Springfield police have a new three-year contract.
Aldermen ratified the deal last night. While it includes more than $3 million in pay raises, it eliminates the pay “spike” that temporarily raised the salaries of veteran officers twice a year, allowing them to boost their pensions.
Alderman Joe McMenamin was the only “no” vote, saying the city cannot afford the raises.
McMenamin has long urged the city to change the expected rate of return for the pension fund from 7.5 percent to 5.5 percent.
Mayor Mike Houston says that he plans on lowering the expected rate of return by a quarter percent per year, which would increase the amount the city would fund the pensions by $1 million a year.
Houston says dropping that rate too rapidly would cost up to $4 million dollars.
