Monday, April 28, 2014

Volunteer Help Wanted

We desperately need some one to attend the pension boards meetings to keep everybody informed.

The pension board promised to post on its webpage the minutes of each meeting, but they stall. The January 16, 2014 minutes should be posted by now.

There was to be a vote to give the retirees a cost of living wage. So what was the outcome?

The next meeting is May 15, 2014.

41 comments:

Anonymous said...

They're getting organized to file for bankruptcy so they can take a percentage of that from you too in order to compensate for their criminal mismanagement. The best course of action at this point would be to let those vested in the earlier aforementioned pension to start drawing a percentage now (regardless of age) and designate all future retirement contributions to be made by employees into a 401 plan based on their personal needs. This is now the standard and just as Soc Sec has become unsustainable, so has this pension. This then becomes a non issue when the last currently vested employee draws their last breath.

Anonymous said...

Ask out retiree rep who lives in the midwest somewhere.

Anonymous said...

@April 28, 2014 at 2:07 PM....."getting organized".... your completely uninformed and not DKPD...spare us your non-relevant opinion...pension has about 1.2 billion under management.

Anonymous said...

DEAR 4/29 @1546 pm

April 28 @207pm may be uninformed but I have to tell you, you may be just as mistaken as he or she is

1.2 billion...oh that's a lot of money/sounds like a lot of money....whatever....

The fact of the matter is that it does not matter what amount of money is in the pension. What matters is what amount of money is owed/projected to be owed to retirees VERSUS what is in the pension.

What good is 1.2 billion in the pension if you owe 1.9 billion ? DEKALB COUNTY GA CANNOT PRINT MONEY LIKE THE FEDERAL GOVT CAN

Last I heard, our projected pension obligations are 1.9 billion...we have 1.2 billion or approximately 63 cents to every pension obligated dollar owed.

That is what matters...what we have versus what we owe. WHAT WE HAVE IN THE PENSION IS HALF OF THE PICTURE

Again, look at DETROIT MICHIGAN, PRICHARD ALABAMA....public pension failures where old retirees are still working because their pensions are not there....Keep having that "it cant happen here attitude"

If the county fails to meet its pension obligations, then the state of GA can withhold grant money for the county, but this place is well on its way to the grave as it is, so it may not matter anyway.

HAVE A PLAN B....or better yet, leave if you can

GET SOME SERENITY NOW

Anonymous said...

It's been 1.2 for the last decade and should be double that by now based on market performance. Unfortunately I think 2:07 is dead on.

Anonymous said...

That's EXACTLY what happened in corrupt Detroit so it wouldn't surprise me.

Anonymous said...

@ 3:46 learn to spell "you're" and we will consider continuing reading your post.

Anonymous said...

It's a shame that we all still have to live under rumors because our pension board will not keep us rightfully informed. It was a rumor mill of communication when we were working and that fact remains.Retirees need a proactive representative who lives in the area who will get us the information that we need and deserve. With the permanent drama going on in Dekalb County, we need to know just where our pension stands, in a reasonable amount of time after the pension meetings. This is not happening !!!!! Remember this when you vote for your new pension representatives.

Anonymous said...

No BOC member wants to publicly address this issue, that's painfully obvious. However, continual denial and deflection will almost definitely result in some legal filing of bankruptcy protection which unfortunately appears to be by design at this point.

Anonymous said...

Beef up contributions to become sovereign once again or go to an individual contribution 401 type plan, it's that simple. I'm sick of shoveling cash into it, FICA, etc. for plans I'll never recoup from. If I fail to invest properly for my lifetime let that be MY failure and not some thieving crook in Decatur.

Anonymous said...

Please, someone start thinking about who would be a good retiree member on the board and start recruiting. If we don't recruit someone who is smart and interested, we will continue to get the same ole candidate.....

Anonymous said...

robertson said it was not funded in the ceo's budget

Anonymous said...

I think that the overall message is clear....Get the fuck out of here ASAP!!

Not sure how the rest of the county is doing, but East is a nightmare!! Backed up calls all night long, and oficers keep leaving with no reinforcements coming to replace them. I was just informed that another officer is leaving in the next few weeks.

