Dallas mayor leaves lawsuit meant to stop pension withdrawal
DALLAS (AP) - Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings has withdrawn from a lawsuit he filed as a private citizen against the Dallas Police and Fire Pension system in an effort to prevent the plan from making large lump-sum payouts on deferred retirement funds.
Rawlings withdrew Tuesday and said through a spokeswoman that the four city council members on the pension board who intervened in the lawsuit in February were in a better legal position to continue the challenge.
The pension system is in danger of becoming insolvent in the next 10 years. Officials spent almost a decade basing its financial health on artificially inflated asset values from risky real estate investments made under a previous director.
The board will meet next week to vote on requests by members to withdraw money from deferred retirement accounts.