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 JANUARY 11 WOMEN’S MIDWINTER RETREAT 1:30 - 5 pm - Presented by: The Center Within Sisters of Charity Motherhouse, Mt. St. Joseph, situated on the hillside overlooking the Ohio River, offers us the beauty of winter. Winter is a time when the tree roots are growing in quiet hibernation, encouraging us as well to take time for prayer and inner reflection on the goodness and beauty of life within us. Come, join the circle of women on the journey of life during this midwinter season. We will together create sacred space, which includes: Song and Guided Prayer/ Reflection - Quiet Reflective time for Listening Within - Sharing our Stories (if you wish) - Celebrating our Lives Together in Ritual Led by: Kathleen Hartman Blackburn, Donna Steffen, SC, Mary Ann Humbert Held at: Rose Room at Sisters of Charity Motherhouse, 5900 Delhi Road, Mt. St. Joseph, OH 45051 - From River Road (50 West), turn Right onto Fairbanks, which becomes Delhi. Stay on Delhi until it deadends at the entrance to the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse. A parking lot is found just past the buildings. Use main entrance! Fee: $25. ($30. after Jan.3 (Mail Registration Below. Keep time, info, and directions. ) Checks/ Registration to: The Center Within, PO Box 6027, Cincinnati, OH 45206 Information: 513-751-3358, 513-681-8881, , http://www.TheCenterWithin.org |
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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
New York Times: Smitherman may be right about the retirement fund
Posted by The Dean of Cincinnati
On June 30th, 2006, we featured this video interview with former Councilmember Christopher Smitherman. He claimed too many politicians were ignoring the problem of the City’s Retirement System, and he said that without proactive and preventative measures, the City would face system failure and bankruptcy. Critics quickly scrambled to discredit Smitherman’s predictions. Today, however, The New York Times has mentioned the Cincinnati Retirement System in an article, including a quote from none other than Smitherman himself.
On July 14th, Christopher Smitherman submitted this guest article to The Beacon, in which he outlined several details about an impending crash of the City’s Retirement System:
The assumption for the return on the Retirement System is 8.75%. The last time the return was reviewed in October 2005, the annual rate of return was 2%. The difference between the 2% and 8.75% is a $100 million miss on the return. For every $1.00 liability that is owed a retiree, the City says they have 94 cents to pay that liability. But the 94 cents is based on the 8.75% return. The bottom line is that reality and assumptions will catch up with City Council. I have calculated that the City is below 90 cents for every dollar owed. This means there is a cash burn going on that needed a response several years ago. A majority of Councilmembers are being financially irresponsible.
In 2007, the shortfall will exceed $80 million per year. Sixty percent of that $80 million per year is directly attributable to your neighborhood. The City’s general fund is on the hook for making up this difference.
Smitherman has been consistent in his writing about the Retirement System. In a November 16th column here at The Beacon, he referred to the impending problem again:
Well, as I said above, The New York Times has picked up on the story—not just about Cincinnati, but about the problems several cities are facing when they dip into retirement accounts to fund other projects. Here is an excerpt from Mary William Walsh’s article ”Paying Health Care From Pensions Proves Costly”:
Many local governments began turning to their pension funds to help pay for health care for retired public workers in the 1990s. Some are now regretting it.
When the financial markets were producing soaring returns, governments sought to use the gains in their pension funds to help cover rising health costs. Then came years of investment losses and double-digit increases in health care costs.
Now, in some places, money for retiree health care is running out, and money for pensions is dwindling fast, too. Rising medical costs are particularly wreaking havoc on public pension funds in Chicago; Battle Creek, Mich.; and the state of Alaska. They threaten longer-term harm in Cincinnati.
(...)
The trouble is, those rosy numbers have recently encouraged the city to withhold contributions — effectively borrowing from the pension fund — to shift money to neighborhood development projects even as it is accelerating retirement benefits coming due. Cincinnati is downsizing its municipal work force and offering early retirees and their dependents health care at little or no cost.
