Dallas board approves controversial police and fire pension funding plan

DALLAS - The long debate over how to fund the Dallas Police and Fire pension is over for the time being after a Thursday vote. 

The plan was approved in a six to five vote, despite concerns from police and firefighters that the city's plan is not financially sound. 

Dallas first responder pension plan

The latest:

Dallas Fire Association President Jeff Patterson says the city's 30-year, $11 billion plan to fund the Dallas Police and Fire pension fails the city's first responders. 

Retirees haven't had a cost of living adjustment in eight years. A retiree's dollar in 2017 is now only worth 70 cents. 

The Dallas Police and Fire Pension System Board has six appointees by the Dallas mayor, and five others to represent police officers and firefighters. All six of the mayor's appointees voted to approve the proposal; the five others opposed.

Questions over board's allegiance

State Rep. Mitch Little (R-Denton) offered a warning to the mayor's appointees to the board. 

"There are questions that remain about whether the mayor's appointees occupy their duty to the system and not the City of Dallas," Little said.

The other side:

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson released a statement that reads in part:

"Our public safety officers put their lives on the line for Dallas every day, and for the first time in decades, we are funding their pension responsibly so that it will provide what they were promised. This plan ensures that today’s retirees are secure, that our current officers can look forward to a stable future, and that Dallas can continue attracting the best men and women to serve in our public safety departments."

First responders speak out

What they're saying:

"I can speak firsthand as someone almost killed in a house fire years ago in 2014. I have skin in this game, literally, my family has skin in this game," said Patterson. 

"It's important the board sees the faces of not only active but the retirees," Patterson continued.

Dale Eves is a retired Dallas police officer.

"We have to fight for those who can't fight later," Erves said. "They go out every day and put their lives on the line."

Pension board chair Michael Taglienti, a Dallas police officer, says the city's plan is not financially sound.

"When I die under this plan, the pension will not be healthy, it won't be 80 percent funded. That is what two actuaries have told us. But that is the way the city wants it, and the board ultimately voted today," Taglienti said.

He says the plan will also impact the recruiting and retention of police officers. 

"If you are a Dallas police officer or firefighter, you are paying twice as much into your plan as anyone in the Metroplex except Irving," Taglienti said.

Taglienti worries about what will happen to the plan five years from now. 

What's next:

Some members have said they will sue the mayor's pension board appointees for breaching their fiduciary duties. 

Right now, the pension is only 34 percent funded, and under the city's funding plan, it is projected to drop to 30 percent in five years.