Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 01-08-13--regular — reading text

purposes; and creating a task force to study issues with various disability presumptions for firefighters and police and corrections officers. Importantly, the 2011 bill did not address the 1999 legislative mandate to perpetually provide " extra" pension benefits to police and firefighters with insurance premium tax revenues; and WHEREAS, prior to 1999, cities were largely free to bargain with local police and firefighter unions, or provide for the non -unionized police and firefighters, the pension benefits that best fit the priorities and needs of the city and its police and firefighters. In 1999, the Florida Legislature amended Chapters 175 and 185, Florida Statutes, relating to city police and firefighter defined benefit pensions to require that additional city insurance premium tax revenues ( taxes on property and casualty insurance premiums) over a base amount be used to provide only " extra" pension benefits to police officers and firefighters. An " extra" pension benefit is a pension benefit that must have been given to police and firefighters after 1999 and the benefit must be greater than a pension benefit provided to general city employees. In aggregate numbers, this mandate has required cities and city taxpayers to provide more than $520 million in new " extra" pension benefits to police officers and firefighters since 1999. This mandate to keep providing " extra" pension benefits is not sustainable, rather the [ City /Town /Village] needs the Flexibility to use insurance premium tax revenues for the current or a decreased level of police and firefighter pension benefits to meet the [ City' s / Town's / Village' s] budget constraints. Only the Legislature can remove the state mandate for cities to perpetually provide new, "extra" pension benefits to police and firefighters; and PaGtet Pg. 138'  14.3. b PENSION REFORM ADVOCACY KIT WHEREAS, due to severe budget constraints and rapidly increasing personnel costs, the [ City/ Town/ Village] has attempted to reduce pension costs for general employees, police and firefighters. Numerous cities have successfully reduced pension benefit costs for general employees, but current state laws restrict the ability of cities to reduce pension benefit levels for police and firefighters. Until very recently, the state Department of Management Services ( "DMS ") required city police and fire pension benefit levels to remain at or above the pension benefit levels in place in 1999 ( many cities provided a high level of police and fire pension benefits in 1999). Add to this requirement the requirement for cities to provide " extra" pension benefits to police and firefighters, and the unsustainability of this scheme becomes evident. If a city either reduced a police or firefighter pension benefit to a level below the 1999 level or failed to provide " extra" pension benefits, the pension plan would violate state law and the city would forfeit all insurance premium tax revenues. Thus, when cities have attempted to bring police and fire pension costs under control, their actions have been effectively blocked by the DMS; and WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature has provided that health conditions relating to heart disease, hypertension or tuberculosis suffered by a firefighter, law enforcement officer or correctional officer are presumed to he job related. These " disability presumptions' are applicable to both workers' compensation and disability pension claims and have introduced significant opportunities for abuse in the police and firefighter pension system. Courts have interpreted the presumption laws so favorably toward these employees that cities and other government employers basically cannot overcome the presumption and show the health condition was not work related. This means the state, counties and cities may be inappropriately incurring workers' compensation and disability pension expenses. On January 1, 2012, a state Task Force on Public Employee Disability Presumptions issued findings and recommendations to the Legislature. Changes to presumption laws supported by a majority of Task Force members include: providing the presumption may be overcome by a preponderance of evidence; and allowing certain individual risk factors to be considered when applying the presumption, such as tobacco or alcohol use, weight /diet, genetics and lifestyle choices. These recommendations are designed to bring a fairer balance to the application of presumption laws. It is important to remember that just because an individual does not have a disability presumption does NOT mean he or she cannot make a workers' compensation or disability pension claim. Rather, it just means that the individual must show the health condition is work related, just like every other employee who makes a workers' compensation or pension claim; and WHEREAS, beginning in 1986, the Florida Legislature transferred