JACKSONVILLE, FL – After some City Council members said they want to strike down the city’s existing agreement with police and firefighters over pension benefits, one now wants to set aside $1 million for the legal battle that could ignite.
Councilman Matt Schellenberg filed a bill last week that would provide money to pay attorneys if council decides to invalidate the 30-year agreement with the Police and Fire Pension Fund.
As Mayor Alvin Brown works to pass his pension reform package, Councilman Bill Gulliford has filed legislation seeking to strike down the current agreement.
Schellenberg and Councilman John Crescimbeni joined as sponsors of the bill, saying the agreement is illegal.
The Police and Fire Pension Fund repeatedly has said the existing contract is valid and spells out pension benefits that can only be changed through mutual agreement by the city and the pension fund’s board. The City Council approved the agreement in 2001 and amended it several times since then.
Brown’s pension reform legislation, which he negotiated earlier this year with the Police and Fire Pension Fund, would amend the existing agreement in a number of ways, including reduction of pension benefits. An actuarial firm projects it would save $1.49 billion over 35 years.
The Mayor’s Office has pushed back strongly against the idea of the council fighting the existing deal, saying the body doesn’t have the legal basis to repeal it.
City attorneys said last week that the council doesn’t have that ability because it’s a contract between the city and the Police and Fire Pension Fund.
However, Schellenberg said other attorneys have told him differently.
Gulliford’s’ bill argues the current pension agreement is “void and unenforceable” because state law says pensions are a subject of collective bargaining, and collective bargaining agreements cannot establish benefits for longer than three years.
The pension fund and the Mayor’s Office have said their negotiations were not collective bargaining because the pension fund isn’t a bargaining agent for the unions.
A judge and an appeals court have ruled against the Mayor’s Office and pension fund on that issue.
Schellenberg said if the council tries to invalidate the agreement, he’d like to hire an attorney to lead the effort, helping the city choose a legal team and overseeing them through the entire process.
The $1 million, which would come from the city’s reserve savings, would be an “insignificant” cost compared to the money the city could save if the current deal is struck down, Schellenberg said.
Meanwhile, Brown’s pension bill remains before the council, which must OK it for the deal to be implemented.
Last week, two council committees debated the bill but didn’t vote on it.
During one meeting, council members pressed city attorneys about their ability to bypass the Police and Fire Pension Fund to restructure pension benefits.
City attorneys said the council can choose to breach the contract, but can’t repeal it.
They also asked the administration to rerun its actuarial analysis of Brown’s proposal to see how various changes in financial assumptions could alter the bottom-line savings of $1.49 billion over a 35-year period.
The different assumptions would include payroll growth, the timing of pay raises, and removing $400 million in extra payments over a 10-year period from the mix.
The two committees could take up the bill when they meet again next week.
Christopher Hong: (904) 359-4272