Arizona lawmakers are scrambling to fix the soaring costs of police and fire pensions before it bankrupts communities.
A little more than a year after voters overwhelmingly approved changes to the state’s public safety pension plan, House Speaker JD Mesnard announced a new committee has formed to try and return it to solvency in 20 years.
Unable to change constitutionally protected retirement plans for current employees, the committee’s tasked with establishing more affordable pensions for new hires.
Under current calculations, 230 different municipalities have seen average contributions soar to 52 percent of an officer’s salary, up 10 percent from the year prior. A decade ago, the average rate was 21 percent.
Last week, Phoenix’s City Council voted to extend its $2.4-billion state pension debt from a 20 year loan to 30 years.
