DeKalb workers must pay more toward pension

By Megan Matteucci and Steve Visser

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

DeKalb County employees will have to give about an additional $50 from each paycheck to help fund their pension.

The County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to nearly double pension contributions. Starting Jan. 1, DeKalb’s 6,800 workers will have to contribute 8.38 percent of their salary to their pension. They currently contribute 4.5 percent.

For a starting police officer without a degree who makes $36,852 a year, that means contributing an additional $1,429 next year, or about $55 per paycheck. The county's workers are paid every two weeks.

The county’s contribution to the pension also will increase -- from 9.5 percent to 17 percent, which means the county’s contribution will go from $30 million to $47.7 million next year.

County officials said the increase is necessary because of a $400 million shortfall in the pension fund as a result of the economy, but insisted that the fund is “fiscally sound.”

Employees say the hike in the pension contributions will hurt their income, especially if the county continues with furloughs. This year, employees were mandated to take seven furlough days.

“I know the job I love to do is now taking a back seat to provide for a family, pay a mortgage and feed and clothe my family,” said DeKalb Fire Capt. Brett Langston, a 15-year veteran.

Langston told commissioners he has seen many qualified firefighters leave for other departments that aren’t seeing pay cuts from pension hikes and furloughs.

Commissioners have said they are trying to get rid of furloughs next year, but that will be tough with the county facing an anticipated $55 million shortfall. The pension contributions are not optional, officials said.

“In this period in which we have not been able to increase salaries, I think it will be difficult for everybody,” Commissioner Jeff Rader said. “It’s digging deep, but it’s digging deep for the right purposes.”

Acting Finance Director Joel Gottlieb said state law requires the county to fund the pension or risk losing state funds. Failure to fund the pension also could impact the county’s credit rating, which Moody’s dropped from Aaa to Aa1 last December.

County officials held what they described as an overdue meeting Monday night to explain to employees why the county had little choice except to nearly double the employee contribution to the pension fund. The rate has grown steadily since 2004, when the employee contribution was 0.50 percent. The rate had been at that percentage since 1998.

Pension Board Chairman Ed Wall told the small number of employees who attended that the county made the decision to cut the employee contribution from 2.50 percent in 1997 because at the time the pension fund was funded at 144 percent.

Currently the pension fund has about $1 billion in it and is funded at 70 percent.

Jeff Wiggs, president of the Fraternal Order of Police DeKalb Lodge No. 10, said he knew the commission had to raise the contribution rate.

"I'm sure we'll have some officers who quit, but I don't think we'll lose a ton over this,"  Wiggs said. "Most officers know it is a necessary evil ... but if they furlough us again, then I do think you'll see officers leaving.

"We've been hit more and more and more in our paychecks. We can only take so much."