City of Baltimore - File #: 17-0035R

• File #: 17-0035R
• Version: 0
• Name: Investigative Hearing - Employees’ Retirement System Funding Ratio
• Type: City Council Resolution
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 7/17/2017
• In control: Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee
• Final action: 2/5/2018
• Title: Investigative Hearing - Employees’ Retirement System Funding Ratio For the purpose of calling on representatives from the Baltimore City Employees’ Retirement System to appear before the City Council to discuss the system’s current low funding ratio and its plans to ensure that the City will be able to meet all of its retirement obligations to its employees without placing an unreasonable burden on City taxpayers.
• Sponsors: Sharon Green Middleton, President Young, John T. Bullock, Eric T. Costello, Bill Henry, Isaac "Yitzy" Schleifer, Leon F. Pinkett, III, Brandon M. Scott, Zeke Cohen, Robert Stokes, Sr., Ryan Dorsey, Kristerfer Burnett, Shannon Sneed, Mary Pat Clarke, Edward Reisinger

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result
2/5/2018	0	City Council	Adopted
2/5/2018	0	Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee	Recommended Favorably
1/25/2018	0	Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee	Recommended Favorably	Pass
1/8/2018	0	Taxation, Finance and Economic Development Committee	Scheduled for a Public Hearing
7/20/2017	0	The City Council	Refer to Dept. of Finance
7/20/2017	0	The City Council	Refer to Employees' Retirement System
7/17/2017	0	City Council	Assigned
7/17/2017	0	City Council	Introduced

* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*

City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)

Introduced by: Councilmember Middleton



A Resolution Entitled

A Council Resolution concerning
title
Investigative Hearing - Employees’ Retirement System Funding Ratio
For the purpose of calling on representatives from the Baltimore City Employees’ Retirement System to appear before the City Council to discuss the system’s current low funding ratio and its plans to ensure that the City will be able to meet all of its retirement obligations to its employees without placing an unreasonable burden on City taxpayers.
body

Recitals

The Baltimore City Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) is responsible for investing the City’s and City employee’s retirement contributions to ensure that employees in the general administrative service of the City, and certain non-teacher employees of the Baltimore City Public School System, receive the retirement benefits that they have earned. To achieve this goal they manage an investment portfolio that was valued at more than $1.6 billion in March of this year.

In FY2016, the City contributed more than $77 million to the fund, and employees contributed another $10 million. Despite these substantial contributions, and the large exiting balance in the fund, ERS’ funded ratio, based on an actuarial value of assets, was only 71.2%. This means that nearly 30% of expected future retirement payments are not currently funded.

Although ERS believes that the plan is sustainable due to the fact that current employees w...