Retirement board seeks stipend raise to $4,500 for members; committee advances measure to council

Gina Rizzo, director of the Lawrence Retirement Board, asked the Personnel Committee to approve an increase in annual stipends for the five-member retirement board from $3,000 to $4,500. Rizzo told the committee the retirement system serves about 1,900 members and that caseload and regulatory complexity have grown over the last decade.

Rizzo said the board’s operating budget can absorb the change because the stipend is paid from investment income. She told the committee the proposed change would not affect the treasurer’s statutory stipend, which is capped at $3,000.

Why it matters: the retirement board’s workload, Rizzo said, has increased with more case work, evolving regulations under Mass. General Laws Chapter 32, and added interactions with auditors, actuaries and counsel. The board argued the stipend increase recognizes that workload while limiting municipal budget impact because the funds come from retirement-plan investment income.

The motion to send the ordinance to the full council with a favorable recommendation passed in committee; the clerk and council president confirmed no public hearing would be required for this stipend change.

Clarifying details discussed during the meeting included the board’s membership size (about 1,900), the stipend source (investment income), and an estimated annual cost increase of about $7,500 to the retirement fund if the five member stipends were raised to $4,500.

Next steps: the committee sent the matter to the full council with a favorable recommendation; full-council action is the next step for final approval.

Ending: the committee recorded the request and forwarded it to the council; Rizzo left the meeting after the committee vote.