Voters Block Change In Pension Plan January 16, 2004
By LEE FOSTER, Courant Staff Writer
ELLINGTON -- First
selectman Dennis Milanovich's first political battle
since taking office in December has successfully overturned a decision made
during the previous administration - and saved the town some money, he
believes.By 2,023 to 80, voters at a
referendum Tuesday agreed not to change the pension plan for 17 town employees.The referendum overturned a 45-34 vote at a
town meeting Nov. 17 to enroll the non-union employees in the state Municipal
Employee Retirement System.Under the
state plan, the employees would contribute 2.25 percent of the
their pay to the pension fund and the town would kick in 3.75 percent.
Under the original pension plan, the town contributed 7.1 percent and the
employees paid nothing.But buying into
the new plan so the employees would be immediately eligible for full retirement
benefits would have cost the town $1.6 million up front and as a result the
town wouldn't see any savings for 89 years, Milanovich
said. "It was really a matter of a
lack of and confusing information," Milanovich
said.Within two weeks of the Nov. 17
decision, a petition signed by 600 residents was submitted calling for the
referendum. Milanovich and others paid for fliers and
posters to inform residents about the referendum.The first selectman spoke to groups, wrote
letters to the editor and encouraged senior citizens to vote. At Milanovich's invitation, state Comptroller Nancy Wyman
explained the state plan in detail to town officials.By town charter, the referendum needed 15
percent of the electorate - 1,200 yes votes - to succeed."The town was very engaged," Milanovich said.Fire
Marshal Al Lawrence, a proponent of the MERS plan, said Thursday he was not
surprised at the result because of the efforts of Milanovich
and his supporters."But I'm
somewhat disappointed," Lawrence said. More than 300 board of
education employees have been covered by a similar state plan for years, he
said. But during the recent disagreement, "The [non-union] employees were
chastised and held up as criminals," as if they were trying to cost the
town money, he said."All we were
trying to do was improve our lot," Lawrence said.Milanovich said he
has turned his attention to improving the performance of the original pension
plan's investments to increase retirement benefits.