Statement from FS Tesoro on S.B. No. 935: | Town Of Trumbull
Statement from FS Tesoro on S.B. No. 935: | Town Of Trumbull
Statement from First Selectman Tesoro on S.B. No. 935: AN ACT REQUIRING PENSIONS FOR POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS EMPLOYED. BY MUNICIPALITIES
On Tuesday, February 14, 2023 a public hearing was held by the Public Safety and Security Committee at the state legislature in Hartford on S.B. No. 935, AN ACT REQUIRING PENSIONS FOR POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS EMPLOYED. BY MUNICIPALITIES. https://www.cga.ct.gov/2023/TOB/S/PDF/2023SB-00935-R00-SB.PDF
The purpose of this bill is to require that municipalities employing police officers and firefighters provide such officers and firefighters with pensions through the Municipal Employees Retirement System or another system that offers comparable or superior benefits.
Bill History:
02-01-2023 REFERRED TO JOINT COMMITTEE ON Public Safety and Security Committee
02-10-2023 PUBLIC HEARING 02/14
I submitted the following written testimony addressing the proposed bill:
The Town of Trumbull is in opposition to SB-935. In Trumbull, we believe in supporting our Town employees with competitive salaries and benefits. That is why this year the Town contribution to our police officers' defined contribution plan will rise from 7% to 10% of their salary. In addition, the Town of Trumbull has hired a consulting firm to analyze the possibility of moving our employees from a defined contribution plan to a defined benefit plan or possibly a hybrid plan. The Town is doing our due diligence to make sure we make the best decision for our employees and our taxpayers. The Town has a fiduciary duty to make prudent decisions based on research and data and the decision needs to be a local one. SB-935 would force a decision on the local level without any due diligence and might have a deleterious impact on the local community. This would certainly be an unfunded mandate and would remove any local flexibility in creating benefits packages that work for our Town. In Trumbull, we honor the service of our Police Officers (our Fire Department is volunteer and not under Town government), that is why we are increasing our contribution to the defined contribution plan and studying future retirement benefits changes. It is essential that the decision is made locally and based on our own research and data.
Original source can be found here.
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