Evanston Recognizes $140 Million Pension Deficit
The City’s accumulated unfunded liability in the police and firefighters’ pension funds has been a thorn in the tax side of Evanston for nearly a year – since the City changed actuaries and the new actuary estimated the liability to be about $140 million, which was about $40 million greater than the former actuary had estimated.
After the former actuary agreed last month that the $140 million number was “within the ball park,” City Council decided to fund this year’s required contribution through property taxes and approved the budget for the present year with a 7-percent increase in the City’s portion of the property tax.
The police and firefighters pension funds are mandated by the state but funded locally. Increases in pension benefits approved by the state legislature in the past decade have increased local pension-funding liabilities at least four times.
At $140 million, Evanston’s accumulated unfunded liability for both ... Read More...
