Pensions

• Despite Landmark Reforms, Pensions Burden Rhode Island Towns
• Source: Reuters   |   Rhode Island   |   August 13, 2012
• Last year, Rhode Island enacted what experts said was the most far-reaching, sophisticated public pension reform in the country to date. Yet the smallest state in the United States can't say it has won the fight.

• Massachusetts Pension Board to Give Big Bonuses Despite Fund Losses
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   August 10, 2012
• The Massachusetts state pension agency is set to give a huge $815,000 performance bonus package to most of its 25-member staff, including a nearly $100,000 payout to its executive director, despite the fact that the fund sputtered through a fiscal year that ended with a slight loss in value.
• 1 Comments

• Pension Plan Changes Pose Challenges for Lawmakers
• BY: Alan Greenblatt   |   Chicago   |   August 9, 2012
• Lawmakers have become acutely familiar with the financial challenges caused by pension underfunding, and they're certainly aware of the political difficulties involved in trying to change pension formulas. But the legal hurdles involved in changing pension benefits can be formidable as well.
• 1 Comments

• Detroit Water Dept. May Slash Staff 80%
• Source: Detroit News   |   Detroit   |   August 9, 2012
• The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department could slash more than 80 percent of its staff over the next five years in a drastic overhaul to cut costs and reduce customers' rate increases.

• Why Ethics Training is a Waste
• BY: Mark Funkhouser   |   August 9, 2012
• It won’t stop the worst abuses. Making everybody in government sit through it is like fishing for minnows, but it’s the sharks that are the problem.
• 5 Comments

• Taming the OPEB Beast
• BY: Charles Chieppo   |   August 8, 2012
• The non-pension benefits that governments owe their retirees threaten to swamp their budgets. The time to fund those benefits is now, not when they come due.
• 2 Comments

• Teleworking in Texas
• BY: Heather Kerrigan   |   August 8, 2012
• The Lone Star State's health and human services agencies are looking to boost their virtual workforce, hoping to increase productivity and save money.
• 4 Comments

• Teacher Tenure Overhaul Signed into Law in New Jersey
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   August 7, 2012
• After some two years of bitter public clashes, Gov. Christie set aside his differences with the state’s teachers unions and signed a bill making it easier for school districts to weed out underperforming teachers while preserving job security for the most senior educators.
• 1 Comments

• Ex-Alabama Governor Siegelman Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Alabama   |   August 6, 2012
• Bringing an official end to one of the most notable political careers in Alabama history, a federal judge resentenced former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman to six and a half years in prison on bribery and conspiracy charges.

• NYC Sued Over Pensions Cuts for Police in Military
• Source: Reuters   |   New York   |   August 3, 2012
• New York City was sued by the U.S. government on Thursday over allegations it unlawfully reduced pension benefits for police officers who have served in the military since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

• ACLU Sues to Stop Online Financial Disclosure Requirement for Federal Workers
• Source: The Washington Post   |   Nation   |   August 3, 2012
• Thousands of high-level federal employees turned to the court system Thursday to try to block requirements that would for the first time publish their personal financial information online.

• Schwarzenegger Partners with Public Policy Think Tank
• BY: McClatchy News   |   California   |   August 2, 2012
• The University of Southern California and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday announced a partnership to establish a think tank that will seek bipartisan solutions to environmental problems, economic policy, political reform and other public policy issues.

• San Diego Pension Overhaul to Proceed
• Source: AP/San Francisco Chronicle   |   San Diego, Calif.   |   August 1, 2012
• A judge on Tuesday rejected a union-backed attempt to halt a measure that curbs pensions for San Diego city workers, setting the stage for it to take effect as early as next month.

• What’s Your Magic Number?
• BY: John M. Bernard   |   August 1, 2012
• Organizations usually have just a few leading indicators -- sometimes a single number -- that will predict success or identify problems.

• Denver Municipal Employees Skip Out on Paying Tickets
• Source: Denver Post   |   Denver, Colo.   |   August 1, 2012
• Hundreds of photo-speed-van and red-light-camera tickets issued to city of Denver employees driving city cars have gone unpaid, according to manager of safety records. Using 3½ years of records obtained using Colorado open-records laws, 607 citations were found to be unpaid, even though most city agencies require workers to pay tickets they receive in city vehicles.