Mayor Rawlings Says Cops "Pistol-Whipped" Dallas Taxpayers On Pension. Gross.
The unanimous Texas House approval yesterday of a bail-out bill for the Dallas Police and Fire Pension fund sets up, among other things, the lowest point so far in the political career of Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings. Every single thing he wanted in the bill he did not get, and every single thing he did not want he got shoved down his throat.
Public pension funds in Texas are creatures of the state and subject to legislative authority. Under this bill just passed, Dallas cannot walk on its pension fund.
Did Dallas want to? Apparently. The solution first floated by the mayor’s cadre, derided by the pension fund director as the “ice floe” solution, would have allowed the existing fund to die so it could be replaced with a cheaper one. What would have happened to the senior and already retired first responders and their families who were totally dependent on the old fund? Nobody wanted to say, of course, but the only possible interpretation was they would be put out on a chunk of ice and pushed off to sea without resources.
That can’t happen if this law makes it through the Senate in good form. Dallas will have to find a way to keep this fund alive, no matter what. The city won’t be able to put retired firefighters, cops and their families out on a chunk of ice and push them off to sea without pensions, Social Security or savings.
Read more: http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/house-pension-bill-a-major-slap-in-the-face-for-dallas-mayor-mike-rawlings-9437433
Related:
Texas House Unanimously Passes Dallas Pension Reform Bill
http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/texas-house-gives-initial-approval-to-dallas-pension-fix-9434579