The 80% solution

The first duty of a pension board rep is to protect the Fund so that the promised benefits are there for each and every member when they retire. In order to increase or provide a new benefit a responsible board member has to ensure that that increase or new benefit won't negatively impact the overall Fund. So my first step is to propose an increase to the Board of 80% at 20, 25 and 30 years to find out the impact to the Fund. Once that information is known we have to have a plan to increase the level of the fund if needed. Which is more than likely since the Fund is rated at 53% in the last audit. At this point of time with a majority of current police officers having less than ten years on the job, we have a ten year plus window of opportunity to get the fund level up to a point where we can get increases in our benefits. The next step is to get political support for the increases. I will personally visit all our aldermen and state legislators and the mayor (if possible) in an effort to get that support. I will also work with the FOP to get the records of financial support that we have given those politicians as well as any of their requests for support from the FOP. I will do my best to get written letters of support from those politicians and post those letters so we all can see how well our proposals are received by them. I will also link any sites that track our proposed legislation (as soon as I figure out that link thing). I will also ask you to stop by local politicians and drop off a card, that I will supply to you and have you sign indicating our need for the increase and asking for their support. It is critical that we all work together to get what is due us. If we need to put in more money from our paychecks, I will let you know just how much is needed and ask your approval before I move forward.