Dan Tobben: St. Louis City’s Proposed Firefighter Pension Change May Be Illegal

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported that St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay appears to be putting together a new proposal that may attempt to do away with the existing pension system for new firefighters joining the St. Louis City Fire Department. At a minimum, it would apparently reduce the benefits of any new firefighter joining the department. (Current and retired firefighters would remain in the current system.)

While details have not been released, Jeff Rainford, the mayor’s Chief of Staff, has started briefing the aldermanic council on the mayor’s intents. According to aldermen, Rainford has stated that if negotiations with the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 73 are not successful,

… the city would move to essentially “opt out” of the current system and start a new agency to govern firefighter retirement ….”

Slay has stalled a proposal already presented to the board for consideration that would save over $1 million a year, according to one alderman. The proposal was created through negotiations between the union and the City, with the drafting assistance of Dan Tobben and Cheryl Beebe Snell, attorneys for the Firemen’s Retirement System.

Joe Vaccaro, alderman in the city’s southwestern 23rd Ward, is frustrated that Slay has successfully stalled his bill, which he introduced this session to change firefighter disability benefits and save the city more than $1 million a year.

Slay asked Craig Schmid, alderman in south city’s 20th Ward and chair of the Public Employees committee, not to hear the bill until Slay’s plan is ready.

“He told me it doesn’t go far enough,” Vaccaro said of Slay. “Why not let my bill stand, save taxpayer money, and they can introduce their own legislation?”

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Firefighter Quits Joplin Pension Board Over Tobben’s Firefighter Disability Pension Case

The Joplin Globe has reported that a Joplin firefighter has resigned from the Police and Firemen’s Pension Fund board.

Tim Woodward, a battalion chief, stated that he resigned over the issue surrounding the lawsuit over disability benefits for  Tom Robertson, a former Joplin fire department driver-engineer. Robertson’s original disability benefits were reduced when recalculated by the pension board, and the board later declined to reverse their decision in an appeal by Robertson.

Robertson’s attorney, Dan Tobben, of St. Louis, discussed the issue with the board before a lawsuit was filed. He contended that those covered by the plan did not authorize changes to the plan that reduced benefits.

According to the Globe, Woodward conducted his own research regarding whether the pension board was advised that previous changes to the plan would reduce firefighter disability payments. Woodward said that the board had a chance during the board meeting, when presented with evidence he had uncovered during his own research, to reverse their previous decision regarding Robertson’s recalculated reduced disability benefit pay. When the board would not seize the opportunity to settle the lawsuit, Woodward resigned from the board.

“There’s sufficient evidence, and I presented sufficient evidence that shows there was never any authorized change to calculating disability benefits,” Woodward said. “There was never discussion by any previous boards to do that. There was never any ballot that indicated any such change. There was never a vote. And yet [Brian] Head maintained it was authorized to change that disability calculation.”

Brian Head, Joplin’s city attorney and adviser to the pension board under the city charter, disagrees that the board and the union membership were not properly informed.

For information regarding the Robertson lawsuit, click here.

Read more … Joplin Globe

Tobben Works With Firemen’s Retirement System and St. Louis City for New Solutions to Pension Issues

Under a new proposal being considered by the St. Louis Aldermanic Council, St. Louis City firefighters may have opportunities other than full disability due to injuries on the job. Retraining may become an option.

Dan Tobben has been working to help author the bill, according to stltoday.com.

Moreover, said Firemen’s Retirement System attorney Dan Tobben, whose office wrote much of  the bill, the education component will get disabled firefighters back into the  workforce.

“One of the big problems in America now is there are too many people getting  checks and not enough people working,” Tobben said. “This is a version of that.  We’re trying to get people to be back gainfully employed in the workforce.”

And while city leaders have consistently called the firefighter pension fund  a growing crisis, Tobben said he doesn’t believe it is as badly underfunded as  the city makes it out to be.

Read more … stltoday.com

Dan Tobben Takes Case of Disabled Firefighter over Disability Pay

A disabled Joplin firefighter has filed a lawsuit against Joplin and its Police and Firemen’s Pension Fund over what he contends is miscalculation of his disability pay over a duty-related disability. Rather than receiving one-half of his prior working wages, he is receiving only slightly more than a third of the wages he made when he was working.

According to his attorney, Dan Tobben, two issues are in play.

First, the city is not granting the full amount of service for the firefighter (15 years and 11 months) but is rounding it down to 15 years.

