With G.E.R.S.'s Survival in Mind, Bryan's Vacancy Elimination Plan Worries VI Lawmakers

WITH G.E.R.S.’S SURVIVAL IN MIND, BRYAN’S VACANCY ELIMINATION PLAN WORRIES LAWMAKERS; CLARIFICATION REQUESTED ON $1 MILLION ALLOCATION TO EDA


How would the Government Employees’ Retirement System, already teetering on the verge of collapse, fare if the central government reduced employment and eliminated job vacancies? Not very well. The pension system has almost the same amount of active members as it has retirees, and it continues to pay out much more than what it is taking in.

This, among other concerns, was shared during a Bryan administration budget overview hearing held Tuesday in the Committee on Finance. Senators also requested clarity on $1 million allocated to the Economic Development Authority (E.D.A.) to fund Mr. Bryan’s 20-year Economic Development Plan.

The 2019 general fund budget, former Governor Kenneth Mapp’s final budget, was roughly $833,850,320. This year, the first under Mr. Bryan, is $817,855,144 — about $16 million less than last year’s. Jenifer O’Neal, Office of Management and Budget Director Designee, touted the reduction as a change of course and “a step in the right direction.” She said the reduction was due mostly to elimination of government job vacancies.

Ms. O’Neal could not talk on the administration’s plan to stave off collapse of G.E.R.S., but she said a proposal was afoot and the governor intended to learn more about the pension system’s issues during an upcoming G.E.R.S. retreat, which will help in shaping the governor’s plan. During an interview with The Consortium late last month, Mr. Bryan said with the law allowing the sale of marijuana for medical use now on the books — signed by Mr. Bryan himself — he has been working on a plan to extract tax dollars from the industry, once setup, and use it to help G.E.R.S.

Read more: https://viconsortium.com/news-2/with-g-e-r-s-s-survival-in-mind-bryans-vacancy-elimination-plan-worries-lawmakers-clarification-requested-on-1-1-million-allocation-to-eda/