Media reports indicate Rockford was in the position of having a five million dollar deficit in their next fiscal year. How do they decide to handle the problem? The same way the state does it.
Due to a new law Rockford is able to underfund their pension payments. Until now they were funding the pension liabilities at 100% each year. Now they will fund them at 75%, meaning they are not covering their future liability. The deficit will now show as only two million instead of five. Someday the bill will come due. Our state has been underfunding for years, kicking the can down the road so to speak. Now the cities are going to start doing the same.
The day of reckoning is on the way but it will be after the current aldermen are all out of office. Sad. Pass the problem on to the kids.
Ken Dillenburg