Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: FEBRUARY 2017 19 I t was really only a matter of time before the public employee pension crisis hit criti- cal mass. In cities like Dallas and Houston in Texas, worries about solvency and misman- agement have a shocking number of cops racing for the exit before the crap hits the fan. There’s a similar situation playing out in Omaha, Ne- braska. Omaha has been grappling with its underfunded pension liability and has made prog- ress. At one point it was only 39 percent funded and now that number is up to 50 percent. But State Sen. Mark Kolter- man of Seward, chairman of the Legislature’s Retirement Committee, is worried that taxpayers will have at some point to bail out the fund. “I just don’t see how they’re going to dig themselves out,” he said. Kolterman says he’s going to sponsor a bill that would require that future fire and po- lice employees in the state’s two largest cities receive a cash balance plan – otherwise known as a “hybrid.” It’s a combination of the traditional pension plan and a 401(k). In other words, they plan to reduce benefits – and folks are gearing up for battle. “This is going to be a mas- sive fight in the legislature,” said John Wells, president of the Omaha Police Officers Association. Back in 2012, Omaha and its public employee unions made a deal designed to prevent the collapse of the pension funds, among other things by increasing pay- ments from both the city and employees and cutting benefits. Today the pensions are about 50 percent funded. That means there’s about $600 million in unfunded city liability. And that’s just for the police and fire pension system alone. This makes it harder for the city to borrow money and attract investment. “We view the city’s pension liabilities as sig- nificant,” wrote a Stan- dard and Poor analyst this year. “Without additional necessary structural re- forms, we view growing pressure on the city’s finances and tax base as likely. At this time, the poorly funded pension plans and lack of a sufficient enacted plan to address the obliga- tions preclude a higher rat- ing.” Conservative think tanks have been critical of pension fund management issues like those in Omaha for decades despite the fact that public sector finance experts from Harvard University have shown that pensions of gover- ment employees are not caus- ing the problem. The Platte Institute for Economic Research has been pushing for such changes to Omaha’s pension plans for years. The group’s CEO, Jim Vokal, said he’s working with another outfit – the national group Retirement Security Initiative to cut ben- efits and costs. “We feel it’s impor- tant to stop the bleed- ing for taxpayers,” Vo- kal said. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said the move away from traditional pension plans to the type most Americans have access to will make it extremely difficult for the agency to attract and retain highly qualified and experienced officers. “This is going to be a massive fight.” – John Wells, president of the Omaha POA. Today the pensions are about 50 percent funded. That means there’s about $600 million in unfunded city liability. Guys like Oklahoma State Senator Mark Kolterman (left) are having lots of success moving cops out of defined benefit plans and into the 401(k)s that many in the private sector pay into. The goal appears to be to set the stage for the elimination of public employee pensions sometime in the near future. Pensions in peril Register your agency for this FREE training at The TRAUMAS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT Remaining 2017 Training Locations: (Please check website for registration deadline dates.) February 27 - March 1, 2017 - Lakewood, Colorado (Denver Area) March 6-8, 2017 - Sacramento, California March 27-29, 2017 - Burr Ridge, Illinois (Chicago Area) April 10-12, 2017 - New Orleans, Louisiana April 24-26, 2017 - West Fargo, North Dakota June 5-7, 2017 - Syracuse, New York Presents CONCERNSOFPOLICESURVIVORS.ORG In its 22nd year, the “Traumas of Law Enforcement” has been said to be “the best training I have taken in my entire law enforcement career” by many who have attended.