Golly we be savin money.





Pension changes to save $600,000


By ROBYN L. MINOR, The Daily News, rminor@bgdailynews.com
Tuesday, July 1, 2008 11:17 AM CDT

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Miranda Pederson/Daily News
Gov. Steve Beshear talks to a full house Monday at the Bowling Green Police Department Community Room.
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Immediate changes made to the state's pension system will save Bowling Green and Warren County about $600,000 the coming fiscal year.

Gov. Steve Beshear, in Bowling Green on Monday to discuss pension reform, said those changes will come because actuarials determined that city and county governments could implement a one-time reduction in the percentage they are contributing to the County Employee Retirement System.

Bowling Green Mayor Elaine Walker said the city's percentage contribution in 2007 was 6.4 percent, and in 2008 that jumped to 7.4 percent or $4.6 million.

"Without any changes in the law, by 2013 the city's annual contribution would be near $8 million," Walker said.

With the changes approved last week, mostly delaying retirement for new hires, Walker said it will be 25 years or so before the city would see the biggest benefit.

"But Gov. Beshear understood that cities and counties are on the hook now," Walker said, noting the savings now.

The immediate $400,000 savings to the city can be used to address other issues, she said.

Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon said he's already had three department heads make a request for part of the $200,000 that the county will be saving.

Statewide, cities and counties will see a one-time savings of $56 million, Beshear said, later fielding questions from those in the crowded Bowling Green Police Department Community Room.

Sherry LeGrand, a nurse employed by the state, was interested to find out when she could return to work if she retires soon. Because of the benefits, LeGrand, 52, said it makes sense for her to retire soon, but she doesn't think she is really ready to quit working.

Beshear said the reform eliminated "double-dipping," meaning she wouldn't be able to contribute to a second state retirement account if returning to employment while drawing a state pension.

LeGrand said she is fine with the elimination of double-dipping, provided she can return to work sooner than a six-month requirement that had been discussed by the Senate. That was lowered to three months in the final legislation, with one month for hazardous duty employees.

With one son left to finish Western Kentucky University, LeGrand said she also is concerned with the rising cost of higher education.

Beshear said it is a priority of the interim president of the Council on Postsecondary Education to evaluate tuition costs and the way financial aid is organized.

The governor described the pension reform as "meaningful and historic," and said it could not have been accomplished without bipartisan support. The measure passed unanimously in the House and had a lone dissenter in the Senate.

The governor was joined Monday by two area lawmakers, Reps. Jim DeCesare of Bowling Green and C.B. Embry of Morgantown, both Republicans. House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, was out of town, Beshear said later.

"You actually saw Republicans and Democrats leave politics at the front door," Beshear said, adding that he hopes such bipartisanship will continue regarding other issues important to the state. Those issues include moving forward with improvements in education, providing affordable health care to Kentuckians and creating new jobs.

Beshear, having recently returned from an economic development trip to Japan, promised that new jobs would be coming. Announcements for two new companies are coming soon, although he did not reveal where they would locate.