O’Fallon ends city council pension participation
It's the end of the line for pension benefits for O’Fallon City Council members.
Members of the council last week deleted pensions from the list of benefits they receive and amended the city code to reflect the change.
As of Aug. 1, council members no longer are eligible to participate in the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF).
The final vote came after none of the 12 City Council members present declared that fulfilling the duties of their office does not require them to work at least 1,000 hours a year — the minimum to be pension-eligible. Ward 4 Alderman Matt Smallheer and Ward 7 Alderman David Cozad were absent from the meeting, which lasted only 19 minutes.
The council’s latest decision impacts only Ward 5 Alderman Mike Bennett and Ward 3 Alderman Kevin Hagarty, who, up until Aug, 1, were the lone aldermen enrolled in IMRF, O’Fallon Director of Finance Sandy Evans said.
Bennett, who said on Tuesday he regrets enrolling in IMRF, was grandfathered in by a 1957 O’Fallon policy that stated an alderman must work 600 hours annually to qualify to participate in the IMRF. Bennett said it was a “mistake”signing up for the benefit because he believes a part-time employee should not be eligible.
Bennett said he contacted IMRF about opting out.
“They told me the only way that I could get out is when I’m no in longer in office,” he said.
Hagarty, on the other hand, will no longer be allowed to be enrolled in IMRF, based on a second policy that went into effect in O’Fallon on Feb. 20, 2001. That policy required an alderman to work a minimum of 1,000 hours annually to qualify for the benefit, to coincide with the state pension laws.
But Hagarty was unable to certify he worked at least 1,000 hours annually as an alderman, Evans said.
Mayor Gary Graham and City Treasurer David Hursey, who are the lone two other O’Fallon elected officials currently enrolled in IMRF, will not be impacted by the latest decision, Evans said.
Unlike aldermen, the mayor and treasuer have certified they work at least a minium of 600 hours annually at their elected position, she said.
Pensions for aldermen has been a hot-button issue for Ward 4 Alderman Herb Roach, who over two years ago raised questions about aldermens’ participation in IMRF.
Future alderman, however, will no contribute to or receive benefits from IMRF because a resolution passed Aug. 1 says their position no longer requires enough work each year to be eligible.
The issue came to a head after O’Fallon was recently audited by the IMRF, Evans said.
The audit found that Bennett and Hagarty were not in compliance with the new IMRF elgibility guidelines, she said.
As a result of an earlier investigation by the Belleville News-Democrat, the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has announced it will audit the county to see if part-time employees who are currently enrolled in a retirement plan qualify or not.
Roach said he raised questions about O’Fallon City Councilmen’s eligiblity after he read the article.
Roach said he never took IMRF because he never thought it was proper.
“We are part-time workers and shouldn’t be elgible for benefits,” he said.
But Roach said he was told by city officials then the city was in compliance.
“Now, the audit comes along and says we aren’t,” Roach said. “This answers the question I had a few years ago.”
O’Fallon alderman are paid $200 every City Council meeting that they attend.
The O’Fallon City Council meets twice a month.
In addition, each alderman sits on at least one committee, which is factored into their stipend.
O’Fallon aldermen are not required to punch a time clock. It’s however, up to each individual alderman to keep their own working records, Evans said.
The decision to end aldermen’s IMRF pension will save the city about $500 annually, she said.
This story was originally published August 10, 2016 at 2:04 PM with the headline "O’Fallon ends city council pension participation."