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Houston Mayor: City May Sue to Get Pension Data

City leaders say they need more transparent data in order to make accurate financial projections

Houston Mayor Annise Parker's administration may sue the city's pension systems and begin a campaign to achieve pension reform via state legislation, the Houston Chronicle reports. 

The city is seeking data to use in its financial forecasts so it will know how much money to set aside for future obligations. "We're probably going to have to sue our three pensions for just basic actuarial data," Parker told the Chronicle during an editorial board meeting.
 
The city is specifically seeking data on employees in a deferred retirement option program (DROP). The city lacks information on when employees enter the DROP program, making projections of future costs difficult.
 
The mayor is also pursuing an effort to enact some pension reforms, but any changes would have to be made by the state legislature, the Chronicle reports. 
 
Finance Director Kelly Dowe told the board that a lawsuit would be a "last-gasp effort" to try to get information necessary to craft an accurate budget.
Communications manager for the Texas Medical Center Health Policy Institute and former Governing staff writer
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