Ohio bill could solve police shortages, but it comes at a cost • Ohio Capital Journal

As the police shortage plagues departments across the state, an Ohio bill has headed to the House of Representatives to address the problem. Legislation could correct the staffing shortage, but at what cost?

There are fewer boots on the ground, longer work hours, and delays for residents needing emergency care.

“It takes hours for an officer to show up because they’re so understaffed,” said Mike Weinman, a retired Columbus police officer.

This problem may be exacerbated by pension fund problems. Right now, the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund (OP&F) needs to get more money or it will have to cut benefits.

Weinman, a spokesman for the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, said the bill passed by the Pensions Committee would help solve both problems.

“If you have a good, solid pension, it attracts people into the career field,” the retired officer said.

Republican State Reps. Cindy Abrams (Harrison) and Thomas Hall (Madison Twp.) introduced House Bill 296. It would increase employer contributions to OP&F, increasing the city’s contribution to police from 19.5% to 24% over six years. It will also increase employee contributions from 12.25% to 12.5% in 2030.

The employer’s mandatory contribution is an amount equal to a percentage of each employee’s salary. Cities currently pay 24% into the fund for full-time career firefighters, so HB 296 would simply force cities to pay a fair amount for full-time municipal police officers.

“Not only is this fair, but it also helps improve the fund’s solvency,” Weinman said.

But the cost of the funds’ solvency could lead to the bankruptcy of cities.

“We are concerned about the long-term financial impact this unfunded mandate will have on our cities,” said Kiri McCarthy of the Ohio Mayors Alliance.

The brunt of these costs will fall on the 30 largest cities. They are paying $300 million into the pension fund, McCarthy said. HB 296 would provide a total of more than $80 million in funding across all cities.

“That’s $80 million less than we need for our cities to pay better salaries and benefits to our first responders,” McCarthy said. “This will prevent us from hiring new officers and increasing our staff.”

According to Keary’s research, that means Columbus would pay an additional $15 million, Cleveland would pay $5.5 million and Cincinnati would pay $4.6 million.

To pay the increased assessment, cities may have to raise taxes on residents, McCarthy said. But, he added, if the bill doesn’t pass, it could prompt cities to raise wages to recruit staff.

“If we can increase the payroll to attract more employees, hire more employees and bring more payers into the system, that will have the best, most positive impact on the long-term financial health of the fund,” he said.

Not just for OP&F, the fund has more retirees and beneficiaries than active members who pay dues. Thus, intergenerational equity may be compromised. In simple terms, this means that there cannot be equal treatment between generations in pension funding.

However, there were sweeping benefit changes in 2012 when the retirement age for first responders was raised from 48 to 52, cost of living adjustments (COLAs) were eliminated until participants turned 55, and stated, that COLA is limited to 3%.

According to the bill’s sponsors, this resulted in a $3.2 billion reduction in unfunded liabilities.

Weinman notes that employer contributions haven’t increased since the 1980s, so it’s long past time to help people who risk their lives every day.

“The government’s number one priority is the safety of its citizens,” the retired officer said. “That’s where the investment should be.”

The bill passed the Pension Committee by a vote of 12 to 3 and will be introduced to the House of Representatives in December. The only dissenting votes were from state Reps. Angie King (R-Celina), Adam Holmes (R-Nashport) and Ismail Mohamed (D-Columbus).

Money, money, money

It’s not just OP&F that wants more money.

The Retired Teachers’ Pension Fund, one we’ve been covering consistently for a year, is taking steps to ask employers to pay more into their fund.

The State Teachers’ Retirement System (STRS) plans to ask lawmakers to increase employer contributions, which also haven’t been updated in decades.

However, unlike police and firefighters, STRS members do not have many COLAs.

OP&F also has some issues with STRS, as do the other four pension funds in Ohio.

Ohio police officers are urging lawmakers not to penalize them and other retirees for disputes occurring within STRS. Republicans in the state House of Representatives have proposed merging all five government systems to cut costs and stop alleged corruption.

This article was originally published on News5Cleveland.com and published in the Ohio Capital Journal under a content sharing agreement. Unlike other OCJ articles, it is not available for free republication by other news outlets because it is owned by WEWS in Cleveland.

Follow MEWS Statehouse reporter Morgan Trau o Twitter And Facebook.

YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.