Actuarial report shows multimillion-dollar unfunded gap; trustees split over COLA, disability and in‑service changes

The plan actuary presented the board with the Act 205 report filed with Harrisburg and told trustees the current minimum municipal obligation (MMO) for the pension plan is about $2,700,000 and the plan has roughly $51,200,000 in assets against about $61,500,000 in accrued liability, leaving an unfunded liability of about $10.3 million.

The actuary outlined three options the union side requested. He said a proposal to provide a 70 percent disability benefit would raise the MMO by roughly $91,000 a year. An in‑service change to a '55 and 25' distribution — which accelerates benefit payments compared with the plan's current assumptions — would increase the MMO by about $366,255. He also calculated a 3 percent cost‑of‑living adjustment delayed five years after retirement would add about $741,000 to the annual MMO.

“The estimated MMO for the current plan is about 2,700,000,” the actuary said in the presentation. He described the $741,000 figure as the annual increase in MMO for the COLA option and explained that part of the change to unfunded liability would be amortized over 10 years.

Trustees questioned the relative frequency of these features in comparable plans; the actuary said COLAs are less common due to cost, 70 percent disability provisions appear in some plans, and in‑service drops are not unusual for fire and police plans. Trustees also noted the plan already accounts for a 59-and-30 in‑service distribution baseline, meaning some proposed changes would accelerate benefit payments.

After discussion the union‑side trustees moved to approve the proposals; township‑side trustees opposed, producing a deadlock. Trustees agreed to work with the solicitor's office to resolve the impasse before formal adoption.

Next steps: the board agreed to consult with counsel and reconvene or otherwise report back with a recommendation for handling the deadlock.