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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.
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.
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.
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.”
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.
Picked up in a story today on KYTV and featured on the video:
The citizens’ task force for Springfield police and fire pension is considering two options: a 5/8 cent sales tax or a 3/4 cent sales tax. Either one would need to be in place for ten years. Some wonder if that’s enough and if the panel isn’t overlooking other options.
The attorney representing police and fire warned the panel what will happen if a decision isn’t made soon.
“I really don’t think you want to be a community that’s perceived to be a deadbeat community. You’re struggling with an under funded, understaffed, safety thing that’s going to cost you insurance rates, cost you goodwill in the community and and cost you a lot of things,” said attorney Daniel Tobben.
Dan Tobben comments on proposal by Springfield’s Police and Fire Pension Task Force, Thursday, July 29, 2009. Tells KSPR, “It is not legal to take away benefits.”
Watch the story…
Read news story… KSPR.com
Published: July 30, 2009
In a move which might be perceived as an effort to influence public opinion regarding pension funding recommendations, even before the pension task force has begun deliberations as a Committee of the Whole, the police and fire associations’ retained attorney addressed the public through a column to the local daily paper. In the column, the attorney issued a warning to the public.
By Dan Tobben: I recently had the pleasure to address the Springfield Pension Task Force and I perceived most of the men and women who serve on this citizen’s committee to be genuinely interested in finding a solution to funding the police and firefighter’s pension problem. They are citizens who want to resolve the $200 million shortfall and to maintain that funding for the future. As part of my presentation, I told them that there are no easy solutions. Springfield’s long-term failure to properly fund was the predominant factor in creating this shortfall. Some difficult decisions and actions are necessary to solve this problem.
Members of the city’s management staff who sit on the police-fire pension fund board of trustees will temporarily abstain from participating in board functions, the city said Wednesday. The move comes in response to allegations that City Attorney Dan Wichmer’s participation on the board represents a conflict of interest. St. Louis attorney Dan Tobben, who represents the Springfield Police Officers Association and the Firefighters Local 152, raised the issue during a May 6 presentation to the Police-Fire Pension Fund Citizens Task Force.
