Moore: End Providence Pension Spiking

Moore: End Providence Pension Spiking

Should a former, long term Providence City Councilwoman be allowed to take a city job with good pay, long after leaving the council, and be eligible to increase her pension after leaving city service once again?

Providence City Councilman David Salvatore says no. And I agree with him. 

Bablina Young, who spent 22 years on the Providence City Council representing portions of South Providence, was hired earlier last summer as an aide to the very same city council. Young left the city council in 2010, and began receiving a pension based on her last salary of about $18,000 per year. 

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A New Role For a Bigger Pension?

Since she's taken the position working for the city council, she began receiving a salary that equates to about $57,000 per year. (Her pension payments were suspended when she began working for the city again.) When she leaves that position, she'll be able to apply those higher salary years to the city pension she will once again be eligible to receive, since pensions are based on salaries earned in the last several years of city service.

That doesn't sit well with Salvatore--the current, second term city councilman who represents portions of Elmhurst and Wanskuck. 

"When people read about things like this, they get angry with city government," said Salvatore. 

Salvatore has submitted an ordinance that would prevent former elected officials from "spiking" their pensions. Most city employees would not be allowed to apply time served on the council to future pension credits. 

A Fairness Issue

"I guarantee that this ordinance would engender confidence in city government by the residents we serve," said Salvatore. "It would be met with applause."

Let's face it: he's right. If this ordinance gained final passage on a Monday, the people reading about it on Tuesday would be impressed. Yes, it wouldn't save the city from it's financial troubles. But people would be nodding their heads in approval, after being given evidence that the city is serious about enacting good government reforms.

There are thousands over thousands of Providence residents (and other Rhode Islanders, who support the Providence city budget with their own tax dollars, as well) who think that the city government is a glorified automatic teller machine for the politically connected. This measure wouldn't obliterate that sentiment, but it would surely help dampen it in some small way.

Saving Taxpayer Money

But it would not only resolve an issue of fairness, said Salvatore, it would also make the city's vulnerable pension fund a little bit more healthy as opposed to less healthy. 

Salvatore also points out that the city received a pretty ominous letter from the state auditor general about the city's cumulative deficit of about $13 million last summer, and that there really hasn't been all that much done to resolve the issue.

Again, Salvatore's ordinance wouldn't solve the problem--not even close. But it wouldn't hurt. The young councilman is frustrated that the ordinance not only hasn't passed, but also hasn't received a hearing.

"The ordinance hasn't received a hearing, and as far as I know there it isn't scheduled for one yet," said Salvatore. "I will continue to push for this in 2016."

It should be noted Salvatore is the former Chairman of the Council "Ways and Means Committee", which was the council's Finance Committee by another name last term. Salvatore has been far more aggressive about good government issues since he has been ousted his previous council leadership  role. As an aside, it is ironic how politicians tend to be far more interested in advocating good government issues when they're out of power as opposed to when they wield it.

Give The Ordinance a Hearing

But that's not the issue at hand. Every matter that comes before the city council should be decided solely on its own merits. And on that front, Salvatore's ordinance to prevent pension spiking passes that test, with flying colors. 

At first, Salvatore said he would have agreed to drop the ordinance if Young promised to not spike her pension. But then he realized that this issue shouldn't be about just one person. There are other former elected officials who have spiked their pensions after leaving the council as well. This should become a law. 

Don't get me wrong: Council President Luis Aponte is a very smart man, an effective council leader, and in my opinion, the most talented politician in Providence right now. But he would be wise to not only give Salvatore's ordinance a hearing sometime soon, but to throw his support behind it. As far as I can see, there's no reason not to. 

Where's Elorza's Leadership?

It's also disappointing that Mayor Jorge Elorza hasn't thrown his weight behind this issue, instead saying this matter is up to the council. That's a complete and less than artful dodge. The Mayor is the Chairman  of the city's Pension Investment Commission, and therefore has tons of say over the city pension system. 

In ant event, at the very least, Salvatore is demanding a hearing on the issue. 

"If this isn't a good idea, at least tell me why I'm wrong," said Salvatore. 

Russell Moore has worked on both sides of the desk in Rhode Island media, both for newspapers and on political campaigns. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter @russmoore713.