Police Pension Compromise Reached

After a nearly five-hour emotionally charged debate, Sarasota City Commissioners unanimously voted on a compromise for the Sarasota Police pension plan.

Commissioners voted to keep the current guaranteed defined benefit plan while cutting cost-of-living adjustments for retirees from 3.2 percent to 1 percent. The plan will not affect those who already retired.

The discussion came after a ruling by a special magistrate when the city declared an impasse with the Southwest Florida Police Benevolent Association during the pension negotiation process.

City staff recommended to the commission to accept the magistrate's recommendations in full with the exception of overtime hours allowed.

The main piece of the city staff and the magistrate's plan was to move police employees from the current defined benefit plan to a 401(k)-type plan called a defined contribution plan.

That piece was brought up the most by the dozens of police officers and the citizens who spoke up at the meeting.

Sarasota Police Chief Mikel Hollaway said if the commission approved the defined contribution plan it would negatively impact the quality of life in Sarasota.

"It will be harder to recruit and retain the officers this community expects and deserves," Hollaway said.

He added that the city would be at a competitive disadvantage with all other law enforcement agencies in the state if the commission approved staff's recommendation. Sarasota would have been the only agency in the state to move completely to a defined contribution plan.

Hollaway, who has been with SPD since 1982, said he would have not gone into law enforcement with only a 401(k) plan. "Policing one’s community is like a marriage based on a commitment that must endure even during though times," he said.

City staff argued that the current pension model is financially unsustainable. Karen Morinelli, the city's attorney during negotiations, said the special magistrate's ruling in August is the best way to move forward.

Diane Bailey Morton, representing the Southwest Florida Police Benevolent Association, said city would be going back on promises made to police. She said in the 1950s the police and city agreed police would not pay into or receive social security if the city would have a defined benefit plan.

The staff's recommendation, Morton said, did not include language about social security. If Sarasota Police only had the 401(k) plan, Morton said SPD, "will hold the title of the worst [law enforcement agency] in the state of Florida in terms of benefits."

The commission acted on the concerns about social security by unanimously directing city staff to explore social security options for police.

"I would like to see social security be a very important part of any negotiation starting from the moment we come to the end of our conversation tonight," said commissioner Willie Shaw.

Vice Mayor Terry Turner said the compromise would still be a significant cost saving for the city. "I think this will turn out to be a big deal for us financially," he said.

Other Action on the Pension Plan

• If the city approved the status quo pension plan (Benevolent Association's recommendation), it would have cost the city nearly $132 million over the next 30 years. No official word on how much the new agreed proposal would save the city
• No change to disability benefits was approved Monday night in the new plan. Employees already retired will not be affected
• Overtime pay limited to 300 hours. This is just what gets counted for pension purposes, not how many hours officers could get paid for
• Decrease in DROP rate from 6.5 percent to 2.5 percent
• Retirement qualifications remain the same in the agreement, which is 25 years of service or 10 years of service after turning 50 years old