Riley: Hey Hartford, Why Not Just Laugh at Bankruptcy, Like Elorza
Michael G. Riley, GoLocalProv MINDSETTER™
Riley: Hey Hartford, Why Not Just Laugh at Bankruptcy, Like Elorza
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Sound like Extortion to You?
Me too.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTBut, imagine if Providence had to make the same plea - how would Rhode Island taxpayers fare? Compared to Detroit or Connecticut, RI taxpayers have much less protection or standing. (This Op-Ed in the Hartford Courant is a must read.)
If a Hartford Chapter 9 filing takes place, it will be a very different outcome in Connecticut from what Governor Raimondo and current Rhode Island law has in store for taxpayers in Rhode Island.
In Connecticut, Chapter 9 is still the path and ultimately the trustee and judge hold hearings to determine if the plan is "fair and equitable." Not all stakeholders are required to be treated the same. In Detroit, for example, pensioners had a 6 percent loss in benefit value; current employees lost 12 percent and bondholders had a “haircut” in excess of 30 percent. The court can only reject the plan or urge changes. It cannot substitute its judgment for the elected body.
In Rhode Island our receivership law of 2010 will be the operating document for Providence bankruptcy. Providence is worse off than Hartford and no one other than Jorge Elorza believes it can avoid bankruptcy.
What Would Be in Store For RI
In 2010, the Rhode Island state legislature, seeing the inevitability of a Central Falls bankruptcy, passed a law that put a statutory lien on the city’s property taxes, earmarking that revenue toward the city’s bondholders in the event of a Chapter 9 filing.
In Rhode Island, the statutory lien law changed the status of Central Falls’ general obligation bonds from unsecured to secured, ensuring that bondholders would be repaid in full. So bondholders are protected and that would leave very few stakeholders to share the burden of bankruptcy in Providence.
First up [are] the employees' benefits, which could be altered through negotiation or even by force once Providence is in receivership.
Next up are the taxpayers -- however it's not only Providence but ALL state taxpayers who will need to bail out Providence. The major difference between CT and Detroit is that the bondholder once again will walk away unscathed as in 38 Studios but taxpayers will get slammed with nearly all the costs of Providence bail out. We "the taxpayers" will all end up paying for the retirements of police, fire and some municipal employees in Providence. The city of Providence has nearly $1.5 billion in net pension liability and $1 billion in unfunded OPEB.
Will Governor Raimondo pledge not to bail out Providence? Or will she advocate for a law to stop protecting bondholders?
As Hartford flirts with bankruptcy and Jorge Elorza mocks the thought of it, I thought I would show you the current status of how each city is funding their pension plan. If Elorza and Providence were so strong economically, how does he explain starving the pension plan? Is he anti-retiree & municipal worker?
Or is he lying about city finances?
Timeline - Rhode Island Pension Reform
2005-2010
January 2009
Governor Don Carcieri makes pension reform a top priority in his emergency budget plan. His three-point plan included:
1. An established minimum retirment age of 59 for all state and municipal employees.
2. Elimination of cost-of-living increases.
3. Conversion of new hires into a 401(k) style plan.
See WPRI's coverage of Carcieri's proposal here.
2009
Rhode Island increased mandatory employee contributions for new and current employees. New Mexico was the only other state to mandate current employees to increase their contributions.
Read the NCSL report here
(Photo: FutUndBeidl, Flickr)
2010
Rhode Island's state administered public employee pension system only held 48% of the assets to cover future payments to its emplyees.
"This system as designed today is fundamentally unsustainable, and it is in your best interest to fix it" - Gina Raimondo
Check out Wall Street Journal's coverage here.
November 2010
Gina Raimondo defeats opponent Kernan King in the election for General Treasurer of Rhode Island using her platform to reform the structure of Rhode Island's public employee pension system. She received 201,625 votes, more than any other politician on the 2010 Rhode Island ballot.
April 2011
Raimondo leads effort to reduce the state’s assumed rate of return on pension investments from 8.25 to 7.5%.
Her proposal includes plans to suspend the Cost of Living Adjustment (which allows for raises corresponding with rates of inflation for retirees), changing the retirement age to match Social Security ages, and adding a defined contribution plan.
