Parowan picks up modest URS Tier‑2 increase for two public‑safety employees

Parowan — The Parowan City Council on June 11 voted to pick up a small increase in Utah Retirement Systems (URS) Tier‑2 contributions for public‑safety employees after staff presented the change and its limited fiscal impact.

Staff summarized the URS mechanics: a mix of employee and employer contributions combine to a total rate (staff said the 2025 total was about 29.56% and the coming year’s total would be about 30.31%), and when rate increases trigger an election the city may choose to pick up the additional employer cost rather than pass it to employees. In Parowan’s case, staff said the net effect would apply to two Tier‑2 police officers and represent a fraction of a percent of payroll.

Staff noted Parowan previously chose to pick up a prior Tier‑2 increase in 2016 and said the current change would be distributed across funds (staff offered an estimated fund allocation breakdown). After brief discussion about the small fiscal impact, the council voted to pick up the increase.

Why it matters: Because most of Parowan’s public‑safety staff are Tier‑1 — not Tier‑2 — the fiscal effect is limited to those two employees, but the vote affects retirement costs and payroll accounting for the coming year.