MemphisShelbyInform

June 8, 2012

I looked at the MLGW Pension Board Agenda yesterday and saw on the agenda the statement that Roland McElrath was moving from the City of Memphis to the MLGW. I contacted a member of the City Council and he said that he knew nothing about this move.

No doubt you read the CA article this morning and if this does not make your blood boil, you are dead so someone should call the undertaker.

This has to be laid at the foot of the Memphis Mayor but much of it all started with the January 2001 pension resolution that allowed elected and appointed officials at the City of Memphis to retire after 12 years of service regardless of age. This has cost the City of Memphis millions of dollars. Here is part of an article that I wrote in February 2005.

PENSION RESOLUTION FOR ELECTED AND APPOINTED CITY OFFICIALS

This resolution passed in January of 2001 is a multimillion dollar mistake that can be laid directly at the door of the Mayor and the City Council. Tom Marshall was quoted in the Commercial Appeal saying “ The change is designed to attract top-quality candidates for elected and appointed posts”. The Mayor was quoted in the Commercial Appeal saying “ In an effort to be competitive and be able to attract and retain high-caliber personnel, government – like private sector – must increase its benefits plans”. WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED?

• Roland McElrath, the finance and administration director, resigned to take a job as the school system’s associate superintendent of business operation at $116,000 per year. He will immediately start receiving $32,000 per year under the January 2001 pension resolution.
• Mark Brown, the City Treasurer, retired under this plan and took a job asBartlett’s finance director.
• Danny Wray, the city’s comptroller, also retired under this plan and took a job as controller for the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce.

And on an on. We do not know the final damage yet but it is the millions and millions of dollars just due to the Mayor and the City Council’s mistakes and lies.

Now we see again that these people know how to work the system. The MLGW combined the controller and Secretary/Treasurer jobs under Dana Jeanes. Now they are adding back the controller job at a cost of $133,000 plus the benefits and you the taxpayers and ratepayers get to pay for his City pension of $61,000 plus who knows what else.

The City Council should show some back bone and reject this scam and also move immediately to reform the MLGW and the City pension and health care system to bring it in line with the County, the best local public fiscal operation.