Example of How Albany Shafted NY School Districts and Their Taxpayers

[originally transmitted 4/3 on Elwood Community Network]

I have pasted below a description of the 2000 Retirement Enhancement Law; as noted it was signed into law by Gov. George Pataki, whom we all remember, and it came from a bill in the State Senate sponsored by Sen. Carl Marcellino, who is still the State Senator for our community, and a bill in the State Assembly sponsored by Assemblyman Vitaliano, whose name is unknown to me.

To see the reaction to that new law by the state's teachers union organization, New York State United Teachers, you can go to this web page:
http://nysut.org/media/archive/000711pensionlegislation.html

Read the description below, and consider carefully how this change in law expanded the retirement benefits for public employees in NY State, since this has a very real (and increasingly high) cost for school districts and their taxpayers, particularly since the State simultaneously eliminated the 3% contributions by certain tiers of employees after they have achieved ten years of service.

Albany and our State politicians are a recipe for disaster; they had already cut State aid to school districts this past year, and they have now cut aid even more for 2010/11, despite the fact that it was Albany which has increased the costs for those same school districts in not only the referenced pensions, but also in unfunded State mandates for school districts, and in personnel management constraints and restrictions for school districts.

Brilliant!

Maybe they'll offer us the Bubonic Plague next year, while simultaneously taking away hospital beds and decreasing their funding of medical care for the less wealthy among us.

But then they'll probably try to take our eyes off of the Governor and Legislature by telling us that the salaries of nurses, and the salaries of doctors, and the salaries of hospital administrators, are too high relative to the Governor's salary, and that those are the only problems to which we should pay attention.

Just remember the mantra: Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain in Albany.

Dorothy knew better, and she unmasked the phony Wizard of Oz. And that's what we also need to do with Albany.

Jerry Hannon

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Retirement Enhancement Law Add Article 19 SS900-902, Add Art 19-A SS910 & 911, R&SS L (Signed 7/11/00 Gov. Pataki ) S.8142 Marcellino / A. 11418 Vitaliano - Provides for the following enhanced retirement benefits : (1) an additional one-twelfth of a year of additional retirement credit for each year of service up to a maximum of two years for certain employees who are Tier I and II members; (2) Elimination of the three percent of salary contribution rate for employees who are Tier III and Tier IV members with more than ten years of membership in a retirement system.

RSS - Retirement and Social Security

Article 19 - BENEFIT ENHANCEMENTS
900 - Definitions.
901 - Election of benefit enhancements.
902 - Benefit enhancements.

II. Benefit Enhancement:
(S.8142 by Sen. Marcellino, et al. /A.11418 by Rules by Asm. Vitaliano)

For members in the New York State Teachers' Retirement System (NYSTRS) and New York State and Local Employees' Retirement System (NYSLERS), these new benefit improvements include:

(1) Tier I & II Members: Members who are currently in active service will be afforded one month of additional service credit for each year of service up to a maximum of 24 months at no cost.
ο This legislation also increases the maximum final average salary factor to 79%.
ο The benefits provided by this legislation can be used in addition to the benefits provided by the state's early retirement incentive (Chapter 86 of the laws of 2000).
ο Members who are eligible for both the benefit enhancement and the early retirement incentive (Chapter 86 of the laws of 2000) may increase their final average salary factor to a maximum of 85%, depending on their credited service.
ο For members retiring at the close of this school year, this bill takes effect June 1, 2000. For all other members, this bill takes effect on October 1, 2000.

(2) Tier III & IV Members: Individuals who have been members of any public retirement system for 10 or more years or who maintain 10 or more years of credited service will no longer have to make the required 3% contribution towards their retirement!!! This benefit will begin on October 1, 2000.
ο Members who have not been members of a public retirement system for 10 years or have less than 10 years of credited service will no longer have to make contributions towards the retirement system once they reach their 10th anniversary.