Westport's Retiree Benefits Fiasco, the November 8th Elections

On July 1, 2006, Westport’s First Selectman, Gordon Joseloff, signed a $326,000 consulting agreement with Retirement System Consultants Inc. The purpose was to provide “actuarial consultation and advisory services” for Westport’s pension and retirement plans.

Incredibly, the firm selected by the Selectman’s office had absolutely no experience representing municipalities. The firm has subsequently been purchased by Pentegra Retirement Services, also (astonishingly!) with no municipal experience.

The contract signed in 2006 by Mr. Joseloff stated that the firm would “inform the Board or Committee of current trends and progress within the actuarial profession.” The additional services offered included to “assist the town in preparing for labor negotiations with collective bargaining units.”

So, what happened? The firm selected by Mr. Joseloff made a $40-70 million mistake in calculating our retirement medical benefits; 441 employees were omitted from the calculations; and the Board of Finance – in the dark - could not adequately tax for the $40-70 million mistake.

Westport’s benefit plans also stand in stark contrast to our surrounding towns.  For example, Westport’s total retiree medical liability is 50% higher than Greenwich’s, even though Greenwich’s budget is double Westport’s budget. Greenwich and the other surrounding communities utilize firms with municipal experience. The leadership of these towns had done their homework. They knew what other towns were offering when they entered into labor negotiations. Shockingly, Westport leadership did not.

The contract signed by Mr. Joseloff also covers the town’s pension plans – police, fire, non-union, municipal, and public works. The same inexperienced firm has been handling these pension plans as well. Unfortunately, the pension liabilities are much larger than the retiree medical liabilities. There has been no conceivable or logical explanation offered to explain this calamity.

I believe that a better system of checks and balances would have identified this problem very early on. This fiasco took place, and is continuing to take place, under the democratic monopoly in Westport town government. The Selectman’s office, the Board of Finance, and the Pension Board have been chaired and controlled by members of the Democratic Party for the past 14 years.

I strongly urge voters to use the next few weeks to think long and hard about the mess we’re in.  The interest of their community and the welfare of their families should go before party affiliation. Voters may ask themselves if their candidates were looking out for them when they hired inexperienced advisors. They may also ask why this was allowed to happen, why it has taken over five years to discover the problem, and most important how to make sure this never happens again. Please visit www.WestportBOF.com to learn more about this critical issue and to review the detailed reports.

You, the taxpayers, are suffering as a result of these errors. This negligence will now place even more budgetary pressure on Westport’s crown jewels, including the schools – for no good reason.

What can you, the voter, do on November 8th? You can vote for the three republican candidates running for the Board of Finance. If the three win, they can provide the much-needed check and balance on the pension and retiree benefit plans.

Westport Board of Finance