It looks like the Legislaturewill spend much of December fighting over an overhaul of how the state oversees local retirement funds.
Democrats and police and firefighter unions are against the plan rolled out by Republican leaders. The bills would require the state to examine every local government pension fund. Local governments with under-funded retiree pensions would have to come up with a plan to fix that. Otherwise, a financial management team appointed by the governor and with broad authority would step in.
State Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekoff says he understands a lot of people are not happy with the plan.
“When everybody doesn’t like something about it, you’re probably in the right spot. So, we’re rapidly approaching that.”
Meekhof estimates 20 to 30 local retirement funds around the state are in trouble.
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— Rick Pluta is the Managing Editor and Reporter for the Michigan Public Radio network. Contact WEMU News at734.487.3363 or email us at studio@wemu.org
