Pension Task Force Begins Work on Fund Shortfall

“I think the pension trustees probably have a duty at this point to tell the city that if this isn’t solved fairly soon through this process that the trustees will sue the city,” says Tobben. The Springfield Police Officers Association (SPOA) and the International Fire Fighters Association (IFFA) hired Tobben to represent them.

Read more… OzarkFirst.com
Published: May 6, 2009

Task Force Considers Pension Possibilities

And St. Louis lawyer Dan Tobben, hired by the Springfield Police Officers Association and Firefighters IAFF Local 152, is expected to talk about legal restrictions that bar the city from altering benefits current employees receive.

Read more… Springfield News-Leader
Published: May 6, 2009

Police Officers, Firefighters Hire Attorney for Pension Fund Interests

City police officers and firefighters associations said Tuesday that they hired an attorney from St. Louis County. Dan Tobben of Clayton will represent the associations as a city task force looks for ways to fix the $200 million shortfall in their city pension fund.

Read more… KY3 News
Published: May 5, 2009

Springfield Police and Firefighters Hire Attorney in Pension Funding Dispute

The Springfield Police and Firefighters organizations have teamed up to hire a national expert in pensions. Dan Tobben will address the Springfield Pension Task Force Wednesday at its regularly scheduled meeting.

Read more… KSPR News
Published: May 5, 2009

Pension Fund Lawyer Waiting For Task Force Recommendation

The attorney hired by the Springfield Police and Firefighter Unions says any talk of a lawsuit regarding the pension fund is a bit premature. St Louis lawyer Dan Tobben says he is willing to wait until a task force presents its findings to the mayor and city council later this year.

Read more… KTTS 94.7 FM
Published: May 2009

Pension Board Reviewing Bids From Two Firms

The pension board last year hired an attorney, Dan Tobben of St. Louis, who advised members that a lawsuit could be filed against taxpayers if the funding level wasn’t improved. A committee of police and fire representatives assembled by the city manager proposed changing the benefits for future employees along with increased city funding to bolster the fund’s solvency.

Read more… The Joplin Globe
Published: January 21, 2009

St. Louis Law Firms Plunge into Public Pension Fray

In the St. Louis area, Dan Tobben is the attorney government workers call when they think their pension plans are in danger. Tobben, a principal with Danna McKitrick, a 25-lawyer firm in St. Louis, was co-lead plaintiffs’ counsel in a 2003 suit by city firefighters and police alleging that the city breached its obligation to fully fund its pension fund for fiscal years 2004 and 2005.

Read more… The PolicePay Daily Update
Published: September 23, 2008

Small Law Firms Plunge into Public Pension Fray

“Cities have not come to grips yet with the concept that a pension contribution isn’t a discretionary item,” Tobben commented. “It’s a fixed budget item.” But public workers are fighting back, with lawsuits that accuse governments of breaching their obligations to fully fund the plans.

Read more… LawyersUSA
Published: September 22, 2008

SPOA Unhappy with Way City Manager Picked

In other SPOA news, Plott says they had an informal meeting this week with St. Louis Attorney Dan Tobben who took a lawsuit against the city over the Firemen’s Retirement System all the way to the state supreme court and won.

Listen & Read more… KTTS 94.7 FM
Published: August 20, 2008

Alton Firefighters Settlement May Have Statewide Implications

Edwardsville, IL – Judge Dan Stack today signed an order approving the settlement agreement reached by the City of Alton and its firefighters. The order enforces the settlement reached by Alton and the trustees for its firefighters, which requires the city to follow guidelines set forth by state law. This court-ordered settlement agreement sets a precedent that sends a message to other municipalities concerning their public safety employees. That message is to pay now or pay more later when it comes to pension funding. The order enforces the settlement reached by Alton and its firefighters that requires the city to follow guidelines set forth by state law. A losing court battle may be the alternative.

Alton Firefighters Pension Fund and its trustees reached the agreement with the city last month after withdrawing a motion to dismiss the suit. The city eventually agreed to most issues in dispute between the parties.

Illinois law requires that annual contributions to a municipal pension fund be based on the recommendations of an impartial actuary from the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulations of the state’s Department of Insurance, or an independent actuary chosen by the City and/or the Pension Trustees.

At the time of the settlement, Dan Tobben, attorney for the firefighters called the victory “significant for the municipal employees in the entire state of Illinois.”

The court order may represent the beginning of the end of discretionary funding for municipalities employees’ pension plans. It eliminates the city’s ability to determine its contribution to those pensions based on city budget constraints and requires the city to base its contributions on the state’s Pension Code, according to Tobben. “This removes an illusory sense of discretion that some cities thought they had.”

Several municipalities in the Metro East region of the St. Louis Metropolitan area could be considered troubled in that they are less than 60 percent funded by their respective city government. Anything below 80 percent is unacceptable and requires action, however a plan under 60 percent funding is truly in trouble and requires immediate and drastic action, according to Tobben.

About Danna McKitrick: Located in Clayton, Missouri, Danna McKitrick, P.C. delivers outstanding legal representation to businesses (emerging to national), insurers, government-related entities, and individuals throughout the Midwest. The firm is on the Web at www.dannamckitrick.com.

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Media Contacts:
Jim Grandone, Public Relations
618.692.1892

Dan Tobben, Principal
314.726.1000

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