The Mayors' Think Tank of Northeast Ohio has conducted detailed research on the present condition of the Police and Firemen's Disability Pension Fund for the past year. The results of this research follows. Along with this we propose that a Grandfather Clause be enacted for current police and fire personnel, with current statutes remaining at status quo for them and having the new police and fire personnel under the revised statute. As a result of discussion at the regular monthly meetings, several areas of concern have been identified by the Mayors.
Any decisions reached by the board have major implications for the local government employers.
Another area of concern is the percentage of contribution that employers pay. In the event that an increased contribution rate becomes necessary, the mayors believe that the employees should assume that burden. A third area of concern deals with health care for retirees. Again, employers are paying a substantially higher rate than any of the other public pension plans in Ohio. This has become an increased burden on the municipalities since the retirement age for police officers and firefighters was reduced from age 52 to 48.