Mayor Bloomberg’s call for reform to address the city’s runaway pension costs is powerful and exactly what we need.
The growth in pension costs is stark. The city’s annual contribution to the five pension funds has ballooned from $1.5 billion in 2001 to nearly $7 billion this fiscal year — a rise of an average of 18 percent a year. As the mayor noted in his State of the City speech, if the subway fare had gone up that much, we’d all be paying $7.05 — and looking at a fare hike to $8.39 next year.
This cost explosion has been a major reason why we have been forced to enact painful budget cuts — with the toughest ones yet to come. Simply put, this can’t continue, especially in these tough economic times. We can’t allow pensions to eat up an ever-larger chunk of the budget.
In politics, it’s extremely difficult to make necessary decisions when most of the benefits are realized after we all leave office. But with a new governor who understands the need for reform, the time to act is now.
Of course, we owe the brave men and women who keep New York safe and running, and who educate our children, a secure retirement. But to protect pension benefits, we have to protect the city’s ability to pay them.
If we fail to enact reforms, we’ll have far less money to invest in economic development and the critical services that keep New York City strong, including public safety. By fighting for pension reform now, we are fighting to protect not only pension benefits for all retirees, but also the city’s long-term economic health.
The mayor is also absolutely right in calling on Albany to allow us to manage our own finances and control our own destiny, as he pushes to recover the city’s authority to negotiate pension benefits directly with unions.
That authority was lost in the 1970s, when the city was facing bankruptcy and the state stepped in to rescue it. Now the shoe is on the other foot: The city has been responsibly managing its budget for years, while Albany has been a mess.
We fought our first war over “taxation without representation,” yet we allow Albany to mandate costs to city taxpayers that Albany refuses to pay for. At a minimum, we should be able to negotiate on our own behalf.
Passing pension reform in Albany won’t be easy, but Gov. Cuomo has been a leader on this issue. And strong leadership — like the kind Mayor Bloomberg is showing on these issues — is what our city and state need, before pensions for all of us disappear.
City Council Member Peter F. Vallone Jr. represents Astoria.