AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says a bill designed to save the Dallas Police and Fire Pension amounts to a taxpayer bailout while taking control of the pension away from the city.
Rawlings testified against the proposal at the state Legislature’s House Committee on Pensions on Monday.
The city and pension representatives spent months trying to hash out a compromise to save the ailing pension fund projected to become insolvent in the next 10 years. Problems mounted after officials spent almost a decade basing the fund’s financial health on inflated asset values from risky real estate investments.
Rawlings says the bill, which was introduced after a compromise wasn’t reached, asks for too much money from Dallas taxpayers. He also says it also gives the city less oversight on the pension board.