Second to the case, and more important, involves a change to the plan in 1993. Tobben asserts that the pension board did not disclose to the firefighters prior to a vote to amend their pension changes years regarding a reduction in benefit pay to those with less than 20 years of service. This change decreased the benefit pay from one-half of their working pay at the time of disability to one-third of their pay.

When Tobben appeared before the pension board in May, he stated that there is nothing that documents that firefighters were informed of the change to their disability pay and if they had been informed, the firefighters never would have voted for the amended plan.

Read more… Joplin Globe

St. Louis Firemen’s Retirement System Sues City Over “Illegal” Ordinances

As issued by Fireman’s Retirement System of St. Louis:

St. Louis, MO – October 6, 2010 – The Firemen’s Retirement System of St. Louis and its trustees sued the city of St. Louis today for improperly enacting ordinances concerning the crediting of sick leave benefits contending they would be harmful to city firefighters’ pensions. The lawsuit was filed by FRS in the St. Louis City Circuit Court by Dan Tobben, of Danna McKitrick, P.C. A declaratory judgment, an injunction and other relief has been requested.

In the lawsuit, FRS contends that the changes contained in the recent ordinances are invalid because they contradict the state law. FRS is subject to city ordinances, however the ordinances must comply with, and be consistent with, the state’s enabling legislation. The suit contends the recently passed ordinances concerning sick leave are not in compliance.

One ordinance passed by the Board of Aldermen and then signed into law by Mayor Slay on September 20, 2010 repeals the existing provisions of Chapter 4.18.386 concerning the crediting of sick leave. Another ordinance, passed the same day, renames sick leave as medical leave and does not permit it being accrued or used for pension purposes.

The Civil Service Commission of the City of St. Louis previously challenged this same sick leave ordinance. That case went all the way to the Missouri Supreme Court, which upheld the ordinance unanimously in 2003, and ruled in favor of FRS.

Vicky Grass, Executive Director of FRS, contends that the City of St. Louis is unfairly singling out the city’s firefighters in its attempts to fix the city’s unbalanced budget.

The City of St. Louis has targeted the city firefighters’ benefits as a way to cut its budget shortfall. Surely, the Mayor does not believe that the firefighters or their pensions are bankrupting the city. The men and women of the fire department are among the hardest working employees in the city and to balance the budget on the backs of firefighters, retirees and their families is not only unfair, it is wrong.

Dan Tobben, attorney for FRS, indicated that state law and city ordinance both guarantee that firefighters be credited with their unused sick leave upon retirement and that accumulated sick leave can be used to vest employees in the retirement system.

State law prohibits caps or limits on accumulated sick leave for current firefighters, which is exactly what the city is attempting to do. The City of St. Louis is clearly violating the law here, and the reasons for their position are hard to understand. At hearings on these bills before a Committee of the Board of Aldermen, there seemed to be resentment related to recent firefighter residency issues, which are completely unrelated to the present situation.

Grass also suggests that the city, through the passage of the offending ordinances, may have ulterior motives.

The City of St. Louis may have passed ordinances that they know full well will be struck down. Perhaps the city may use this lawsuit as an excuse to lay off a significant number of firefighters to try to balance its budget. If the city had not become involved with a number of expensive, failed projects, such as Ballpark Village, the Bottleworks project and the almost empty Crown Candy development, perhaps it wouldn’t be taking these actions against firefighters that may jeopardize the safety of the city’s residents, institutions and businesses.

Tobben has filed suit and prevailed in the Missouri Supreme Court against the City of St. Louis on three separate occasions on behalf of FRS, and has successfully sued on its behalf in several other cases. Most recently, in 2007, the Supreme Court entered a ruling that resulted in the city being ordered to pay more than $49,000,000 to FRS, because of the city’s underfunding of the system.

About FRS: Established on July 26, 1944 in accordance with Ordinance #43009, the Firemen’s Retirement System of St. Louis was created to provide a program of security for the welfare of St. Louis City Fire Fighters and their families. On January 1, 1960, the System was revised through enabling legislation by the Missouri Legislature and then by the Board of Aldermen of the City of St. Louis to further ensures the continued security for all active fire fighters, retirees and their families. The Firemen’s Retirement System of St. Louis provides retirement, disability, death and survivor benefits to nearly 2000 active and retired participants and their beneficiaries.

FRS supports its membership by maintaining a pension plan that will attract and retain firefighters. It seeks to maximize investment returns by following a prudent investment policy.

About Danna McKitrick P.C.: Located in Clayton, Mo., Danna McKitrick, P.C. delivers legal representation to local and national businesses, insurers, government-related entities, and individuals. The firm is a member of MSI Global Alliance – an international association of more than 250 independent law and accounting firms in 100 countries.

