City Chief Financial Officer Bill Gottschall told the Sept. 29 open forum that Roswell’s defined‑benefit pension carried an unfunded liability that grew markedly since 2011 and that the city has begun steps to address the shortfall.

Gottschall said the pension plan was frozen to new participants in February 2011, and at that time the unfunded liability was about $10.1 million. "By 2024 that liability had grown to $25,700,000," he told the forum. He said annual actuarial-required contributions rose from roughly $3.6 million in 2011 to about $5.7 million in 2024; that payment level was subsequently reduced to $5.0 million for 2026 as the city and actuaries refine assumptions.

Gottschall said staff moved the plan’s management in 2024 from the Georgia Municipal Employee Benefit System (GMEBS), part of the Georgia Municipal Association, to a self-directed arrangement overseen by a benefits committee of staff and elected officials. He told residents the city and its auditors are reviewing actuarial assumptions and that the committee intends to pursue a plan to amortize the liability over time. "From this work, we've come up with a plan that eventually will get to in about two years, we'll start working toward a 15‑year plan at approximately $3.1 to $3.4 million a year to work that liability down to zero," he said.

Gottschall said city payments into the plan were substantial and that the city is paying benefits timely. "The fund is protected by a federal program, and we are still paying all benefits timely and in their full amount," he said.

Former city resident and pension committee member David Woodrow had urged attention to the liability during public comments. Woodrow described his surprise at the size of the obligation and asked who had responsibility for the growth; Gottschall and others said the liability reflects actuarial assumptions, prior management choices, plan design and the mix of participating entities in pooled arrangements. Gottschall said some pooled-plan assumptions used by the larger GMEBS pool were unfavorable to Roswell’s profile and that leaving the pool removed that cross-subsidy.

Gottschall said the city has already made large contributions to reduce the balance and expects continued progress under the committee’s plan. "Just this year, we paid $25,600,000 into the plan to try to reduce the liability," he said; "in 2026 we've already reduced that number by $600,000 to $5,000,000 and we expect to continue to see that progress so that in somewhere in about 16 years, we've unwound that liability." (Transcript figures reflect his remarks verbatim.)

City staff and residents asked clarifying questions about what happened between 2011 and 2023 to allow the liability to increase. Gottschall said his review suggests a combination of management and audit shortcomings: "Senior financial management was not reviewing the plan assumptions" and auditors did not sufficiently challenge the actuary and management in prior years, he said.

City officials said all pension benefits remain payable to current and former employees and that managing the unfunded liability is an active financial priority for the mayor and council.