Tom White is not happy with the funding structure for the Burr Ridge Police Pension plan and wants everyone to know it.
White, a Burr Ridge resident and former pension plan advisory member, urged the Village Board Mondayto increase funding for the police pension fund. White has brought his argument in front of the board for the past two years and has expressed concerns for the health of the fund.
The proposed total levy for 2017 is $1,219,360, a 6.1 percent increase over 2016. A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. on Dec. 11 at Village Hall, 7660 County Line Road.
Once the pension requirement is determined, remaining money is divided with 60 percent to the village’s corporate fund and 40 percent for police protection. In this budget, $748,665 will go to the pension fund, $282,417 to the corporate fund and $188,278 for police services.
White argued the funding is not being looked at correctly.
“We need to fund on an actuarial basis not on a state mandated minimum,” he said. “The village of Burr Ridge, like other municipalities, is balancing its budget on the backs of pension.”
White said that deficits are increasing and the funding is being made on discounted numbers. He says funding on an actuarial basis would mean looking at actual data on the number of officers, dates of hire, dates of expected retirement and mortality rates.
Village administrator Douglas Pollock admitted there are differing viewpoints on budgeting the fund, including that of the police pension advisory board that reported the proposed funding is too conservative.
“The advisory board wants more money put into the fund. However, we are following the state of Illinois mandated guidelines and are at 70 percent funded,” Pollock said. “The fund is performing well and we will meet the mandated goal of full funding by 2040.”
White said that while the pension fund has had a good year, the deficit continues to grow.
“At some point there will be a crisis and cutbacks will have to be made. Burr Ridge will end up in the same situation the state of Illinois is in, maybe in 10 years, maybe in five,” he said.
He said it is not necessary to raise taxes, but to better allocate and prioritize tax funds. He said the majority of municipalities are in the same position because they are listening to the state and not thinking about their own needs. White said that since 1993, the state has allowed two options for funding pensions: pay as you go or pay less now and much more later.
“The first method is actuarial, the second is not,” he said.
But Pollock said the goal of the fund is being met and the fund is performing well. The advisory board, he said, is of course only focused on the pension fund while village officials have to look at the overall budget and all expenses.
“We need to balance present needs with the future,” Pollock said.
Diane Dachota is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.