Bernalillo council authorizes partial employer payment of PERA contributions for municipal, police and fire plans

The Bernalillo Governing Body approved three resolutions on May 26 authorizing employer "pick-up" of required member contributions to the Public Employees Retirement Association of New Mexico (PERA) for employees in municipal general, police and fire coverage plans.

Finance Director Terri Gray presented the resolutions and described the state law authority under 414(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code and Chapter 10, Article 11 NMSA 1978. By adopting the resolutions the town will pay a designated percentage of employee PERA contributions for federal tax purposes without reducing reported gross salary; the resolutions state the action is irrevocable under Section 10‑11‑5 NMSA 1978 except as otherwise allowed by law.

The resolutions and picked-up percentages as stated in the meeting materials are: - Resolution 05/26/2026C — Municipal General Member Coverage Plan 4: 65.07% pick-up (employee contribution listed as 6.69%, employer 26.76% in materials); adopted unanimously. - Resolution 05/26/2026D — Municipal Police Member Coverage Plan 5: 58.64% pick-up (employee contribution listed as 8.19%, employer 32.76% in materials); adopted unanimously. - Resolution 05/26/2026E — Municipal Fire Member Coverage Plan 5: 57.45% pick-up (employee contribution listed as 9.02%, employer 36.08% in materials); adopted unanimously.

Each resolution passed by roll-call vote with all councilors voting yea.

Why it matters: The pick-up reduces employees’ taxable income for federal purposes until distributed, while leaving gross pay unchanged and requiring the town to remit the designated portion to PERA according to PERA rules. The resolutions formalize the town’s benefit-cost structure for staff and public-safety employees.

Sources: Town meeting minutes and resolution texts presented by Finance Director Terri Gray.