Council gives first passage to OPEB ordinance allowing employee contributions to reduce city liability

The Warwick City Council voted for first passage of PCO 15‑25, an ordinance that lets employee contributions to the city’s OPEB trust be deducted from the employer appropriation the city would otherwise make.

Administration explained the change is a response to negotiated employee contributions that will phase in to 2% of salary; officials estimated roughly $600,000 in employee contributions this fiscal year and said the OPEB trust currently holds about $5.3 million (a figure the administration said reflects prior contributions plus investment earnings). The ordinance aligns the city’s OPEB accounting with how actuarial assumptions typically treat employee pension contributions, the administration said.

Council members asked for and received confirmation that the $5 million commitment discussed earlier had been made into the trust (administration confirmed contributions plus investment earnings total approximately $5.3 million) and requested staff follow up with a precise breakdown of the contributed amount versus investment returns. Councilman Ricks asked that future budgeting remain consistent with the GRS actuary plan and expressed caution about deviating from long‑term funding targets.

Council moved favorable action for first passage and the roll call recorded affirmative votes for first passage in committee and at full council; the transcript records the motion, second and roll calls but does not print a full, named tally for every member in a single table within the committee text.