with both the state reps and PERA membership if it were tiered: 50/50 (10.5% -10.5% for at-will FMLA-exempt ‘fat cats’ making over 80 grand, tapering to the current 8% -13% for rank and file making under 40 grand. It’s the kind of fairness Buffet and Gates are suggesting nationally.
*the city greatly expanded* De-annexing undeveloped parts of Banning Lewis until construction demand catches up would really help.
That went over well..
VW Dealer Albuquerque…
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