“It’s like musical chairs,” said Christopher Smitherman, a former Cincinnati City Council member. “Whose lap is this whole problem going to fall into?”
Local officials dispute Mr. Smitherman’s contention, saying they are trying to strike a balance between the pension fund and other pressing needs, like hiring more police. When he issued his budget proposals last month, Mayor Mark Mallory said that he remained “committed to fully funding the retirement system.”
Once again, The Cincinnati Beacon showing you stories that are news everywhere but in Cincinnati.
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19 Dec 2006 at 03:48 pm | #
Although his tactics may have gotten in the way, and people can say what they want to about Smitherman, but he raised a lot of important and substantial issues while on council. A lot of council members don’t know what they are doing especially Ghiz, Berding, Bortz, and Thomas.
19 Dec 2006 at 07:37 pm | #
Hopefully during the next council election, people will see past the Enquirer/Keith Fangman/Westside Concern spin on Smitherman and vote him back on council based on what they know, and not what they hear or read in the Enquirer.
20 Dec 2006 at 09:03 am | #
Anon
No one cares if you like Smitherman or not. This article proves that Smitherman has been right about the Cincinnati Retirement System Pension Fund. It is just too bad that it takes the New York Times to report this story in order for people to take this seriously.
20 Dec 2006 at 07:03 pm | #
Yes, Smitherman is right about the system.
Mayor Mallory wants to open the swimming pools by stealing even more from the retirement system through criminal underfunding. And the stupid unions support Mallory?
Mallory is selling out the very people that supported him.
Why am I not surprised?
20 Dec 2006 at 09:05 pm | #
The budget supported by Berding/Ghiz/Bortz/Cole/Monzel fully funds the retirement fund to the degree recommended by the city manager. It was the mayor who first proposed raiding the retirement fund to pay for other projects. And the Cranley budget’s funding of the retirement fund is contingent upon revenues in excess of that predicted by the city administration.
20 Dec 2006 at 09:54 pm | #
Smitherman has been right about a lot of things including Fountain Square.
21 Dec 2006 at 06:40 am | #
This is what Cincinnati gets and deserves. Many people voted for this “democratic” council and mayor and they care nothing about the poor in our community. This is why I am only voting for Smitherman in the next election. We need others to step out and say they are running so that we can get a new council. I hope voters remember how our current council voted on the budget when November 2007 comes.
21 Dec 2006 at 06:43 am | #
We need a guy like Smitherman back on council just so someone can represent common sense, morality, and the rights of the common people. When are we really going to come together and support people who support us? It is time to wake up Cincinnati.
21 Dec 2006 at 06:50 am | #
Scooter and Chad you make a lot of sense. We can not listen to the status quo who only work to serve their interests. Smitherman has been so right on so many things. He knows money, he has warned the city about the retirement system, he has fought for the poor, and he seeks justice for everyone. Who do we have on council currently that can fill his shoes? No one. The underpriviledged and everyday citizen no longer have a voice on council. We have got to get this dynamic man back on council.
21 Dec 2006 at 11:37 am | #
My guess is: Smitherman will pipe down about this when he starts asking Dan Radford for campaign money.
22 Dec 2006 at 09:41 am | #
Urbanism:
Smitherman doesn’t back down. To those of you claiming Mallory raided the retirement fund, do your research. The retirement funded situation is one that has existed before Valerie Lemme left her post as city manager.
In late 2004 early 2005 Lemme & Smitherman put it council face that there was a problem with the retirement fund and if not addressed immediately it would get worse and quickly.
So while it might be nice to turn Mallory into the scapegoat on this one...it can’t be done.
All documentation can be found at the city’s website.
The retirement debacle belongs to Luken/Lemme.
22 Dec 2006 at 01:51 pm | #
Mallory has accepted responsibility for this and needs to take steps to correct it. Retirees depend on the elected leaders to do the right thing. They helped to get the man elected and deserve accountability on his and CC’s part.
18 Dec 2008 at 08:34 pm | #
My guess is Urbanism is Dead will pipe down now.