Town Council Adopts Pension-Funding Improvement Plans

Council members voted 4-1 to meet state deadline to begin the long process.

  Coventry Town Council members voted 4-1, for a strategy that would substantially reduce over many years the estimated $70 million of underfunded liability on pensions for municipal employees and police union at the Town Hall Annex on Tuesday Only Ted Jendzejec (District 5), voted against the measure, saying “I am not comfortable with this plan. This is one of the most important decisions regarding our town. I can’t see this falling into place. It’s not carved in stone. We need more discussion among the taxpayers, collective bargaining units and town council.” "It's not pension reform that I am against," continued Jenzejec following the meeting. "It's the hike in taxes that this plan could have that I'm against. I believe more open …

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Reader Roundup

READER ROUNDUP: Town Needs Responsible Fiscal Planning

Find out what your neighbors across the state are talking about, and add to the conversation in the comment stream.

Coventry: "The reality is that the taxpayer cannot substain much further into the future and the only way we can have a future is with good, responsible fiscal planning. I hope you can be successful. At the end of the day, what we have going for us in Coventry is a very competent Town Manager and a person that I think you will be able to collectively work out a plan with. good luck Senator Kettle." — Brian "The majority of RI politicos have sold their souls to the unions for votes and donations which give them political power over jobs and contracts, and the majority of those political prostitutes are Dems not withstanding the man Kettle beat for that seat." — coventry voter, both commenting on Op-Ed: Municipal Pension Reform is the Next …

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Op-Ed: Municipal Pension Reform is the Next Step

By Senator Nick Kettle

  An historic, yet ironic and tragic, vote occurred this past November with the passage of the pension reform bill; Historic because it put our state on a path towards fiscal stability; Ironic because some of the very same crooked politicians in leadership at the General Assembly, whose malfeasance and inattention helped create this crisis in the first place, are now being hailed as heroes; and, Tragic because those who ultimately got hurt are state and local employees who were promised a certain pension package and faithfully paid into the system while double-dealing politicians played with their money, betrayed their trust and jeopardized their futures.  In the end, we members of the General Assembly, when presented with the ugly but …

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PO Taxpayer

9:40 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013

"Pension Reform" occurred last year at the State level .... The emphasis was placed on protecting "retirement security" for state workers ... After hard fought "reform" ... The pension system is again severely underfunded after an estimated 300 Million dollar loss .... Sorry Coventry Taxpayer 2, you can continue to try to attack the messenger, you can paint the Tea Party with any brush you want…   more ›

Finance Committees Pass RI Pension Reform

The House and Senate finance committees pass the reform plan proposed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee and General Treasurer Gina Raimondo.

Raimondo: Plan Will Solve Pension Crisis 'Once And For All'

The state General Treasurer addressed the joint House and Senate Finance Committees Tuesday evening.

The pension reform plan will "solve the problem once and for all," ending decades of unfunded pension plans leading up to the current crisis, according to General Treasurer Gina Raimondo. The treasurer defended the plan she and Gov. Lincoln Chafee crafted before the joint House and Senate Finance Committees Tuesday evening. She told the legislators she and her staff spent countless hours vetting the legislation and poring over the state's historic pension numbers to come to a bill she said saves Rhode Islanders billions of dollars, provides security for retirees, and ensures the pension system will never reach crisis level again. "The system we have proposed is fair," Raimondo said. "This bill will solve the problem once and for all. If we…

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Fire Union Leader Charges Treasurer With Falsifying Numbers

Paul Valletta Jr., president of Cranston Fire Fighters Local 1363, accused Treasurer Gina Raimondo with "cooking the books" to push through pension reform.

The head of the Cranston Firefighter's union accused General Treasurer Gina Raimondo of “cooking the books,” lying to the General Assembly in an attempt to push through pension reform. Paul Valletta, President of the Cranston Fire Fighters Local 1363, who was introduced as representing the Rhode Island Association of Firefighters, said Raimondo created an artificial crisis where there is none in the pension system in order to convince legislators and residents that “draconian” changes were needed in the state pension system. “The General Treasurer cooked the books on this issue,” Valletta told the joint House and Senate Finance Committees Thursday. “This is not a crisis; it’s a problem. She created the pension problem and dropped it in …

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RS

2:01 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I will agree that yes, there is abuse in the system. Should the abuse be investigated...absolutely. It ruins it for those that are really injured. The abuse was perpetuated by the elected officials as well though. They are the ones that approved them. Maybe an independant authority should handle that in the future. I'm a bit sick and tired of everyone grouping State and Municiple emploees …   more ›