Jax Pension Board will not appeal ruling tossing out 30-year agreement

The Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Board of Trustees voted Monday morning to hold off on any appeal of a judge’s ruling that tossed out part of a 30-year agreement it had with the city.

Last month, Judge Thomas Beverly stuck down the agreement saying the agreement from 2000 was negotiated in secret, a violation of Florida’s Sunshine Laws.

Counsel for the trustees advised to wait on any appeal of the ruling until after a request for a rehearing is resolved in the next few weeks.

The heads of both the police and fire unions have asked the trustees appeal the ruling but have no problem waiting another month for a formal vote.

“We will rely on the Pension Fund Counsel to do it the right way,” said Fire Union President Randy Wyse. “We are always exploring our options to move forward.”

Officials with Mayor Alvin Brown’s administration have said they want to move forward and will not appeal.

The agreement had given the trustees the authority to negotiate pension deals with the city. But the court ruling throws the debate over pension reform into limbo.

Trustee Board Chair Walt Bussells said he still hopes to reach some sort of settlement without going through more expensive litigation.

“The 30-year agreement has multiple, multiple parts,” Bussells said. “Only one of which is benefits.”

“The other many elements of the agreement that include the over $100 million of funds that have gone to the city as part of the agreement and refund of those and so forth will have to be resolved.”

Trustees also said they welcome a proposal by the City Council to fund a forensic audit of the pension fund.

The bill would allocate about $86,000 for the independent audit. The Council deferred a vote on the bill until next week to give the trustees a chance to respond to the legislation.

Council member Bill Gulliford introduced the legislation.

“There have been a number of claims in the past about the way the fund has been handled,” he said. “It doesn’t even necessarily reflect local handling of it. What this audit will do is look at the money managers and financial advisers to the plan’s conduct and operations. Many times there has been found improprieties on their part which has led to fines levied by the SEC.”