ST. LOUIS — Aldermen on Friday overwhelmingly approved a plan to reverse a change to the firefighter pension system adopted years ago to rein in runaway costs.
They notched 11 votes in favor, one more than they’ll need to overcome a veto from Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, who says the plan will eventually bite the city in the budget.
The legislation from Alderman Bret Narayan, of Dogtown, would return supervision of all firefighter pensions to a board led by firefighters. The board would not be able to increase benefits without aldermanic assent and actuarial cost studies. But it would be in charge of hiring the actuaries to do those studies, and could take a more aggressive stance in pushing for new benefits.
Jones vetoed a similar plan last year, saying the change would undermine the landmark reforms and lead to increased costs for taxpayers.
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Narayan dismissed such concerns as “slippery slope arguments.”
After the vote Friday, he said his bill was just trying to give workers more of a voice in their own retirement.
“Today was a win for the working people of the city of ӣƵ,” he said.
Evacuation horns sound as ӣƵ firefighters scramble off the roof of a vacant rowhouse apartment building in 1000 block of North Leffingwell Avenue on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. No one was hurt in the blaze that began around 2:30 p.m. The fire spread across several units because all the units in the building shared a common attic. Video by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
