When it comes to funding its pension system, Jacksonville doesn’t have the best track record. In fact, it has just about the worst: only Chicago and Philadelphia run pension funds that are unhealthier than Jacksonville’s.
With that in mind, the city put together a task force to recommend ways to improve the solvency of its pension system. That’s no easy task, considering that most solutions are bound to be unpalatable to a large segment of the population.
In a 51-page report released today, the task force called for shared sacrifice—higher employee contributions, higher retirement ages for some and higher taxes for all.
The specifics, from the Florida Times-Union:
Taxpayers — The City Council would increase property taxes and give voters a choice whether to replace the higher property taxes with a half-cent sales tax. The extra money would pay down faster what the city owes the Police and Fire Pension Fund.
Police and firefighters — Their share of money from their paychecks going to retirements would rise to 10 percent from the current 7 percent rate. New hires would work longer to get pensions. Current workers would have smaller cost-of-living adjustments on portions of their pensions.
Police and Fire Pension Fund — The board would appoint an investment advisory committee. The board would have greater leeway to make investments that are riskier but can generate higher returns to support pension obligations.
Jacksonville’s pension system is only 39% funded.