After months and months of waiting, Risk Management has finally updated the links to the pension board minutes.
Here is a link to the latest minutes posted for March 2011. Click here for Risk Management's link to all the current posted minutes.
Take the time to read them, your future depends on it. We quickly scanned over the March minutes. We have a concern that the Finance Department spent over 100 thousand dollars of pension money without the permission of the pension board. It seems the FD believes it can tap into our pension without prior approval.
Robert Robinson made a valid argument against the FD spending our money without prior approval. And here is the scary part. Sheriff Tom Brown stated he doesn't need to burden the Finance Department for detailed budgets.
With stupid comments like those of Tom Brown, we warn: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Monday, May 16, 2011
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9 comments:
I do not think that there is anyone on the pension board with any damn sense at all. Someone keeps saying to keep these idiots away from our pension. As far as Im concerned, that meens the pension board. With Brown's, I don't need no stinkin detail's comment and the last early out, who do you think is looking out for us. I for one waht a full explanation about why the finance dept is using ANY pension money. How about the rest of you? And we need Loflier on the pension board.We need to pay attention to our pension. They still ignore us don't they.
Did Tom Brown mean that Mr Robertson didn't need the records or was he referring to himself?
Is some of the info in the repore redacted? I could not read a few paragraphs.
Two items struck me as signifigant from the minutes, in the November minutes there was some talk of a "retirement window" but no further mention was made of it in the later meetings. It would appear that the rumor of another retirement incentive has some basis from the November minutes but it appears to be a dead issue.
The minutes make it fairly clear that the BOC is determined to end the defined benefits type of pension that employees are currently covered by with a much cheaper plan. For all you new guys that top out at 60 percent after 30 years, the new plan is going to be a lot crappier and the new employees will have to pay a lot more to get less benefits than the current plan. Current employees will retain their current pension benefits as contracted upon employment.
Note to the commissioners. As usual, whenever the county needs to find some more money, you want to take it from the employees.
The employees are willing to work for 10-20 percent less than surrounding governments pay because of the old pension plan, the current pension plan requires the employee to contribute a lot more to the 457K plan to make up for the pension benefits if they want to be comfortable when they retire. The county currently is only able to hire marginally qualified employees with the current low salaries and benefits.
There is no money to raise salaries in DeKalb government. Now the BOC want to gut the current pension plan to cut costs.
Under the circumstances of the low employee salaries, more reduced pension benefits, plus the low insurance benefits, why would any sane person choose to work for the county unless no one else will hire them?
The county is able to get by with the sub-standard salaries only because of the old pension plan that retains the employees.
The county cannot have it both ways, low salaries and a lousy pension system is guaranteed to attract only the lowest qualified employee candidates.
To an outside observer, it would appear the BOC is deliberately sabotaging the employee benefits to protect low-priority, non-core programs and functions that are currently financially unsustainable.
To an inside observer, the BOC is doing the county citizens a grave diservice. The county is only as good as its employees, and the BOC appears to be hell-bent on attracting the least competent employee candidates available.
LoFlyer
DeKalb County (DKC) gets most of its money from property taxes. The (inflated and increasing) property tax digest of the Vernon Jones years is gone. It has been decimated by the recession. There are 15,000 or so foreclosed homes in DKC.
Many, if not most, DKC taxpayer are employed in the private sector. They also have not had raises in two or more years. They do not have defined benefit pension plans like DKC employees but they do have to pay for those of the DKC employees. Retiree taxpayers living on Soc Sec have not had an increase in 3 years but their Medicare payments have gone up. Those living on fixed incomes get almost zero interest return and, if investors, have to worry about the ups and downs of the sock market. Bottom line.. there is no more juice to squeeze from the turnip to pay for raises and increased benefits
DKC has too much government. That is, it operates with Mercedes Benz wishes and a KIA amount of resources. It opens up more swimming pools, senior citizen facilities, etc. in South DKC where the population is decreasing. All of this is to continue on with the mission of creating and maintaining jobs (and pensions)for friends and family members. Bottom line ... DKC has too many employees (public safety excluded with the exception of Worthless WIZ).
There really should be two types of pensions. A more generous one for those who put their lives on the line, like the DKC police and fire, and a very modest one (say a maximum of 1 1/2 times maximum Soc Sec) for the paper pushers.
Good one Loflier ! We need you on the pension board !
There is yet another problem with the way the BOC is handling the current benefits and pay for the its workers. At the rate we are going there will be so many criminals hired into the public safety departments that it will take years to first find them, and then ever more years to removed them out. This is happening now as we speak? As one poster indicated, smart people who can read will not come here to work because there is no way they can ever make a living for their family and exspect to retire. Thus the only thing left is to continue to hire people into the county who would have never been hired in the first place. Save a penny today, and pay hell for it later...
"Sheriff Tom Brown stated he doesn't need to burden the Finance Department for detailed budgets"
Who, me shocked!?
Does it really, I mean really shock anyone that a comment like this would come from the mouth of Tom Brown? Per his own words; he only has 3 degrees. A statement made to a new Jail class one morning! Just Sayin!!!
Like I said before, the CEO now has a friend on OUR pension board!!!
The employees pay good money into this pension too but it seems all the ammo is on the BOC side. Who fights for the employees ?
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