TAXPAYERS COULD FACE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR PENSION MESS

By Joseph Wiszowaty
SAUK VILLAGE |  The Sauk Village Police Pension Board met Thursday afternoon  and while the Pension Fund is solvent and earning money the Village taxpayers could be on the hook for millions of unfunded liabilities because the Village officials are not contributing.  The Village has not made their contributions to the Police Pension Fund in over 4 years, including this year according to Village Treasurer James Griegel.

Longtime resident Judy Cast, who is a widow of the late Sergeant Alan Cast, attended the Pension Board meeting looking for answers.  “I have FOIA’ed (Freedom of Information Act Request) this information and I do receive my late husband’s pension.  I don’t understand why this group has not had an audit.  This group with all these intelligent people in here, why don’t we have an audit” Cast asked.

Pension Board Attorney Cary Collins, attorney with Collins and Radja, who has served as the Pension Board attorney for about 25 years explained  “Usually the village has someone (doing their audit) and that person will come in and do our (the pension board’s audit) for a fee.  Presently no one has told us that they are doing the village’s audit and would be willing to do our audit” Collins said.  “We’re required to do it (the audit)” Collins said to which Cast responded “but it’s not being done”.

“How much is the village supposed to be putting into the pension fund” Cast inquired during the meeting.  Collins responded stating that the Pension Board files with the state Department of Insurance a financial report who in turn provides an actuarial study, the Pension Board submits the study to the village, the Pension board also provides the village board with an additional actuarial study from another source as a second opinion along with a request for a tax levy.  The Village is suppose to act on the Pension Board’s recommendation and levy (or collect) the property taxes to fund the pension. 

Cast continued to ask questions.  “How much does the village owe the pension fund”?  Cast submitted this in her original Freedom of Information Act request she stated to the Pension Board.  “I just got an estimate from the auditors here for the last four or five years the amount is approximately $1.7 million” Griegel reported to the Pension Board.

Collins indicated to the Board that the Pension Fund must be “fully funded” by 2040.  “So what happens is that shortfall carries over which increases the annual tax levy requirement” Collins said.  “You pay me now or you’re going to pay me later, later is going to be a lot higher” Collins said.  “They have shorted us over the years.  That shortfall rolls over each year into the ‘unfunded liability’” Collin said.  The current “unfunded liability” to the Police Pension Fund is nearly $6 million.  Collins summed it up by saying “When they (the Village) shorts us it’s like kicking the can down the road”.

“At one time this pension fund was 100% funded” Collins said.  Collins suggested that many municipalities plugged up financial holes in their budgets by underfunding their pensions.  The Village’s pension is currently only funded at about 52% according to financial reports.

The Police Pension has not been audited in several years and will be engaging the services of MPS (Mulcahy, Pauriitsh, Salvador & Company LTD) out of Orland Park, Illinois to perform and complete their audit reports.

Pension Board President and former Sauk Village Police Sergeant Theodore “Ted” Sanders said when he came and saw the mess that the pension  was in he wanted to come back and do something to make things right.  “We’re currently exceeding our target of actuarial projections and overall the pension fund is in good shape” Sanders said.  But Sanders and the Pension Board expect the village to do their part and will work hard to ensure that the pension fund remains solvent.

The Pension Board consists of Griegel, Sanders, who is President of the Board, Sergeants Scott Langen and Rebecca Sailsbery and resident Pat Couch.  Both Salisbury and Couch were not in attendance Thursday.

 

Original material, copyright 2014 Sauk Villager News; all rights reserved.