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Council approves pension consolidation, updates fire overtime policy for FLSA compliance
Summary
Council approved an amended MERS agreement consolidating closed defined‑benefit pension divisions (staff said promised benefits to retirees will not change) and adopted minor changes to the fire overtime policy to bring it into compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The council approved two administrative items: an amendment to the MERS defined‑benefit adoption agreement consolidating multiple closed divisions, and a revision to the city’s fire overtime policy to address a Fair Labor Standards Act compliance issue.
City Manager Griffin told the council the proposed MERS consolidation is intended to reduce funding volatility and is a bookkeeping change that "does nothing to change any of the benefits promised to our current retirees or the few employees that ... have yet to retire." Staff explained one downside: because the city previously accepted state grant funds into those closed divisions, reopening those specific closed divisions later would not be possible; creating a new defined‑benefit plan with different parameters would remain an option.
On the overtime policy, Griffin said a portion of the city's policy for full‑time fire personnel was out of compliance with the FLSA and that legal counsel confirmed the city needed minor amendments. Council members moved to adopt Administrative Policy No. 2 to bring procedures into compliance; Marcy called the roll and the measure passed.
Council members discussed fiscal impacts and asked staff to continue monitoring funding levels and pension amortization schedules; staff confirmed the budgeted minimum MERS contribution for the current year will remain at about $1.2 million.
