A resolution that would have been a first step toward members of the St. John Town Council becoming eligible for retirement benefits — a move residents called too costly — is being dropped, a council member said.
Earlier this month, the council proposed a resolution that would explore making the board’s five members eligible for benefits through the Indiana State Retirement System, even potentially making those benefits retroactive to when they were first elected.
The council was preparing to vote on the resolution during its meeting Thursday night, but Councilman Mark Barenie, the board’s vice president, said the exploratory measure will be dropped.
“To my knowledge, we are no longer exploring the proposal,” Barenie said. “So it’s dead.”
The resolution, as initially proposed, would include the members in the Public Employees Retirement Fund starting in January 2018, pending approval from the state retirement system. The town would cover the 3 percent contribution to the retirement plan.
The council was clear the resolution was exploratory, Barenie said, and just the first step in a multistep process.
Barenie said he thought the ordinance needs more consideration before the board moves forward with any proposal. He said he was happy to explore the matter.
“I would rather let it sit for the next council,” Barenie said. “It is no longer being considered.”
Many residents in St. John were quick to decry the proposal, citing the amount of money the move could cost taxpayers.
The St. John Homeowners Association circulated a petition against the resolution. The major argument is against the amount of money that would be needed to cover the move, considering enrollment in the retirement system would be retroactive.
“As you can see, this will be a huge financial obligation for our citizens,” the petition read. “Also, future council members will be required to participate in PERF (Public Employees Retirement Fund) as well because discontinuing participation in the future would result in steep penalties from PERF.”
Gerald Swets, president of the St. John Homeowners Association, said many residents opposed the measure because of the cost to the town, which bore the whole retirement contribution, especially given that it would be retroactive.
“I think it just shows true greed on their part,” Swets said.
Outside of government, people have to pay for their retirement plans and the Town Council proposed one the taxpayers would cover, he said.
“I think they were just trying to line their own pockets at the taxpayers’ expense,” Swets said.
Swets said he thought the possibility the town would drop the proposal was because of pressure from the community. He said residents put signs in their yards in opposition, and copies of the resolution went out on social media.
The association will present the petition in opposition to the proposal at the meeting Thursday night, Swets said.
“Just because it’s voted down now doesn’t mean it won’t come back in October,” Swets said. Residents want to make sure the proposal doesn’t just go away, Swets said, but stays gone.
“We need to make sure it’s not coming back again,” Swets said.
