Atlanta, Ga. and Jacksonville, Fla. are both in the southeast, both face fiscal pressures over their public pension systems like many other cities, and both have been taken to court over their attempts to ameliorate that stress. But the similarities end there — the courts took different tacks in their efforts to rein in public pension issues.
Green Light for Atlanta
On Nov. 12, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and City Attorney Cathy Hampton announced that in Stephen Borders, et al. v. City of Atlanta, et al. (Case No. 2013-CV-239021), the Fulton County Superior Court granted the city’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case against the city’s comprehensive pension reform, which it promulgated in 2011.
Employees were invited to participate in the pension reform process, and the city incorporated employee recommendations into the plan. The reform included an increase in employees’ contributions.
As a result of the reform, in three years the city’s pension plan has gone from a $2 billion underfunding liability to no deficit. The city says that the increase in employee contributions has saved the city more than $36 million since November 2011 and will save more than $160 million in 30 years. It also says that the reform has enabled the city to forgo other steps to balance the books, such as layoffs.
Hampton hailed the ruling: “This isn’t our victory, it’s a victory for the people who have contributed to their pension plans and now know that when they retire, the money promised to them will be there. The court’s affirmation offers other cities the opportunity to emulate the efforts of Mayor Kasim Reed and the Atlanta City Council in developing fair and fiscally responsible pension reform.”
The court’s decision affects not only Atlanta but also other local governments in Georgia addressing similar issues.
Red Light for Jacksonville
Jacksonville did not fare as well as Atlanta, although its judicial fate was the result of a technicality. According to the Florida Times Union on Jacksonville.com, an appeals court has upheld a lower court’s holding that Jacksonville broke state law by negotiating with the Police and Fire Pension Fund regarding pension benefits behind closed doors. Mayor Alvin Brown in a Nov. 12 letter to the City Council said that, as the council had requested, the city will not challenge the ruling. The Pension Fund, however, has requested a rehearing of the case.
In 2013, the city and the pension fund had participated in closed-door mediation sessions in order to reach a new pension benefit agreement. State law, however, says collective bargaining must be open to the public. Times-Union Editor Frank Denton filed suit over the way the proceedings were conducted. The city argued that the process was a mediation, not collective bargaining.
The deal that resulted from the negotiations had not even been accepted by the City Council anyway. Brown has submitted a new deal to the council, which has not acted on it yet.
Green Light for Atlanta
On Nov. 12, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and City Attorney Cathy Hampton announced that in Stephen Borders, et al. v. City of Atlanta, et al. (Case No. 2013-CV-239021), the Fulton County Superior Court granted the city’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case against the city’s comprehensive pension reform, which it promulgated in 2011.
Employees were invited to participate in the pension reform process, and the city incorporated employee recommendations into the plan. The reform included an increase in employees’ contributions.
As a result of the reform, in three years the city’s pension plan has gone from a $2 billion underfunding liability to no deficit. The city says that the increase in employee contributions has saved the city more than $36 million since November 2011 and will save more than $160 million in 30 years. It also says that the reform has enabled the city to forgo other steps to balance the books, such as layoffs.
Hampton hailed the ruling: “This isn’t our victory, it’s a victory for the people who have contributed to their pension plans and now know that when they retire, the money promised to them will be there. The court’s affirmation offers other cities the opportunity to emulate the efforts of Mayor Kasim Reed and the Atlanta City Council in developing fair and fiscally responsible pension reform.”
The court’s decision affects not only Atlanta but also other local governments in Georgia addressing similar issues.
Red Light for Jacksonville
Jacksonville did not fare as well as Atlanta, although its judicial fate was the result of a technicality. According to the Florida Times Union on Jacksonville.com, an appeals court has upheld a lower court’s holding that Jacksonville broke state law by negotiating with the Police and Fire Pension Fund regarding pension benefits behind closed doors. Mayor Alvin Brown in a Nov. 12 letter to the City Council said that, as the council had requested, the city will not challenge the ruling. The Pension Fund, however, has requested a rehearing of the case.
In 2013, the city and the pension fund had participated in closed-door mediation sessions in order to reach a new pension benefit agreement. State law, however, says collective bargaining must be open to the public. Times-Union Editor Frank Denton filed suit over the way the proceedings were conducted. The city argued that the process was a mediation, not collective bargaining.
The deal that resulted from the negotiations had not even been accepted by the City Council anyway. Brown has submitted a new deal to the council, which has not acted on it yet.
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