A.G. Gancarski
With the Police and Fire Pension Fund deal subject to a vote in Tuesday evening’s Jacksonville City Council meeting, PFPF Chairman John Keane introduced revisions to its terms during a Tuesday morning meeting with Councilman Bill Gulliford, point man for the latest round of negotiations.
Also attending were council members Lori Boyer and Greg Anderson, along with Mayor Alvin Brown’s Chief of Staff Chris Hand and John Winkler from the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County. That group tried and failed last week to get an court injunction stopping the current iteration of the pension deal.
The principles involved are very familiar with each other, and all involved (except Winkler) are racing the clock to get something laid down before July 1. That said, both the city representatives and those of the pension fund are going to try to get leverage until the very end. Tuesday morning’s discussion was a means to that end from the PFPF side.
Several amendments were discussed. Most of them were minor.
The first involved adding 28 new police officers, who start July 13. At least, the assumption is 28. As Keane put it, “some may drop out, some may wash out, and some may be run out.”
In any event, it was not controversial.
What Keane called an “equity amendment” was also discussed. It would allow an employee who has applied for “time connection” to be included in the plan, provided the applicant pay 8 percent of their current salary for the amount of months for which credit is being sought, again up to five years.
Those and other changes are likely to be considered as floor amendments.
After the preliminary quibbles came the main event: an attempted change in the language of a Rules Committee amendment to the deal.
Rules wanted the transfer of the Enhanced Benefits Account and the City Budget Stabilization Account to happen during the upcoming fiscal year. Keane: “We want this to go into effect now,” immediately after the effective date of the ordinance.
That caused consternation because “immediately” is not a certain enough date for the city, which has other processes in play concomitant with this particular action. As well, the money transferred could be, however slightly, materially altered by the vagaries of rates of return.
A spirited discussion followed about the precise terms and ramifications of the proposed changes, which led Gulliford to quip regarding Tuesday night’s Council meeting: “Bring your dinner, but you might want to bring a midnight snack.”
Another sticking point got to the heart of the residual distrust between the PFPF and the city. Keane’s side wanted a change in terms regarding what would happen if the city failed to meet its obligation in a given year. The proposed change would require the remainder of that fiscal year’s Board of Trustees payment to be transferred to the Enhanced Benefit Account.
Keane described this material change as a way to “turn up the heat on the city,” ensuring that some future council does not renege on the deal under the guise of being “frugal and conservative.”
Gulliford agreed, saying it would make it “more severe if we don’t meet our obligations,” and reminded those in attendance of the possibility that Stephen Joost could offer a floor amendment to “bond this whole thing out.”
Greg Anderson concurred with this read, saying that this language “puts a heavy hammer down.”
After the meeting, Florida Politics spoke with Hand and Keane; each were optimistic that the plan could pass tonight, which would be a victory for both sides.
Less thrilled, by far, was John Winkler, who sat silent during the meeting directly behind Keane.
Winkler likened the process to “moving deck chairs on the Titanic,” and suggested that this could only fly if the Dow Jones hits 50,000.
“This is like the 30-year agreement one more time,” Winkler said. “They’re betting on market performance to get out of a hole predicated on market performance” that did not live up to previous rosy projections.
“The seven-year term is the biggest problem I have,” Winkler said, adding that in the event of a situation of “financial urgency,” the current deal gives Mayor-elect Lenny Curry no leverage to do anything.
“This is a local bill that attempts to circumvent state law,” Winkler said.
