By: Diane Benjamin
The taxpayers of Bloomington have been abused by their chicken government. I’m talking about pension spiking. It’s bad enough taxpayers with no pensions are forced to pay for the retirements of highly paid city employees. It’s worse when they are allowed to increase their retirements at your expense when it’s easily avoidable.
Because of a law passed in July of 2016, Bloomington now has to disclose every pension spike. Monday night another one is on the agenda of the Special meeting. PDF page 9, http://www.cityblm.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=15360
Since the government supposedly working for you can’t bring themselves to stop pensions spiking, now you get to pay a penalty – $22,453.39.
All the City has to do to avoid this expense is write the check one day after the employee retires. The employee still gets the money, you don’t have to pay a penalty, and the City would still have close to $2,000,000 to spend on essential services.
On the same agenda:
SECRET meeting:
The minutes will never be released because the Council likes their secrets too much. (Tom Hamilton’s reviews are still a secret!)
More pending litigation? Of course that’s a secret too.
The City (crying over structural deficits they created) wants to buy property? Another secret!
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The bigger the government gets the more people will vote for government hacks so as not to lose their jobs. Simple.
If you don’t pay ulrich, the rest of the crooks could be in jeopardy. Remember the old laughable theory that we have to pay govt employees better of they will leave for the private sector. They would have to WORK in the private sector.
Marsha Ulrich’s SLBB Financial Impact to the City: “This is not included in the FY 2018 budget. The payment will be made out of Police-Other Benefits account (10015110-62990). Stakeholders can locate this in the FY 2018 Budget Book titled “Adopted General Fund Budget” on page 269.”
So, a non-union office worker’s IMRF accelerated payment will be taken from the underfunded Police Benefits account because no one thought someone near retirement might be retiring in the near future.
Can the Council vote no? Is that a possibility or will they be sued?
They can vote no, mostly they don’t
The Council’s responsibility is legislative. They make the laws and set policy. They can (and should) change the policy regarding pension spiking. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled in March or April of this year that discontinuing the policy of pension spiking does NOT violate the pension reduction clause in the State Statute. There is no fear of litigation if the policy change is made.
Pension spiking for employees who participate in IMRF. Police & Fire are have a different pension/retirement plan.