Norton Shores to hold taxes, services at current levels in 2013

Norton Shores to hold taxes, services at current levels in 2013 | MLive.com
City Council members, however, questioned whether that money could be better spent toward reducing the city’s pension liability for future retirees.
Council member A. Scott Rood said the city’s pensions are only 60 percent funded, and the city’s “road map” for funding has the $13 million only 80 percent funded by 2030.
“This is the elephant in the room and I think we can do better,” he said.
The council members agreed to transfer 2 percent of the city’s budget to pension liabilities, lowering the fund balance to 15 percent.
The 2 percent transfer would be about $174,000, on top of roughly $40,000 the city was already planning to put toward pensions, Huston said.
Rood said chipping away at the pension liability over time would be in the city’s long-term interest.
“We’ve learned tonight that there is no major bullet that we can throw $1 million or $1.5 million at the pension liability,” he said.