The most basic sign that a government is living within its means is that it balances its books at the end of the year. Traditionally, most city officials, experts, and observers of state and local government focus primarily on the general fund, usually a government's...
Public Pensions
Reducing Risk to Payment of State and Local Government Debt Obligations, Statutory Liens from Rhode Island to California SB222
by James Spiotto Government finance officers readily will admit that they consider assuring access to the capital markets at a low cost as part of their duties to their respective governmental bodies. The interest rates or the cost of borrowing is viewed generally as...
Assessing the Credit Quality of America’s Cities – Part Three: Long-Term Liabilities beyond Pensions
By Richard A. Ciccarone City Financial Challenges Beyond Pensions When Assessing the Credit Quality of America's Cities, pensions aren't the only big long term liability facing America's cities. Add to the list bonded indebtedness, other post-employment benefits...
Legislative Action: States and Municipalities’ Attempts to Mitigate Pension and OPEB Underfunding
States and Municipalities Have Attempted to Enact Legislation to Reduce or Eliminate Pension and OPEB Underfunding to Address the Problem by James Spiotto Background Facts State and local governmental workers are 12% of the nation’s workforce, and since 1970...
Can Pension Benefits Be Reduced, Rolled Back, or Changed?
How Have Obligations Related to Pension Benefits Changed Over Time, and What Options Exist When They are Unaffordable? Pensions have undergone transition over time from a gratuity (to be paid if you want) to a contractual obligation (that is...
The Pension and OPEBs Crisis – The Hard Facts and Possible Solutions
The Current State of the Underfunding of Pensions and OPEBs by James Spiotto State and local government workers are approximately 12% of the nation’s workforce – 16 million employees. While available cash to pay for employee benefits was...
Assessing the Credit Quality of America’s Cities – Part Two: The Achilles Heel to the Fiscal Condition of Cities – Public Pensions
In the second part of our series on city credit quality, the spotlight shifts to the Achilles heel for many cities: public pensions. by Richard A. Ciccarone Governmental credit quality is a byproduct of both the underlying economy and the cumulative...
Illinois Pension Reform Legislation Is Legally Justifiable and in the Best Interest of All
by James Spiotto On November 21, 2014, the Circuit Court for the Seventh Judicial Circuit in Sangamon County, Illinois presiding over the consolidated Illinois State Pension Reform Litigation ruled that the pension reform legislation passed by the State Legislature...
Mining the Web: Public Pension Reform in 19 Cities
The U.S. Conference of Mayors recently released a report describing actions taken by several U.S. cities “to reform unsustainable pension plans in which they are participants or which they administer for themselves.” The report, entitled City Approaches to Public...
Key Considerations for Public Pension Reform
Evolving workforce demographics and long-term budget issues pose the biggest challenges to public sector pension reform, according to a new report released by the TIAA-CREF Institute and the Rockefeller Institute of Government. The report, entitled, Public Sector...