Now east is telling their officers that east, and only east for the time, will shift over to the 5/2 possibly at the end of next changeover. Which will mean what.....yeah more officers leaving.

Anonymous said...

It's nor just East... with the resignations/early retirements to go elsewhere from this month and last, we're down 11 ir more sergeants and who knows how many officers.

New academies are graduating and are being sent out to be supervised by rookie sergeants and too few sergeants after being trained by FTO's with relatively high badge numbers....

The future looks bright!

Lol....guess 3% and the promise of refurbished cars (pigs in make up) ....haven't stemmed the flow of officers out the door.

LoFlyer said...

I have the day available, I despise attending meetings that interest me and cannot influence.
I'll bring a digital recorder and post the relevant remarks.
This is not going to be fun for anyone.
I apologize for my delinquent comments of late, everyone knows my views and DeKalb government is a depressing subject to dwell upon.
KenC

Anonymous said...

The best that can be done is:
(A) Get rid of the companies that are investing the pension monies because they do not know what they are doing.

(B) Get rid of all of the pension members because they too have no idea what is going on.

(C) Immediately close the pension and make the savings plan it a voluntary plan. If the person doesn't save, it is their problem.
When the pension is closed, the county will only have to fund for the active contributors in the fund and the retirees.

(D) make sure that no department head or any BOC idiot is connected with the pension. Do make sure that volunteers who are on the pension know what they are doing and not screwing up the math.

(E) Hope and pray that this will solve most of the problems.

red said...

The three P's: Piss,Poor,Planning ! Must be part of that "We's in charge now! This sh*ts gonna change"!!

DeKalb Officers said...

Thanks Ken C.!

Anonymous said...

The DeKalb FOP has members at every pension board meeting. Then they put out a report to all members about what happened at the meeting. If you were a member, you would be getting those reports.
The Pension Board fires financial groups that get a portion of the money to invest all the time for underperforming. I personally think they are doing well under the economic situation the United States is in.
As far as it being 1.2 billion for a long time, that is incorrect. It went way down during the financial crisis of 2008. It has just now gotten back up to over 1 billion.
I welcome anyone to come to the Pension Board meeting. I'll even see you there.
Hoka hey everyone!

Anonymous said...

Georgia law does not allow cities and counties to declare bankruptcy. Y'all have heard of Chapter 7, Chapter 13 and Chapter 11. Those are sections under the US Bankruptcy Code. The chapter for municipal governments is Chapter 9.

Ga law does not all cities and counties to file Chapter 9 like Detroit has done and Jefferson County, Alabama has done.

Your Pension Plan had $1.1 billion in assets in 2007. In 2008, the Great Recession hit and your plan's assets fell to $800 million.

Total it has $1.3 billion and the liabilities are $1.9 billion making it approx 68% funded.

I want y'all to think of it like a 30 year mortgage on your house. How many if you have enough assets to completely pay off your house mortgage today?

Probably not many. But for those who don't, you are probably current with your payments and the good Lord willing will be able to continue to work and pay it off completely in 30 years or less.

Your Pension Plan works the same way. Your unfunded amount of 32% or $600 million will be paid in full by your contributions and the county contributions plus the earnings on the $1.3 billion in assets in the next 30 years.

The County cannot under current Ga law get out of its obligations through bankruptcy.

Ed Wall
Member
DeKalb Pension Board

Anonymous said...

I'm a new officer and wanted someone to let me know what pension discussion this is. I signed up for one the POAB for $20 month. Is it this one that has issues or the one the county takes money from fo me...

Thanks alot

Fred said...

Just so everyone is clear the uniform division of Dekalb County Police Dept will be going back to a 5/2 work schedule. By doing this it will help to increase manpower in the precincts. The plan is already being implemented and the schedules worked out. Stand By for more info regarding this subject!!

Hang in there guys!!

Fred

Anonymous said...

Blogmaster:

How about an open comments section regarding the 5/2 for uniform ? I know many are now on the 5/2 but I have a few things I want to get off my chest and also some suggestions that the dept could do instead of going to the 5/2

Serenity Now

Anonymous said...

