Ohio lawmakers weigh changes to state first responder pension plan

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A bill to increase contributions to Ohio’s Police and Fire Pension fund took a step forward on Tuesday.  

The bill was voted out of committee by a 12-3 vote. 

Under the bill, the increases would apply only to police officers, with the pension contribution amount would go from 19.5% to 24% by 2030. Firefighters are already at 24%. 

“It's important that we recognize what officers go through here in Ohio and across the U.S. and that the job that they're tasked to do comes with a cost,” President of the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police Kurt Althouse said. “Benefiting them and making sure that we can recruit people and they know that their retirement is secure when they reach that age is extremely important.”

“Over the last several years, our cities have been working to hire more police officers, to increase competitive wages, to bring on highly trained, highly qualified law enforcement professionals,” Executive Director of the Ohio Mayors Alliance Keary McCarthy said.    

This bill would cost local governments an estimated $80 million in additional money annually by the time contributions reach 24% in 2030. McCarthy said 50%-65% of total municipal funds already go towards public safety and called the possible increase an “one of the largest unfunded mandates” Ohio cities may have to face. 

“All of our cities want to be able to invest in our current public safety workforce and if the state requires us to put $80 million more into the pension system, that's going to make that challenge even harder,” McCarthy said.    

McCarthy said easing into the transition does help, but said long-term, this will create a significant yearly cost that he said might end up being the responsibility of taxpayers. 

“That's a very real concern,” he said. “Municipal budgets are not unlimited. We have to balance our budget just like the state does. If we have to pay $80 million more into our pension fund, that's potentially going to have an impact for taxpayers.”    

“We certainly recognize there is a cost to the local governments in this proposal,” Althouse said. “However, it is a small, gradual increase over a period of time which cities can budget for and plan for in order to keep a strong public safety force.”
    

But Althouse said legislation like this, which ensures a good retirement, will help with recruitment, which he said is “very challenging” in Oho right now for one big reason.    

“The fear aspect,” Althouse said. “It's not the fear of the danger that the officers are facing, but it's the fear of the quick decisions they make, the judgments they make, and what if they have to use force or make a split-second decision, how that's going to be judged?”    

He said he thinks the bill proposes a “very fair approach” and is a much-needed change to a system that has been changing the goalposts for Ohio policemen retiring the past several decades. 

“For the last 40 years, increases and changes to public pension system for police officers has changed, requiring them to work longer years with less increases in retirement and cutting into a lot of their retirement benefits,” Althouse said.    

“Nothing that the legislature does here today is going to have any potential impact in terms of increasing benefits for retirees,” McCarthy said. “It's really just to address a long-term accounting issue. That's why there's time to get this right.”    

The soonest the bill can go up for a vote in the House is December.  

Ohio Speaker of the House Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) declined to comment on the legislation.