Pontiac council advances court‑approved retiree settlement with ordinance first readings and VEBA amendment
Loading...
Summary
After a federal judge approved a second amendment to a retirees settlement, Pontiac council authorized first readings of three pension‑ordinance amendments and adopted an amendment to the VEBA health‑care trust. City attorneys said retroactive supplemental payments will be actuarially adjusted and checks will be issued after the second readings are completed in early January.
Pontiac council on Dec. 16 moved forward with changes required by a federal court settlement that modifies pension and retiree health‑care benefits for city retirees. Attorney John Clark, who has represented the city in the case since 2011, told the council a judge’s approval allowed the city to proceed with ordinance amendments and a VEBA trust amendment that together restore supplemental payments and expand retiree health care in some cases.
The council authorized first readings of three ordinances to amend Chapter 92 — altering the General Employees Retirement System (GURS) and the reestablished REGURS — and adopted a VEBA declaratory trust amendment intended to separate funds and implement the settlement. "Once the pension ordinances are approved, then within a certain period of time the pension system will be issuing checks to retirees who are eligible for their pension enhancement retroactive to February 2022," Clark said. He cautioned that not every retiree will receive the full $400 supplemental payment; the amount will be actuarially reduced when retirees designated beneficiaries, mirroring how basic pension payments are calculated.
Mayor Tim Grama said the city had pursued all legal and actuarial work to protect the pension plans while restoring benefits. "For retirees with no beneficiaries, they get the full basic pension and they get the full $400. For those retirees who have designated beneficiaries, their basic pension is reduced by an actuarially adjusted amount," the mayor explained.
Councilmembers asked for clarification about tiers, notification and the schedule for disbursing retroactive payments; Clark said the pension administrator (GERS) will distribute the checks and staff will update the public when timing is confirmed. Council adopted the first‑reading resolutions by roll call (votes recorded in the meeting minutes). Because ordinances under the city charter require two readings and must follow public comment, the council said the second readings and final votes will occur at the first regular meeting scheduled after the new council sets its calendar in January 2026.
The VEBA trust amendment adopted at the meeting adjusts how dollars are allocated between the previous and newly reestablished retiree accounts and was enacted by unanimous vote. The council also asked that attorneys and staff prepare and make public the implementing documents and notices to eligible retirees once dates and payment amounts are finalized.
