Dec 3rd Workgroup meeting-Final?

Friday Dec 3rd we had what may be the final Pension Work Group meeting. The Chair Dar Pankonie went around and asked the Members if 911 Dispatchers should have an enhanced pension. There was NOT a consensus other than the dispatchers. The County and City Groups argued cost and whether an enhanced pension was what was needed to attract employees.

Then it was asked if the pension were to be enhanced whether they should be added to the Correctional Plan.(Remember when they tabled it I said tabled doesn't mean gone). Again, no consensus. Heidi the PERA CO from Sherburne County mentioned an assault on staff with a bucket of feces being dumped on a CO's head and said the jobs have no comparison. Dan Gorman from the State CO's argued pension doesn't come up when hiring people and I brought up that when a CO goes to work we don't know if we will be going home, to the hospital or the morgue. Dispatchers don't have that risk. 

At this point some of the dispatchers became very emotional arguing their job is dangerous too. 

Are we out of the woods? NO!

The report is being written by Chad Burkitt the Analyst for the LCPR. He wrote the 'memo' suggesting there was no statute for CO's having our pension. I asked him if he knew why  the 40/60 split is in statute 353.63, he replied he didn't. Only Police, Fire and Corrections pay into their pensions with that formula.

He stated during the meeting dispatchers are Public Safety too. There is no 'Public Safety Pension'. There is Police and Fire and Corrections. Calling 911 Telecommunicators Public Safety (which they are) doesn't qualify them for our Pension. While he must say the committee didn't reach consensus, we won't know the slant or recommendation of the final report until it's done.

They stated they wanted this to be our last meeting but once the report is done and sent to the members of the Work Group they said we may have one more if the Work Group had questions. I would be surprised if that happened.

The process going forward is for the Work Group's report to go the LCPR who will in turn pass it on to Senator Bigham and the Pension Retirement Committee.

There was no consensus and I hope this is the end of trying to add Dispatchers to the PERA Correctional Plan.

If not we fight on.

Watch the Detention Home blog soon for video highlights.