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Holyoke mayor, councilors seek PERAC help to reassess pension funding schedule to ease near-term tax pressure
Summary
Mayor Joshua Garcia and a councilor asked the Holyoke Retirement Board and the state retirement commission (PERAC) to reevaluate the city's aggressive pension amortization schedule so the city can explore less steep year-to-year pension appropriations and possible tax relief; PERAC actuary said state law limits immediate reductions without legislative action and an actuarial valuation is pending.
Mayor Joshua Garcia and members of the Holyoke City Finance Committee asked the Holyoke Retirement Board and the state Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) on Feb. 11 to reevaluate the city's pension funding schedule to reduce sharp year-to-year increases in pension appropriations and explore options for tax relief.
The request, which Councilor Meg McGrath Smith submitted in writing and the chair read into the record, proposes extending the city's amortization timeline so Holyoke would remain actuarially sound while moving the municipal full-funding date from roughly 2032 to a later year (McGrath Smith's notes suggested 2037 as an example) to ease near-term tax pressure. "This responsibility creates a cushion, not knowing that the market can always change and veil volatility is part of…
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