all operational and administrative control of city police and firefighter defined benefit pensions to legislatively created boards of trustees. These boards of trustees run afoul of local control and are separate legal entities apart from a city that exercise broad powers outside a city's control, such as directing all investments of the pension fund; hiring plan attorneys, actuaries and other professionals; and making regular and disability pension determinations. In spite of being legislatively created entities and not locally controlled, all costs and expenses, including investment losses, incurred by the boards of trustees of pension plans ultimately become a cost to the city because the city is responsible for paying for all pension benefits. Additionally, boards of trustees are not required to provide fiscal transparency or accountability for substantial amounts of public funds. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE [ COUNCIL / COMMISSION] OF THE CITY /TOWN / VILLAGE OF ], FLORIDA: Section 1. That the [ City/ Town /Village] hereby supports responsible police and firefighter pension and disability presumption reforms to ensure sound, secure and stable pensions will be there for current and future police and firefighters. Section 2. That the [ City / Town /Village] hereby requests the Florida Legislature to remove the state mandate for cities to perpetually provide new, "extra" pension benefits to police and firefighters with insurance premium tax revenues provided under Chapters 175 or 185, Florida Statutes. Section 3. That the [ City /Town /Village] hereby requests the Florida Legislature to allow cities to transition to other retirement or pension programs for police and firefighters and continue to receive insurance premium tax revenues to pay for the retirement expenses. Packet Pg. 139  F143 la PENSION REFORM ADVOCACY KIT tea_.. Awe Section 4. That the [ City/ Town / Village] hereby requests the Florida Legislature to amend current statutory disability presumptions for firefighters, law enforcement officers and correctional officers relating to health conditions caused by tuberculosis, heart disease or hypertension to allow the presumption to be overcome by a preponderance of evidence, and allow certain individual risk factors to be considered when applying the presumption. Section S. That the [ City/ Town / Village] hereby requests the Florida Legislature to require statutorily created police and firefighter pension boards of trustees to adopt and operate under an administrative expense budget, and require a detailed accounting of pension boards of trustees' expenses. Section 6. That the [ City / Town / Village] hereby requests the Florida Legislature to require police and firefighter pension boards of trustees and cities to work together for a fiscally responsible distribution of plan assets if a city must terminate its police or firefighter retirement plan. Section 7. That the [ City/ Town /Village] urges the Florida Legislature to pass and the Governor to approve the above responsible reform recommendations relating to police and firefighter pension plans and disability presumptions in the 2013 legislative session. Section 8. That the [ City/ Town / Village] Clerk is directed to transmit a copy of this resolution to Governor Rick Scott, the Florida Legislature, and the Florida League of Cities, Inc. Section 9. That this resolution shall be effective upon adoption. PASSED IN OPEN AND REGULAR SESSION OF THE [ CITY COUNCIL/ COMMISSION OF THE CITY /TOWN/ VILLAGE OF ], FLORIDA, THIS DAY OF 2012. Pai4t Pg. 140  143 I PENSION REFORM ADVOCACY KIT DRAFT RESOLUTION OPPOSING UNFUNDED STATE MANDATES ON CITIES 2012- A RESOLUTION OF THE [ CITY / TOWN /VILLAGE OF I OPPOSING UNFUNDED STATE MANDATES ON CITIES. WHEREAS, the [ City/ Town /Village of ] is concerned with the negative impacts unfunded state mandates have on the services provided by cities and with the fiscal impacts they have on local taxpayers; and WHEREAS, an unfunded state mandate is generally defined as a state law requiring a city to spend funds or to take an action requiring the expenditure of funds without the state providing an adequate funding source; and 5 WHEREAS, unfunded state mandates continuously force cities to adjust local service priorities and raise local taxes and fees to pay for such unfunded mandates; and v Q! WHEREAS, cities are forced to pass the increased costs associated with unfunded state mandates to the citizens and taxpayers of the city; and c WHEREAS, the priorities and programs of local citizens of cities are often curtailed when limited local funds must be diverted to pay for unfunded state mandates; and m WHEREAS, unfunded state mandates are not fair to local property owners or elected city officials who are 3,°-a trying to address local priorities and problems with a limited amount of financial resources; and a WHEREAS, prior to 1990 the state legislature passed hundreds of unfunded state mandates on to cities; and