Pensions

• Georgia Governors Reluctant to Oust Embattled Sheriffs
• Source: Atlanta Journal Constitution   |   Georgia   |   December 3, 2012
• Documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution show Georgia governors have been reluctant to exercise their authority to oust sheriffs who run into ethical or legal trouble.

• Tennessee Lawmakers to Get 1st Raise Since 2008
• Source: Tennessean   |   Tennessee   |   December 3, 2012
• State legislators will be paid $1,194 more per year in salary during the 108th General Assembly than they were paid last session.

• The Problem with Preferential Bids for Women, Minorities
• BY: Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene   |   December 2012
• Giving preference to women- or minority-owned businesses is a widely acceptable social policy that can run into management problems.

• Government Unprepared for Boomers’ Mass Exodus
• BY: Heather Kerrigan   |   December 2012
• The mass exodus of baby boomers from the workforce has been a crisis in the making for years. Yet in many cases the public sector is still not prepared.
• 2 Comments

• Global Warming Puts the Heat on State Climatologists
• BY: Leigh Ann Renzulli   |   December 2012
• Extreme weather events have intensified the climate change debate and made climatologists’ job more high profile and more controversial than ever before.
• 2 Comments

• When Will Governments Hire Again?
• BY: Alan Greenblatt   |   December 2012
• Even where the fiscal picture has brightened, state and local officials are understandably wary about taking on new obligations.

• Court OKs Big Benefit Changes for Michigan Teachers
• Source: MLive.com   |   Michigan   |   November 30, 2012
• A key question now is whether employees being asked to pay more or get less later will have to do so immediately or if the status quo will stay during the appeals process.

• Pittsburgh to Monitor Funding to Minority and Women-Owned Firms
• Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette   |   Pittsburgh   |   November 29, 2012
• A new Department of Equal Opportunity would coordinate contracting opportunities provided by the city and its authorities.
• 1 Comments

• Pennsylvania Gov. Corbett Calls for Pension Reform
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   Pennsylvania   |   November 28, 2012
• The Corbett administration released a detailed report warning of steep budget cuts if a way is not found swiftly to rein in public-pension spending.

• South Carolina Revenue Chief Resigns After Tax System Hacked
• Source: AP/Charlotte Observer   |   South Carolina   |   November 21, 2012
• State officials did not do enough to prevent a cyberattack at South Carolina’s tax collection agency that exposed the personal data of nearly 4 million individual filers and 700,000 businesses, Gov. Nikki Haley said.

• Detroit City Council Rejects Controversial Plan to Cut Water Dept.
• Source: Detroit News   |   Detroit   |   November 21, 2012
• The plan would have cut the number of water department employees by some 80 percent, from 1,978 to around 375, over five years.

• Pension Crisis on Top of Pennsylvania Gov.'s 2013 Agenda
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   Pennsylvania   |   November 20, 2012
• Gov. Corbett presented a broad outline of his agenda for 2013, saying his chief priorities are addressing the pension crisis, privatizing state liquor stores, and combating the high cost of college.

• Privatizing of Prison Health Care Leads to 2,000 Layoffs in Florida
• Source: Miami Herald   |   Florida   |   November 19, 2012
• The Scott administration is sending almost 2,000 state workers notices that their jobs are ending, part of the state’s outsourcing of prison health care.

• The Real Story of Public Pensions
• BY: Mark Funkhouser   |   November 19, 2012
• An important new book provides insights far beyond the conventional wisdom and the political arguments.
• 10 Comments

• Cities, Bankruptcy Law and Pension Payments
• BY: Penelope Lemov   |   November 15, 2012
• As cities face extreme fiscal pressure, can Chapter 9 ease their pension obligations?
• 36 Comments