On November 8th MNCORA sent the following letter to the entire 911 Telecommunicator Pension Working Group. We did receive a response from Susan Lenczewski, Executive Director of the LCPR (Pensions and Retirement Commission).
MNCORA LETTER
November
8, 2021
(via
email: chad.burkitt@lcpr.leg.mn)
Chad
Burkitt
Legislative
Commission on Pensions & Retirement
100 Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Blvd.
Room 55,
State Office Building
St. Paul,
MN 55155
RE: 911 Telecommunicators Pension Benefits
Dear Mr.
Burkitt,
The Minnesota Correctional
Officer Retirement Association (MNCORA) strongly opposes the inclusion of 911
Operators, Dispatchers, and Telecommunicators in the PERA Correctional Plan.
The Plan was established separate from all other job classifications because
the job is unique among public employees. The inclusion of Dispatchers may
deserve a better pension plan than they now have, but they do not belong in the
Correctional Plan.
Dispatchers
don’t fit the definition.
Dispatchers do
not fit the definition of those permitted into the Correctional Plan. The Plan
was established in 1999 for correctional officers serving in county and
regional adult and juvenile correctional facilities due to the physical nature
of their jobs. The members of this plan are responsible for the security,
custody and control of the facilities and their inmates. Dispatchers who
work solely in a dispatch role, and not a combined role of Jailer-Dispatcher,
do not meet the job requirements to be let into the plan. The plan description
would have to be changed, but it is important to recognize why it was written
to be exclusive for correctional officers.
Correctional work is
hazardous. Dispatch work is not.
The Correctional Plan was established because a career
working in correctional positions is physically hazardous and those choosing
this career need an earlier retirement option than most other job
classifications.
It is the recognized policy of the state that special
consideration should be given to employees of governmental subdivisions who
devote their time and skills to protecting the property and personal safety of
others. Since this work is hazardous, special provisions are hereby made for
retirement pensions, disability benefits and survivors benefits based on the
particular dangers inherent in these occupations. The benefits provided in
sections 353.63 to 353.68 are more costly than similar benefits for other public
employees since they are computed on the basis of a shorter working lifetime
taking into account experience which has been universally recognized.
Minn.
Stat. § 353.63 Providing this earlier
retirement option is expensive, so it is reserved for those providing essential
government services which are difficult to do at age 65. Correctional Officers have high rates of assault,
ranging from punches, bodily fluids thrown on them, shanks, rapes, and even murder.
They also have high exposure to communicable disease like tuberculosis and
SARS-CoV-2. High numbers of correctional officers became ill from COVID-19, and
there have been outbreaks of TB among CO’s.
In contrast, 911
Dispatchers are not assaulted or exposed to blood and bodily fluids of inmates.
911 Telecommunicators work in a controlled environment that is not
public-facing. They have not been
exposed to COVID-19 from inmates. 911
Telecommunicators are not responsible for the security, custody and control of the
facilities and their inmates.
Treat Dispatchers and Correctional Officers Equitably.
The
current proposal is to permit Dispatchers to transfer their time from other
PERA plans into the Correctional Plan.
However, when the Correctional Plan was formed, Correctional Officers
time in the PERA General Plan did not transfer over with them. They started
fresh and it took 3 years to be vested. Now, it takes 10 years to be fully
vested in the Correctional Plan.
Allowing
911 Dispatchers to transfer time in would be unfair to Correctional Officers
and upset the financial stability of the PERA Correctional Plan. PERA Executive
Director Doug Anderson estimated it would cost $79 million to add 911
Dispatchers to the PERA Correctional Plan. An Actuarial study must be
done to determine the actual cost before any decisions can be made.
In
summary, MNCORA opposes adding 911 Telecommunicators to the PERA Correctional
Plan. Dispatchers do not fit the definition authorizing their entry. 911
Telecommunicators work in a safe office at a desk, so they do not have a hazardous
duty that complies with Policy in § 353.63.
Correctional Officers have inmate contact and are regularly assaulted
and exposed to disease in the course of their work. 911 dispatchers are seeking to credit years
of service into a plan they have not paid into, a benefit not given to Correctional
Officers. Finally, an Actuarial study must be done before any recommendation is
made.
Sincerely,
The MNCORA Board
Email: MNCORA@protonmail.com
Phone: 612
346-8930
Website:
MNCORA.ORG
Note: The 911 Telecommunicator Pension Working Group meeting was cancelled by the Chair today November 9th, 2021.