Cincinnati’s pension costs threaten to eat it alive

By Tom Blumer | For Ohio Watchdog

The city of Cincinnati is facing serious financial trouble, and no one really seems to care.

In a story that should have stayed on its homepage for several days but instead was gone within hours, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported on Saturday the city must pay at least $85 million into its $2 billion pension and retiree health care system next year.

Cincinnati is alone among Ohio’s major cities in that its employees do not participate in any of the state’s five statewide retirement systems.

In the past year alone, the Enquirer’s Cliff Peale notes, the Cincinnati Retirement System’s unfunded liability has ballooned by 22 percent to a whopping $870 million, orjust under $3,000 for each man, woman and child living within the city’s limits.

Not that it’s much consolation, but the city is far from alone.

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