May 2011
Raimondo releases “Truth in Numbers”, a report detailing the pension crisis and offering possible solutions. She continues to work to raise public support for her proposal.
"Decades of ignoring actuarial assumptions led to lower taxpayer & employee contributions being made into the system." - Gina Raimondo (Truth in Numbers)
Read GoLocalProv's analysis of the report here.
Read the Truth in Numbers report here.
October 2011
Governor Lincoln Chafee and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo present their pension reform legislation proposal before a joint session of the General Assembly.
“Our fundamental goal throughout this process has been to provide retirement security through reforms that are fair to the three main interested parties: retirees, current employees and the taxpayer…I join the General Treasurer in urging the General Assembly to take decisive action and adopt these reforms.”- Gov. Lincoln Chafee
October 2011
Head of Rhode Island firefighters’ union accuses Raimondo of “cooking the books” to create a pension problem where one did not exist. Paul Valletta Jr. states that Raimondo raised Rhode Islanders’ assumed mortality rate to increase liability to the state, using data from 1994 instead of updated information from 2008, and lowered the anticipated rate of return on state investments.
“You’re going after the retirees! In this economic time, how could you possibly take a pension away?” Paul Valletta Jr (Head of RI Firefighters' Union)
Read more from the firefighters' battle with Raimondo here.
Check out the New York Times' take on RI's pension crisis here.
November 17, 2011
The Rhode Island Retirement Security Act (RIRSA) is enacted by the General Assembly with bipartisan support in both chambers. RIRSA’s passing is slated to reduce the unfunded liability of RI’s pension system and increase its funding status by $3 billion and 60% respectively, level contributions to the pension system by taxpayers, save municipalities $100 million through lessened contributions to teacher and MERS pension systems, and lower the cost of borrowing.
Read more from GoLocalProv here.
November 18, 2011
Governor Lincoln Chafee signs RIRSA into law. According to a December 2011 Brown University poll, 60% of Rhode Island residents support the reform. Following its enactment, Raimondo holds regional sessions to educate public employees on the effects of the legislation on their retirement benefits.
Read about how Rhode Islanders react to RIRSA here.
January 2012
Raimondo hosts local workshops to explain the pension reforms across Rhode Island. She also receives national attention for her contributions to the state’s pension reforms. The reforms are given praise and many believe Rhode Island will serve as a template for other States’ future pension reforms.
Read about the pension workshop here.
Read Raimondo's feature in Institutional Investor here.
March - April 2012
Raimondo opposes Governor Chafee’s proposal to cut pension-funded deposits. She continued to provide workshops on the pension reforms.
December 5, 2012
Raimondo publicly opposes Governor Chafee’s meetings with union leaders in an effort to avoid judicial rulings on the pension reform package. In response, Chafee issues a statement supporting the negotiations.
Read more about Raimondo's opposition here.
Read about Chafee's statement here.
March 2013
Led by the Rhode Island State Association of Fire Fighters, unions protest the 2011 pension reform outside of the Omni Providence where Governor Lincoln Chafee and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo conduct a national conference of bond investors.
Read about Raimondo's discussion of distressed municipalities here.
April 2013
The pension plan comes under increased scrutiny as a result of the involvement of hedge funds and private equity firms. Reports show that $200 million of the state pension fund was lost in 2012.
"In short, impressive educational credentials and limited knowledge of investment industry realities made Raimondo ideally suited to champion private equity’s public pension money grab." - Ted Seidle (Forbes)
Read GoLocalProv's coverage of the State Pension Fund's losses here.
Read Ted Seidle's criticism of Raimondo in Forbes.
June 2013
Reports show that the State’s retirement system increased in 2013 by $20 million despite the reforms being put into effect the previous year.
Read GoLocalProv's investigation into the rising pension costs here.
September 2013
Matt Taibbi publishes an article in Rolling Stone detailing Raimondo’s use of hedge funds as a questionably ethical tool to aid with pension reform.
Read Taibbi's article in Rolling Stone.
Read GoLocalProv's response to Taibbi here.
October 2013
As Raimondo eyes the role of Governor of Rhode Island in 2014, more behind-the-curtain information about the 2011 pension reform comes to light.
Read more from GoLocalProv about the players in the pension battle here.
