Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pension Cola topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge Boca Raton council to consider cost-of-living adjustments during biannual pension review
Summary
Residents asked the council to address possible erosion in general employees' pension benefits; city staff said a biannual review is required by code and that the city will evaluate whether a cost-of-living adjustment is warranted this year.
Multiple residents addressed the council May 13 to press for action on the city's general employees' pension, asserting retiree benefits have been eroded by inflation and asking the city to consider cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) during the city's biannual pension review.
Steve Griffith urged the council and city manager to "address this properly and fairly due to the inflation of our economy," citing CPI increases. Dennis Popaka, who said he retired in February 2013, said he and other retirees have not received COLA increases since he retired and asked the council to provide an increase to monthly pension payments rather than a lump sum.
Popaka and Griffith cited recent CPI changes during public comment (transcript references: 2023 up 3.4%, 2024 up 3%, and 2025 year-to-date 2.8%). Popaka said he expected the council and city manager to include pension adjustments in the upcoming budget deliberations.
City Manager Brown responded that the city's code requires a biannual review of the general employees pension and that the pension plan does not contain a fixed COLA. Brown said staff will follow the code, conduct the biannual review and evaluate whether a COLA is appropriate; he said he would follow up and provide consideration during the review.
No formal motion or change to the pension plan was made at the meeting; city staff committed to conducting the code-required review and to follow up with council and the public.
