P-G: Court disallows higher benefit for Mt. Lebanon police retirees

Commonwealth Court has invalidated a provision of the Mt. Lebanon police officers' pension plan that would have allowed early retirees to earn annual cost-of-living adjustments until they reached 90 percent of their final average monthly salary.

A three-judge panel ruled that the police union's interpretation of the provision's cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, benefits violated the Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act, known as Act 205, because it differed from the calculation upon which the municipality relied when it enacted the provision.

Read the full article:

• www.post-gazette.com/stories/business/legal/court-disallows-higher-benefit-for-mt-lebanon-police-retirees-647746 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Mt. Lebanon Board Considers Committee To Study Increasing Budget Worries

Citing concerns over future debt, school board members in Mt. Lebanon said Monday they will consider creating a committee to review budgetary issues looming in the next three years.

The board is poised to approve a nearly $80 million budget next week, which will include a 10 percent school property tax increase. Costs for the $113 million high school renovation and projected shortfalls in the Pennsylvania State Employee Retirement System (PSERS) fund are driving the increase, officials said. Mt. Lebanon has about $75 million available for the high school renovation.

Read more: www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_681918.html

Pension Plan Shortfalls Likely By 2010

The average taxpayer would have to brush up on college statistics and accounting coursework to understand the business of actuaries.

But taxpayers surely understand the bottom line--when the actuary numbers don't go their way, either taxes rise or budgets are slashed. And by 2010, it looks like some pension funds in every municipality will be impacted by losses in the markets as of Dec. 31, 2008.

Those could be the breaks in South Hills municipal governments, given the projections for fund deficits in 2010. Depending on the municipality, the police, fire and administrative employees could all have separate pension funds. If the fire department is volunteer, however, there is no pension. Only municipally-paid firefighters receive pensions.

Link: www.thealmanac.net/ALM/Story/05-06-SH-pension-issues-B

Pension Problems

The city of Pittsburgh has an $800 million problem. That’s the estimated price tag for the pension and retirement benefits promises the city has made to police, firefighters and municipal employees without setting aside money to cover the bill.

Pittsburgh isn’t alone. Monroeville’s obligations likely top $35 million. Penn Hills estimates $4 million. Mt. Lebanon, $2.6 million. And on it goes.

Just how much of the region is in the red is impossible to say. GASB is not collecting the data, said spokesman Neil McGarity, and cannot say how many municipalities have completed the actuarial reports.

“It’s too early to tell, but what we’re finding is that people are surprised at the extent of their liability,” said Marcia Taylor, the only local among GASB’s seven board members.

Taylor also is assistant manager of Mt. Lebanon, which did its actuarial report ahead of schedule and pegs its total pension liability at $2.6 million.

That’s not an insignificant number, Taylor said, but she and Finance Director William McKain are trying to be proactive in addressing the liability. McKain said Mt. Lebanon (which has a 2008 budget of $44.6 million) began annual contributions of $250,000, starting in 2007.

Link: pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/08/11/story10.html