May 16, 2008
Unions draft "step above voodoo" bills
State law requires all bills increasing public pension benefits to include an estimate of their costs--the source of which must be identified in the legislation itself. For years, most fiscal estimates for pension bills affecting New York City have attributed to the same actuary, Jonathan Schwartz--who had a propensity for coming up with very small numbers.
It turns out, as revealed on the front page of today's New York Times, that Mr. Schwartz has been working has a paid consultant for the unions whose members stand to benefit from the pension sweeteners.
The story emerged in connection a bill extending "55-25" retirement rights to more of the city workforce. Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it would cost $200 million a year--but Schwartz had put the cost at zero. As the Times reports:
[Schwartz] said that he routinely skewed his projections to favor the unions--he called his job "a step above voodoo"--and admitted that he had knowingly overreached on the pension bill by claiming that it cost nothing, either now or in future years. "I got a little bit carried away in my formulation," he explained.
The Times reports Schwartz was an actuary for New York City until 1986 when he resigned from his city job "after admitting he had given false testimony in a deposition in a lawsuit."
Just how busy is Jonathan Schwartz? A quick search through the Legislative Retrieval Service found 238 bills bearing his name are on file current session.
Asked about torrent of union of the legislative calendar, Governor David Paterson sent a message to unions:
"It can't be business as usual. This is not the time to sweeten the pot, because we're about to lose the whole pot."
That may encourage Broome County legislators who want Paterson veto a bill that would prevent them from changing retiree benefits without approval of current employees.
"We must stop it. It will impact our ability to act responsibly," Mark Whalen, chairman of the Broome County Legislature said.
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