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Residents press council on pension cost-of-living review and boat mooring enforcement; city manager pledges follow-up
Summary
Retirees told the council they have received no cost-of-living adjustments since 2013 and urged action before the budget; another resident raised concerns about potentially derelict boats occupying slips. City Manager Brown said code requires a biannual pension review and staff will evaluate whether a COLA is warranted and will look into mooring enforcement limits.
Several residents used the public-requests portion of the May 13 meeting to press the council on pension cost-of-living adjustments and boat mooring enforcement.
Steve Griffith told the council the code requires a biannual review of the General Employees' Pension Board to determine whether benefits have been "seriously eroded" (he cited section 12-103 of the code). Griffith cited recent consumer-price-index increases (he listed 3.4% for 2023, 3% for 2024 and 2.8% year-to-date) and said retirees since 2013 have not received increases. Dennis Popaka, a retired city employee, reiterated that retirees have had no CPI-linked monthly increases since 2013 and urged the council to provide relief rather than one-time lump sums.
Popaka also raised a separate concern about boats occupying slips and whether they might be derelict, noting that state law provides for 45-day anchoring limits; he asked the city to flag vessels and apply the enforcement timeline where appropriate.
City Manager Mr. Brown responded that the code requires the biannual review and that staff will evaluate whether a cost-of-living adjustment is appropriate this year; he said the city has offered lump-sum payments in various years under different parameters and will follow up with more information. On mooring, Brown said the city has limited authority over the Intracoastal Waterway, has long placed related items on the city's legislative agenda, and will continue to press the state while looking into interim options.
Ending: Staff committed to follow up on the pension review and to provide information and recommendations before the council's upcoming budget deliberations; no formal action was taken at the May 13 meeting.
