If Consolidation is recommended by the commission and that plan includes merging Energy Services of Pensacola into a utility authority, then ESP shouldn’t be given. Instead, it should be sold to the new authority. All proceeds go to fund the unfunded pension balances for the city general, police and fire pension funds. Those funds then are completely shutdown and city employees are moved over to the state retirement system when they are hired by the new consolidated government.
Popularity: 18% [?]
anon — you are right. The general pension employees — by state law — had one chance to opt in or out of the Florida retirement system. Unless you fire all of those employees — who are covered by the civil service act (a special act of the legislature) — then there is no way to eliminate that obligation.
Mike — I agree with you. Thank goodness I don’t have to work with Ms Haddigan. I’m sure she feels the same.
Sounds like time to start pushing for that state legislation (or whatever is needed) to get municipal employees into the state pension fund (where they belong)……
and Granite Head: considering how much money the County has spread around in local banks (at least as much as $77 mil), they do not need to poach city funds for county projects….
When will the realization hit that ALL city residents are county residents, and we need to be working together, not fighting turf wars?
One problem with Rick’s plan–you can’t just move people into the state pension fund. We had once chance to do that when the City started FRS. The state won’t allow a reopening for the people still in the city pension plan. By the way, it will take state state legislation to dissolve the police and fire pension plans.
Are the county residents also going to take ownership of the $77 million the city has in local banks and use this money for county projects.
Oh Ms. Haddigan, one of the visionaries, chiming in
Always there with a breath of hot air, arrogance, and insults.
Yes. The debt for the unfunded city pensions, and the $70M that will have to be the repayment amount for the CMP bonds are city debts and should not be hoisted onto every citizen in the county. Don’t let consolidation be a vehicle for the city to disburse it’s debts onto the county
C.J.:
Boy, I’m glad your representing the City of Pensacola. How did we exist 450 years without your intelligence? You will have 10 days from Jan. 5 to Jan. 15 to solve the pension crisis. Get out your slide rule.
ESP’s so-called “profits” are actually overcharges paid by all ESP customers, both residential and commercial, within and outside of city limits. It’s just another drag on the local economy. Under consolidation the city would become Urban Service District 1. Those property owners would be solely liable for the entire unfunded pension fund liability as it exists at consolidation. the millage rate would need to be higher to service this debt. The council won’t solve this problem on its own. Clearing away a major obstacle to consolidation would put their jobs at risk. It will need to be written into the consolidation plan. It’s already on my “To Do” list once we see the entire draft charter as a single document. January 5 will likely be the meeting where we do a line-by-line review of the final draft version of the proposed charter.
Isn’t that the same plan the city hatched when the sold the previously owned water system and formed the ECUA?
The city passed the aging sewer plant on to another entity and then claimed they had no responsibility.
What we got………. sewer impact fees added to the bill to pay for the lack of planning or management of the system for decades.
Crazy
You know we don’t sell anything here.
It’s a dollar lease city .
How about shutdown the port, sell the property and “All proceeds go to fund the unfunded pension balances for the city general, police and fire pension funds. Those funds then are completely shutdown and city employees are moved over to the state retirement system” now…..
ESP probably has more customers out in the county than it does in the city limits, so selling the utility to the “new government” agency is a rouse of a shell game by robbing Peter to pay Paul. Consolidation is the only way Pensacola can save itself from its own poor fiscal management. And besides, the city just got its new charter, so let the strong mayor fix it. VOTE NO ON CONSOLIDATION!!