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May 8, 2012
Report: West Warwick Pension System Broke By 2017
WPRI's Matt Smith reports that at a special meeting held this evening,
town leaders said if West Warwick continues on the same path as they are currently on, there will be no assets in the pension fund by 2017.Officials also said they believe the town is on the same track as the bankrupt City of Central Falls.
The town council was joined by the school committee, town pension board, and Rhode Island department of revenue.
Did he say the Rhode Island Department of Revenue??? Cue ominous music: that's the department which decides whether a municipality gets started down the road of receivership.
UPDATE
Ted Nesi kindly passed along the link to his lengthy and detailed report. One telling excerpt:
The shortfall in West Warwick's pension fund totaled $98 million as of July 1, 2010, which made its funded level just 26%, according to the most recent study by Milliman Inc., the town's actuary. That's nearly as much as last year's entire $107 million town budget.
By the way, Nesi reports that
One in three police and fire retirees in West Warwick receives a disability pension, which are tax-free and worth two-thirds of final salary if the retiree got disabled on the job.
But the West Warwick Pension Board told me that "17.8%" of West Warwick's pensions are disability. Why this discrepancy between what the Board told me and what Nesi is reporting?
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What's the hurry?
They're cooking the books!
I'm actually in favor of giving the union jack@holes what they want - do nothing!
Let it explode in their ignorant faces.
Posted by: Mike Cappelli at May 8, 2012 9:35 PMIt's just amazing, Mike C, how all of these cities and towns emulated the state and cooked their pension books ...
Posted by: Monique at May 8, 2012 10:39 PM"But the West Warwick Pension Board told me that "17.8%" of West Warwick's pensions are disability. Why this discrepancy between what the Board told me and what Nesi is reporting?"
My guess is that the percentage includes municipal workers, whose nature of work doesn't normally lead to disability.
I've heard a lot of people say that YOU work for US over the years. I wonder if I'm going to sue individuals as well as the city of Providence over this illegal move, seeing that THEY claim to be MY employer.
Never mind, just sour grapes. And I can't believe you gave Mike Cappelli the courtesy of a response.
Posted by: michael at May 9, 2012 12:23 AMI think Michael is right on this one. The public info response includes municipal employees while Nesi is reporting on only police and fire. It is a good guide to where the corruption lies.
Posted by: John at May 9, 2012 7:16 AM"The public info response includes municipal employees while Nesi is reporting on only police and fire."
Right. Thank you, Michael and John.
Posted by: Monique at May 9, 2012 9:44 AMI get the feeling that John is insinuating that the police and fire pensions for disabled employees are corrupt. I might just be demented today, for some weird reason I read the comments section over at the Projo concerning pensions, fire, police, Providence and some other topics. Should have kept away, that is a black hole deeper than the John Dipetro show.
Posted by: michael at May 9, 2012 10:15 AM2017? Surprised it will last that long. Retire at 40. Disability scams. COLA's with no inflation. Free Cadillace health care for life. Sure recipe for a sustainable system. LOL.
Posted by: Tommy Cranston at May 9, 2012 2:38 PMF*** 'Em. Go Chapter 9, bring on the dictators and cut the pensions in half quicker than you can say "a promise is a promise".