State lawmakers will take another crack at increasing local police department's contributions to the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund, after a bill to do so stalled in the last legislative session.
Reps. Cindy Abrams (R-Harrison) and Thomas Hall (R-Madison Twp.) introduced legislation Thursday to up local municipalities鈥� contributions as employers of police to 24%. Individual police officers鈥� contributions to their own pension fund have increased over the years, but the employer contribution rate鈥攃urrently sitting at 19.5%鈥攈as not changed since 1986.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 nine years before I even came into this world,鈥� Hall said at a press conference announcing the Public Safety Pension Modernization Act.
Mounting pressures limit how much money is put into the pension fund, said Ohio Fraternal Order of Police President Gary Wolske. More officers are retiring at the same time that fewer recruits are joining the ranks, Wolske said, threatening its solvency.
鈥淎 stable, well-funded retirement is a vital tool for recruiting new members,鈥� Wolske said. 鈥淎n unstable system will make the difficulty for communities across Ohio even more challenging, at a time when communities face unprecedented challenges in recruiting and retaining first responders.鈥�
The bill that stalled last legislative session included more ambitious figures. The state鈥檚 rate for municipalities鈥� contributions to firefighters鈥� pensions is currently set at 24%. The bill would have raised both police and fire employer contribution rates to 26.5%. Wolske said the police and fire unions are 鈥渢rying to be good partners.鈥�
But Ohio Municipal League executive director Kent Scarrett said the latest proposal would still burden the local governments that issue public safety workers鈥� paychecks. With increased liabilities, he said the newly introduced legislation is only estimated to cost localities about $1 million less than its earlier version: dropping from $57 million to $56 million total.
鈥淎 million dollars, in the grand scheme of things, in this conversation, really doesn鈥檛 move the needle much,鈥� Scarrett said. 鈥淭his is an unfunded mandate placed on our cities and villages and ultimately, that mandate falls on our taxpayers and our communities.鈥�
Lawmakers have yet to meet with any Ohio cities or towns to discuss the proposal further, Abrams said.
