Retirements
those gains away. It could potentially to lead all of us to decide to delay the implementation past the timelines that I gave you. But I’m not proposing anything now.
Throughout the referendum campaign, the Memphis Police Association and Memphis Firefighters Association argued the opposite of what Strickland told the Council Tuesday. They argued it would increase retention of employees by restoring benefits.
How much pension costs would rise still unclear
Strickland told the City Council the changes to the pension could be implemented by Jan. 1, 2021, but that timeline was subject to change because changes to the pension require approval from the Tennessee State Treasurer’s office.
How much the changes to the pension would cost taxpayers, and whether the money collected under the sales tax hike would cover it, is information the City of Memphis does not yet have, Strickland told the Council in response to a question from Councilman Martavius Jones.
“I do believe that together we can overcome that challenge when we put our brainpower into it, but I just want to put that on your radar screen,” Strickland said.
The referendum vote sought to undo actions the City undertook years ago when it scaled back the defined benefit contribution plan and health benefits for some employees and retirees. Those measures came in response to State of Tennessee warnings about the solvency of the city’s pension plan.
By scaling back the defined benefit contributions for a group of employees hired between the start of 2009 and middle of 2016, the city lowered how much it had to contribute to the pension every year. A 2014 state law change also mandated that cities across Tennessee had fully fund their annual contributions to their pensions by the end of this current fiscal year
During the city budget process, Strickland and his administration repeatedly stressed how they were making the first full contribution to the city’s pension plan in years. The city’s annual contribution has also been aided by a buoyant stock market and economy, lowering the amount of money the city has needed to contribute.
County vote still looms
Strickland also raised the issue of Shelby County asking voters to raise its sales tax rate, which would supersede the city’s half-cent increase
He said, if the county calls for a vote before the end of November, voters in Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County would get to vote. If it comes after that, only voters in unincorporated Shelby County would get to vote — a much smaller population.