After years of meetings, proposals and roadblocks, the foundation for comprehensive pension reform has passed.
In a 4-1 vote Friday morning, the Police and Fire Pension Fund board passed the measure — the last in a long line of requirements to achieve reform. City Council passed the proposal 14-4 earlier this month.
City representatives Walt Bussells and Adam Herbert, police representative Larry Schmitt and fifth member Nat Glover voted in favor. Firefighter member Richard Tuten III was the sole “no.”
Shortly after the vote, Mayor Alvin Brown signed the bill into law. It will save taxpayers $1.5 billion over 30 years.
Council will now have to decide how to pay down the pension fund’s $1.62 billion unfunded liability.
On Thursday, about a dozen police officers and firefighters spoke out against the reform package, trying to persuade board members who seemed destined to pass a deal.
A room away, chairs were already positioned in front of a giant American flag. Preparations for a celebratory bill signing that’s been years in the making.
Morale is at an all-time low, said police officer R.T. Weeks. Passing the current deal would “rip apart” both agencies even more.
The package for new employees should be revisited and rates for cost-of-living adjustments and the Deferred Retirement Option Plan should stay locked, he said. If passed, both would operate on sliding scales instead of having a fixed rate.
James Brunet, an attorney and former Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in-house legal counsel, told the board changing once-promised cost-of-living adjustments is partly why a group of public safety personnel had come to see him.
While no legal action was announced, it was hinted that could be the case — the group was “still exploring those options,” Brunet said.
“These people are frustrated,” he told the board.
The issue of sacrifice was common, but especially from Michael Taylor. In 2001, he was shot twice while on duty in Springfield.
Glover, who was sheriff then, sat and talked with Taylor after the shooting.
On Thursday afternoon, Glover sat at the table and listened to the stories from the public service members.
“I was promised certain things,” said Taylor, referring to the pension plan he’s been working under since 1998. “… I did everything I was supposed to.”
Glover afterward said he has to “look at the reality of the situation” and make the best decision for pension members. But he didn’t say then which way he was voting — he wasn’t ready.
Earlier in the day, fund administrator John Keane and Tuten met with about 100 union members. Keane said many expressed displeasure, especially when talking changes to the COLA and DROP.
But, a three-page list of commonly asked questions issued to members has quieted some of the emails, Tuten said.
Keane said the stories told throughout the day “clearly had an impact.” Having an impact is one thing. Enough to sway a vote is another.
The staged atrium in the Downtown building is ready for a celebration in the event it passes.
“We’re prepared,” Keane said.
Friday morning, the board members gathered in that atrium to sign the long-awaited deal.
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