Senator Brownsberger and Representative Aaron Michlewitz, Chairs of the Joint Committee on Public Service, issued the following invitation to a public oversight hearing of the Joint Committee on Public Service.
TO: Community and Organizational Representatives listed in Attachment
FROM: Representative Aaron Michlewitz and Senator William N. Brownsberger,
Chairs of the Joint Committee on Public ServiceDATE: January 15, 2014
RE: Retirement Systems’ Unfunded Pension and OPEB Liabilities
The Joint Committee on Public Service will hold a public oversight hearing regarding municipal efforts to fund pension and OPEB liabilities. The hearing has been scheduled for January 28, 2014, at 11 am at the State House in Room B-1.
The purpose of this hearing is to get a sense of what practices are being utilized within different retirement systems to address their unfunded pension and OPEB liability. We are interested in learning about how these systems make their choices between funding pensions, funding other services, and controlling their indebtedness. We are reaching out to you because we would appreciate hearing from communities and retirement boards who represent a range of funded ratios, funding schedules, practices, situations, and locations. We would welcome your testimony or the testimony of an individual with knowledge of these issues within your organization or community.
We would appreciate if you would inform us of your participation or the planned participation of a member of your organization or community by contacting Anne Johnson Landry in Senator Brownsberger’s office at 617-722-1280 or at annejohnson.landry@masenate.gov.
William N. Brownsberger Aaron M. Michlewitz
Senate Chair House Chair
Joint Committee on Public Service Joint Committee on Public ServiceJames R. Lamenzo, Actuary, Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission
Michael J. Widmer, President, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation
Jim Stergios, Executive Director, Pioneer Institute
Kathleen Reilly, Senior Vice President and Actuary, The Segal Company
Geoffrey Beckwith, Executive Director, Massachusetts Municipal Association
Katherine L. Babson, Jr., Chair, Wellesley Board of Selectmen
David Kornwitz, Chair, Wellesley Retirement Board
Deborah N. Mauger, Lexington Board of Selectmen
Robert Cunha, Chair, Lexington Retirement Board
Domenico J. Sarno, Mayor, City of Springfield
Mike Fenton, President, Springfield City Council
Robert Moynihan, Chair, Springfield Retirement Board
Carlo DeMaria, Jr., Mayor, City of Everett
Michael Marchese, President, Everett City Council
Ronald V. D’Onofrio, Chair, Everett Retirement Board
Dean J. Mazzarella, Mayor, City of Leominster
Richard M. Marchand, President, Leominster City Council
John J. Richard, President, Leominster Retirement Board
Martin J. Walsh, Mayor, City of Boston
Bill Linehan, President, Boston City Council
Sean Kelly, Chair, Boston Retirement Board
Thomas F. Gibson, Chair, Middlesex County Retirement Board
William A. Flanagan, Mayor, City of Fall River
Linda M. Pereira, President, Fall River City Council
Arthur Viana, Chair, Fall River Retirement Board
Daniel Rivera, Mayor, City of Lawrence
Modesto Maldonado, President, Lawrence City Council
David Camasso, Chair, Lawrence Retirement Board
Jonathan F. Mitchell, Mayor, City of New Bedford
Steven Martins, President, New Bedford City Council
Arthur J. Caron, Jr., Chair, New Bedford Retirement Board
Lisa A. Wong, Mayor, City of Fitchburg
Stephan Hay, Chair, Fitchburg City Council
Richard N. Sarasin, Chair, Fitchburg Retirement Board
Tom Hoye, Mayor, City of Taunton
John M. McCaul, President, Taunton City Council
Ann Marie Herbert, Chair, Taunton Retirement Board
Betsy DeWitt, Chair, Brookline Board of Selectmen
James J. Reilly, Chair, Brookline Retirement Board