Tobben Questions Springfield Suit Challenging Retirees’ 3% Benefit Increase

Both Tobben & MO Attorney General Seeks Dismissal of Suit

Dan Tobben interview included in “Attorney General’s Office Files for Dismissal in Springfield Pension Lawsuit” on August 2, 2010, KSPR News.

One by one, retired Springfield firefighters and police officers filled the meeting at the Clarion Hotel and Convention Center. Attorney Dan Tobben, representing about 260 of them against the city, gave a presentation. In June, each former public servant was served a summons for a civil case. In the case the city is asking for a declaratory judgment which affirms a legal right or interpretation.

Dan Tobben Comments on KSPR

“The attorney general has said in a pleading file with the court ‘we did not give you an opinion, why are you dragging us into it; we are not threatening to sue you,’” attorney Tobben said.

It’s unclear what is next for the lawsuit. Four judges have said they can’t hear the suit, citing possible conflicts with taking the case.

The City of Springfield is paying the COLA increase. Retirees received their July check.

Read more… KSPR News

Springfield “Pension Lawsuit Unnecessary” Contends Tobben in Springfield News Leader

The Springfield News Leader article entitled, “Pension lawsuit unnecessary, contends lawyer for Springfield police, fire retirees,” features an interview with Dan Tobben.

Hired by the police and fire associations, Tobben has signed on to represent more than half of the retirees.

Speaking with the News-Leader before the closed meeting with his clients, Tobben said he understands the city’s motivation but thinks the suit is unnecessary.

“I don’t think it’s based on ill will,” he said. “To me it’s just unfortunate.”

Tobben said he doesn’t think the restrictions in state law or the constitution apply to the cost-of-living adjustments, which are not new benefits but rather the annual application of an existing one.

He also doesn’t think the suit is based on a real controversy — a view shared by the Attorney General’s Office, which filed a motion July 19 asking that the lawsuit be dismissed.

Read full story… Springfield News Leader

Dan Tobben’s Commentary on Firefighter & Police Pensions Published in St. Louis Post-Disptach

On May 5, 2010, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an editorial piece that was submitted by Dan Tobben about the St. Louis police and firefighters’ pensions relative to the city’s financial situation.

Excerpt:

Politicians in St. Louis city government appear to be in denial about the causes of police and firefighters’ pension funding issues. Contrary to what city officials have been promoting in the news media, the allegedly generous benefits provided for in the St. Louis police and firefighter pensions are not causing the city’s budget problems…

Firefighters and police officers do not qualify for Social Security because they have a government pension, so their pensions are all that they have when they retire. Firefighters have no health care coverage when they leave the job.

One can imagine how important a stable pension must be to a young recruit before making a decision to join the city’s police or fire department. Would you take a low-paid, dangerous job if you were not offered the incentive of a guaranteed pension with strong disability benefits?

The city’s budget crisis was not caused by public safety pensions.

And it is fundamentally important that the city continue to be served by dedicated police officers and firefighters who serve honorably and with distinction.

Dan Tobben Quoted in The Daily Northwestern about Evanston Pension Funding

The Daily Northwestern quoted Dan Tobben in “Attorneys’ weekly blog adds voice to pension fund dispute” referring to the firm’s recently launched Protecting Public Pensions blog.

The objective of the blog is to explain the origins of the crisis and how it will eventually be solved. Attorneys Dan Tobben, who successfully represented the St. Louis firefighters in their suit for pension payment, and David Binder started posting on the issue Monday.

“What we’re trying to do is raise the issue and encourage public discussion,” said Tobben, a [principal] at Danna McKitrick in Clayton, Mo. “Evanston needs to solve their problems one way or another, and this discussion hopefully will help them see that.”

“Everything is riding on these pensions,” Tobben said. “To me, the idea that the city doesn’t honor its obligations to its police and firefighters, it’s kind of like if we as Americans don’t honor our obligations to our military.”

Read full story… The Northwestern Daily

Dan Tobben Featured in “Pension Scenarios Tough to Compare”

Springfield News Leader references Dan Tobben’s representation of firefighter and police association in pension issues.

The Missouri Supreme Court, which ultimately decided the case, ruled in 2007 that the city was required to make the full payment and ordered the city to pay a total of about $210 million into the three funds to make up the difference.

Dan Tobben, one of the attorneys who represented firefighters and police in the case, has since been hired by the Springfield police and fire associations and has warned that the Queen City could face a similar lawsuit if its funding shortfall isn’t addressed.

Read more… Springfield News Leader