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DALLAS – Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings used a YouTube video to speak directly to veteran and retired public safety workers about the ongoing pension fund crisis.
He addressed the financial woes that are plaguing the DROP; Deferred Retirement Option Plan, which was created in the 1990’s to keep veteran police officers and firefighters on the force.
DROP allowed veteran public safety employees to retire from the pension but continue to work while their pension accounts earned a special high interest.
Rawlings blamed the high-interest rate as one of the key issues that led to the current crisis.
“I don’t blame anyone who take advantage of the DROP incentive. Those who did so were not greedy. You are not irresponsible. You were not reckless. You were simply taking advantage on opportunity that, frankly, never should have been offered to you,” said Rawlings.
It’s a crisis that has been getting dramatically worse in the last few months. After Rawlings filed a lawsuit to stop lump sum withdrawals earlier this month, worried retirees withdrew more than $500 million from their accounts.
In response, the pension board voted to stop withdrawals.
“You did not create this mess and you should not be blamed for it. That is why I am generally sorry for how you as individuals are being portrayed,” said Rawlings.
The board is holding a special meeting today to discuss whether pensioners can resume making regular monthly withdrawals from the dwindling fund.
In the video, Rawlings assured them that this problem will be solved.
“I am confident that we can and will implement a plan to fix our pension fund. We may disagree on some strategies going forward. I am not naive to that. However, I want to assure you that I will always be transparent to you.”
If the situation stays on its current course, the $2.39 billion pension fund could go bankrupt by 2028.
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