City Council President Ronnie Fussell (At-Large, Group 1) announced the appointment of a Special Committee on City Pension Reform today at a press conference in the Atrium at City Hall. The five-member committee with be chaired by Council Member Michael Corrigan (District 14) and will charged with reviewing the structure, funding mechanisms and current and future obligations of the City's General Employees, Correctional Officer and Police and Fire Pension Plans and providing recommendations to the Council President on ways to deal with the long-term fiscal health of the pension plans.committee is charged to provide a report to the Council President on its findings and recommendations by June 1, 2009.

According to President Fussell, 'Growing unfunded liabilities, caused in part by the tremendous drop in the stock market in the past year, are plaguing pension funds across the county and are placing tremendous strains on state and local governments to fund their pension obligations in a time of decreasing revenues. I want the Special Committee to consider all of the facets of the City's pension plans - their structures, funding policies, actuarial valuations, and short- and long-term obligations - and come up with some solid recommendations for how the City can fulfill its obligations to current active employees and retirees while at the same time recognizing the new fiscal realities facing local governments and their taxpayers.'

In addition to Council Member Corrigan, the committee members are Council Members Warren Jones (District 9), Reginald Brown (District 10), Kevin Hyde (At-Large, Group 4) and Stephen Joost (At-Large, Group 3). The Council President also appointed Henry Cook, Jacksonville Retirement System Trustee, John Keane, Police and Fire Pension Executive Director, David Kilcrease, Corrections Officer Pension Advisory Committee member, Alan Mosley, Chief Administrative Officer, and Sheila Sharp-Caulkins, Retired Employees Association President, as Subject Matter Experts to the committee.

The committee is charged to provide a report to the Council President on its findings and recommendations by June 1, 2009.