And the hits just keep on coming.

Anonymous said...

FYI for any "financial advisor" on here: An average return is 10% a year thus doubling asset equity every decade. In a stable market this is true of stocks and housing appreciation. In short, Dekalb pension fails to meet standards.

Anonymous said...

The POAB is solid... the discussion is in reference to the county pension.... 82% after 30 years for me.... 62% after 30 for you.

POAB follows you so long as you are working as a LEO in Georgia.... you are vested after 15 years... previously 10... if you get out of Georgia law enforcement before 15 years as a member, you can get a portion refunded but no pension. Curently, the POAB pays retirees $24.41 per year of service.

The POAB retirement age is 55 but don't quote me... not 100% sure....

After ten years of service, you can start collecting a county pension at 55 without penalty.

There is the issue of the county pension being under funded. Take time to meet with Mike Martin, the investment counselor/ financial advisor from in-service.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous at 1105,
Your post made no sense. Take a deep breath and try again!

LoFlyer said...

DeKalb retirement board, my goal is not to make trouble but expand communication between between the pension board, retirees and the employees.
Four months between publishing board notes is unacceptable.







Anonymous said...

Not going to the 5/2....but only one off a time?!?! Guess only time off will be "sick days".

1086 said...

To anon at 1105. POAB is a must for everyone. ALL new officers MUST sign up. POAB is a state funded pension by the tickets, court fines etc. we all write.
It pays $24.41 for each year of Ga. law enforcement service and you are vested after 15 years of service.
Its the county that has issues.
PROMOTE the POAB to all your academy members.

Anonymous said...

Guess you see what your take-homes got ya (5 day work week). Think I'd prefer 52 to being there 5 days a week.

Anonymous said...

Mr Wall,

If this in fact you, I am just a little confused.

Back in January of this year, it was reported that the pension fund was around 63% funded. Are we up 5 points in these past 4 months ? If we are, that is great. I understand that minutes from the last meeting in March cant be posted until they are approved in the upcoming meeting next week.

Can GA law circumvent Federal Law with regards to chapter 9 bankruptcy filings ? Last I checked, the FEDS trump all.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/12/03/judge-declares-detroit-eligible-for-chapter-9-bankruptcy/

There is just a ton of distrust between DeKalb County's employees and those that run or manage the county and anything associated with it. That is what happens when employees are lied to, cheated, and get treated like crap for an extended period of time.

Serenity Now

Anonymous said...

I don't think that we are getting good returns on our pension and I don't think we are getting acceptable representation or communication from our long distance retiree rep either.

Anonymous said...

Don't bother with anonymity guys, ip addresses have been being collected here for some time now.

Anonymous said...

Terrell, is that you?

Anonymous said...

ip addresses collected? Who gives a ratz azz.

Anonymous said...

"Your Pension Plan works the same way. Your unfunded amount of 32% or $600 million will be paid in full by your contributions and the county contributions plus the earnings on the $1.3 billion in assets in the next 30 years."

Mr Wall..thanks for your comments but as I understand it the county is not doing it's part with their contributions to the pension...is that accurate or not? Thnaks.

Anonymous said...

The County is contributing what they are told to do by the Actuary, Segal.

In no case are they putting in less that the minimum contribution that is required. This year they will put in approx $45 million and employees approx $30 million.

What we need is the assets of $1.3 billion to earn greater than 7.50% to gain on the unfunded liability.

One thing the Pension Board did last year was to adopt a 30 year "closed" funding plan. In other words make it like a 30 year mortgage. After 30 years or before, it will be fully funded.

If the assets don't grow more than 7.50% consistently, the required annual contribution from the County and employees will increase to fund it.

I hope that answered your question

Ed Wall



Anonymous said...

Thanks Mr Wall....we really appreciate your response.

Anonymous said...

Yea lets see how it fairs when new laws go into effect Jul 2014. That's when the Feds stop printing money and the bottom falls out of everything financial.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your response Mr Wall.