State Auditor General Eugene DePasquale recently released $1.511 million in pension funds to municipalities across the four-county region, with the most, $601,061.29, going to Bradford City and the least, $212.79, to Mount Jewett.
“The pension aid is critical to help maintain retirement funds for dedicated police officers, paid firefighters and other public servants. Without this aid, communities would have to rely on local taxes to make up the difference,” DePasquale said.
Pension aid totals for the region include Cameron County, $16,592.62; Potter County, $167,473.29; Elk County, $378,225.23; and McKean County, $948,757.56.
For Bradford City, administrator Teri Cannon said the municipality’s minimum contribution was estimated at $1.3 million. The city’s payment after state aid of $601,061 is estimated this year at $670,918.
In neighboring Elk County, Borough of Ridgway received $123,040.81 from the state for non-uniformed and police pension plans this year.
“The borough is responsible for four percent of participants’ wages for the non-uniformed plan and a minimum municipal obligation (MMO) for the police plan if we do not get state aid (or there is not enough to cover the amounts),” said Mary Lynn Feidler, chief financial officer of Ridgway Borough.
The borough’s police plan this year totals $94,035, based on the minimum municipal obligation, but she said she won’t know the amount the non-uniformed will need until the end of 2017.
Back in McKean County, Port Allegany Borough received municipal pension aid in the amount of $68,823.80, said Port Allegany Borough Manager Robert Veilleux.
The borough’s minimum municipal obligations include $54,684 for the Port Allegany Borough Police pension plan, $77,306 for the borough non-uniform pension plan, and $13,553 for the borough’s non-uniform cash balance retirement account. The total estimated cost for Port Allegany’s pension in 2017 was $145,543, leaving $76,719.20 to be covered by the general fund, water fund, sewer fund and library fund, Veilleux said.
“In 2011 borough council made a decision to transition to the cash balance retirement account for non-uniform employees as a way to reduce the pension burden for the borough,” Veilleux said. “The cash balance retirement account is a defined contribution plan, which means the borough contributes a fixed percentage (5 percent) of the employee’s annual compensation to the retirement account. At retirement, the employee gets access to the actual value of the funds in their account, rather than being guaranteed an income based on a defined benefit plan formula.”
Elsewhere across the region, St. Marys’ minimum municipal contribution is $149,177; this year’s state allocation is $156,946.30, said St. Marys city manager Timothy Pearson.
Coudersport in Potter County received $96,353.32 from the state and Shippen Township in Cameron County, $16,592.62.
A total of $289.9 million in state pension aid went to 1,479 municipalities and regionals to assist in funding local government pension plans, which cover police officers, paid firefighters and municipal workers.
Overall, DePasquale released $350.5 million in municipal pension and volunteer firefighters’ relief association funds. A total of 2,521 municipalities in 66 counties received $60.6 million in fire relief association funding for distribution to the volunteer firefighters’ relief associations providing fire services to their communities.
The state municipal pension and volunteer firefighters’ relief association aid comes from a 2-percent tax on out-of-state casualty and fire insurance premiums, state officials said.
