HomeMy WebLinkAbout9.b. Fire Relief Fund Benefit Proposal
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
City Council Regular Meeting: July 5, 2017
AGENDA ITEM: Fire Relief Fund Benefit Proposal AGENDA SECTION:
New Business
PREPARED BY: Logan Martin, City Administrator
Jeff May, Finance Director AGENDA NO. 9.b.
ATTACHMENTS: Spreadsheet comparing total compensation APPROVED BY: LJM
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Motion authorizing a $100 increase up to $7,200 for the Rosemount
Fire Relief Association’s annual retirement benefit.
BACKGROUND
The Fire Relief Association, which manages the pension funds for our firefighters, has recommended a
$100 increase in the retirement benefit from $7,100 to $7,200 per year of service. Representatives from
the Relief Association provided staff with updated financial projections reflecting this proposal, which
indicate that the Relief Fund will be 127% funded after accounting for the proposed increase.
As the Council will recall, the City worked with the Relief Association in 2015 to reduce the City’s annual
contribution to the Relief Fund from $171,000 annually to $30,000. This allowed the City to reduce its
levy, and also lead to the development of a five-year plan whereby an annual retirement benefit increase of
$100 per year would be considered, up to the Relief Association’s goal of $7,500 per year. A fund balance
requirement of at least 120% coverage was also a component of this plan, as the fund needs to be able to
support its future liabilities.
Attached is a spreadsheet that compares compensation for the Rosemount Fire Department with other
Dakota County agencies, as well as other agencies throughout the metro. The spreadsheet calculates total
compensation per hour by using the firefighters’ hourly rate, along with their pension rate “per hour”. As
shown, average total compensation in Dakota County is $30 per hour, while the average of the “other
cities” is $31.15. Total compensation for Rosemount Firefighters would be $28 per hour under the
current proposal, which is 93.3% of the Dakota County average.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council approve a motion authorizing a $100 increase up to $7,200 for the
Rosemount Fire Relief Association’s annual retirement benefit.
TOTAL FIRE COMPENSATION
COMPARISON
DAKOTA COUNTY CITIES
Pay/hr hours/yr pension/yr pension/hr total comp/hour
Rosemount (proposed)10.00$ 400 7,200$ 18.00$ 28.00$
Apple Valley 15.35$ 400 6,700$ 16.75$ 32.10$
Farmington 10.75$ 400 4,575$ 11.44$ 22.19$
IGH 12.50$ 400 7,900$ 19.75$ 32.25$
Hastings 13.53$ 400 6,100$ 15.25$ 28.78$
Eagan 16.00$ 400 7,786$ 19.47$ 35.47$
Lakeville 12.00$ 400 6,877$ 17.19$ 29.19$
Average 30.00$
Rosemount to Mean at current pension ($7100)92.5%
Rosemount to Mean at proposed pension ($7200)93.3%
Rosemount to Mean at future pension ($7500)102.5%
OTHER CITIES
Savage 13.36$ 400 5,725$ 14.31$ 27.67$
Stillwater 12.25$ 400 6,000$ 15.00$ 27.25$
Cottage Grove 13.53$ 400 6,000$ 15.00$ 28.53$
Golden Valley 15.83$ 400 7,750$ 19.38$ 35.21$
Maple Grove 15.47$ 400 7,504$ 18.76$ 34.23$
Shakopee 14.42$ 400 7,800$ 19.50$ 33.92$
White Bear Lake 12.25$ 400 6,600$ 16.50$ 28.75$
Woodbury 16.86$ 400 6,720$ 16.80$ 33.66$
Average 31.15$
Rosemount to Mean at current pension ($7100)89.1%
Rosemount to Mean at proposed pension ($7200)89.9%
Rosemount to Mean at future pension ($7500)98.7%