The fight to overhaul Atlanta's pension system is starting to get ugly.
The proposal now before the council to close a $1.5 billion pension shortfall, crafted by Finance Committee Chairwoman Yolanda Adarean, would, among other things, create a hybrid plan that would take a traditional pension plan promising a reduced pension benefit and combine it with a 401(k)-style retirement plan that shifts more risk to workers.
Adrean's plan got its first public airing Tuesday at a special council work session, and it drew a number of city workers who oppose it.
Several workers from the Department of Public Works told council members that they were threatened not to come to the meeting.
Deputy Chief of Staff Katrina Taylor Parks said that wasn't true. “All we are asking, if they have been down here now for an hour or so, that you return to work," she said. "We have not told anybody that they would be fired or disciplined.”
That was only one conflict fought out this week over the plan. Mayor Kasim Reed and City Council President Ceasar Mitchell have been at odds over when to vote on a plan.
Reed, who had pitched several plans himself, calls Adrean's plan a “fair compromise” and wants to get it passed by June 30 to coincide with the passage of the $545 million 2012 budget. Passing it then, he said, could spare the city up to 200 layoffs now called for in the budget to close an $18 million spending gap.
But Mitchell has proposed a deliberate schedule that would give the council more time to review the changes. His schedule could push a vote to early September.
Mitchell’s reluctance could be significant as Reed would need 10 council votes to get an overhaul passed.
About the Author
