City Beat: Burris recommends pension task force members

Springfield City Council is one step closer to finding a solution for the city's Police and Fire Pension Fund shortfall.

At council's April 6 meeting, City Manager Greg Burris recommended a list of 11 people to serve on the soon-to-be-formed Police and Fire Pension Fund Task Force, which will be charged with coming up with a solution to the fund's $190 million shortage.

In March, the city received 54 applications to serve on the council, and the 11 names on the list were those that received "yes" votes from at least seven council members.

Council approved Burris' recommendations at its April 7 luncheon. Three other task force members will be added when new council members who were elected April 7 take office on April 14.

Also during the meeting, council passed a resolution spelling out the task force's duties. Among its jobs is finding "a variety of potential methods to provide a multiyear plan that restores and maintains the fiscal responsibility of the plan," according to the resolution.

The group also will meet with all stakeholders and provide written recommendations to the council and city manager's office, ranking one or more recommended options. Burris recommended that the group be given a June 30 deadline, though he said council could extend that date if needed.

Getting stimulus help

Council approved a bill allowing city staff to apply for federal funds available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, known as the stimulus bill.

Burris told council that the resolution gives staff the ability to quickly respond to available grant money, as the city has as little as 10 days' notice for some of the grant programs.

Councilman Dan Chiles, the lone "no" vote on the bill, expressed concern that staff would be given too much ability to make what would essentially be legislative decisions without first consulting council. Burris disagreed.

"These are all things that, in one way or another, council has already supported," Burris told council. "It's additional police officers, additional firefighters, money for transportation. I can't think of one thing that would be outside of the legislative priorities that council has already approved."

Mayor Tom Carlson suggested that, as a way of taking "the middle road," staff could consult with council on larger grant applications via council's weekly luncheons, a point with which Burris concurred.

A nonprofit process

Council approved the establishment of an annual application process for nonprofit partner agencies seeking the city's financial help.

Burris said the process would require nonprofits to provide details about their mission, how much they need and what the money would be used for, as well as an itemized budget.

"Too often, the city's contribution to these organizations gets misconstrued as a donation," Burris said. "That's not the case at all - the city is paying for a service that the citizens receive."

The process was recommended by council's Community Involvement Committee and is being implemented now because, as Burris noted, the city currently has no funding available for nonprofits, making changes possible. The city eliminated $587,000 for nonprofits in its fiscal 2010 budget.