The City of Delray Beach Financial Review Board has submitted suggestions which they feel are necessary to drastically revise your current pension benefits. These members are part of a very determined group of people who feel they must attack your current benefits in order to find solutions to address a 2011 actuarial study that found an unfunded liability of 43%. Members are Christina Morrison (very vocal, very anti-police, motivated by greed and the affects City Hall decisions have on her real estate interests/business), John Hallahan, Brian Anderson, Rosa Tores-Tomazos, Luise Piane, Selma Snow, Brian Wood, Jeremy Office and Warren Trilling.

The method and basis for this unfunded liability number was not been included in their recommendation however, these members are making suggestions based on a much different economy (2011 and the immediate prior years that led up to the unfunded liability of 43%) than what the current trends indicate in the national, state and local employment numbers, housing and construction projects start ups (look at permits), interest rates and residential/commercial real estate values.

Years prior to the Great Recession, the unfunded liability was near ZERO...based on actuarial studies commissioned previously by the Pension Board. There were a number of reasons these studies were done by the P&F Pension Board, i.e.; affects of early window buy-outs on the pension, etc. Commission an other study, done on 2013 numbers and I would offer that these numbers are considerably lower and closer to 17%.

Incredibly, the FRB decided to use the Town of Palm Beach as a model from which they believe are best practices. The FRB held a meeting with the Town Manager of the Town of Palm Beach. Unfortunately, this Board believes that the issues applicable in Palm Beach somehow apply to Delray Beach. Colorful slides were presented by the Town Manager as he made his argument on how he coerced his employees into "mutual acceptance" of his plan. Twelve employees left that town to find other employment. I can bet they were newer employees as those who were vested had no choice but to accept the cuts and live with it. Considering our patrol force has an average of less than three years on the road, adoption of a similar plan will be disastrous for Delray Beach.

More to follow....