Published: June 18, 2008 01:37 pm      

In Your View — 06/19/08

Pension overhaul worth session’s cost

It isn’t pretty, but the math works. It’s well worth the cost of a special session to save more than $12 million this year for cities and hundreds of millions for the state through an overhaul of the retirement systems.

I applaud Governor Beshear’s call for a special legislative session and the lawmakers who came together on an agreement that is vital for implementing reforms to the retirement system. The agreement would grant local governments a rate reduction for FY 2009 on employer contributions and a cap on the automatic cost of living adjustment for retirees, which will immediately ease some of the fiscal strain.

Cities will also realize substantial savings in the long term because of increased age and length of service requirements for newly hired employees. An increase in employee contributions for new employees that will be dedicated to funding the health insurance benefit will also yield savings.

What does this mean for citizens, cities, employees and employers? Without prompt reform and a return to fairness for all parties, the exorbitant prices that state and local governments pay for retirement will lead to reductions in city employees and services or a significant increase in taxes, or both.

In the last two years many cities have eliminated public safety positions, cut financial support to social service groups and/or raised taxes to fund current and future pension contributions.

It’s unfortunate at best that the regular session ended without a consensus on how to fix the financial albatross that’s hanging on the retirement systems, but this is the situation we are in now. Without the much-needed reforms that can be passed during a special legislative session, local governments are headed toward a serious funding crisis.

Sylvia Lovely, Executive director/CEO, Kentucky League of Cities



Obama plays old political game well

Left wing presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama promises the enthusiastic crowds at his rallies that he doesn’t play the same old “political game” the other politicians play, and that he intends to bring some “real change.”

But facts show that Senator Obama plays the same old political shell game rather well! After he failed to win a bid for Congress in 2000, Obama, who was then an Illinois state senator, faced some financial worries. A financial and political supporter, Chicago entrepreneur Robert Blackwell Jr, helped bail him out by paying Obama an $8,0000-a-month retainer for legal advice to his firm, Electronic Knowledge Interchange!

A few months after getting his final payment from Blackwell’s company, Obama sent a request on his Illinois state senator stationery urging Illinois state officials to give a $50,0000 tourism promotion grant to another Blackwell company called Killerspin.

With help from Obama and one of his aides, the company reportedly received $320.000 in Illinois state grants between 2002 and 2004.

If elected, how many U.S. government grants will Obama steer toward his many contributors? Where is this “agent of change” Obama claims to be?

Randall Mitchell, Flatwoods



Two-day summit to be at Greenbo

I will be leading a workshop August 1-2 regarding barge fleeting issues. It's an opportunity to learn about ways to fight permit applications that do not further community interest, and network with other groups and citizens who have experience in reviewing and opposing CWA 404 permit applications.

The conference is taking place at Greenbo Lake State Resort Park in Greenup County.

The Ohio River Watershed Summit, co-sponsored by Ohio River Foundation, is a conference for people and groups interested in the future of water quality in the eight-state Ohio River watershed.

The event will be a weekend retreat dedicated to discussing the health and future of the Ohio River. A series of watershed training workshops will also be offered for local watershed groups.

The summit will be held at the place that inspired author, poet and educator Jesse Stuart, a lifelong resident of the area. Rooms for the event will be reserved (at your expense) until June 30. To learn more about the park’s offerings, including boating, fishing and golf, visit www.parks.ky.gov or call 1-800-325-0083.

For more information about the Summit, including workshops and how to register, visit www.ohioriverfdn.org .

Rich Cogen, Executive director, Ohio River Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio