We’ve been reporting on the financial crisis the Saline County Board is facing for several months now.
And they’re no closer to a solution…and in fact, things are more dire than ever at this point.
But how dire? While they can be literally “bankrupt,” counties can’t declare bankruptcy and request protection from debt like companies and individuals can. They can reach insolvency, and go heavily into debt, but what’s the solution? Pass that crisis on to the taxpayers of the county? That’s what’s been done in the past…and the tax burden on property owners is growing to the point that it’s driving people out of their homes and into locations where the tax issues aren’t so devastating.
In your noontime Read the Lead, we give you a glimpse into coverage of the most recent Saline County Board meeting, a week prior to the next one…where the crisis may or may not be addressed again. Here now is Saline County could be bankrupt if county board can’t turn around retirement plan crisis.
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Danny Gibbs speaks about the looming financial crisis at the May Saline County Board meeting.
SALINE CO.— The May 22 meeting of the Saline County Board began with a correction and lead to a discussion of disastrous financial problems.
As board chairman Carey Harbison was asking for and getting approval of previous meeting minutes, the process was halted.
Apparently somewhere in the minutes it stated that State’s Attorney Mike Henshaw, who by virtue of his office is also the county board’s legal counsel, had not only reviewed the county’s IMRF pension fund crisis, but had resolved it.
Henshaw informed Harbison he had looked into a few things but hadn’t spent any time studying the issue and definitely hadn’t approved anything.
Motions to approve were withdrawn, the correction made and minutes finally passed.
County Clerk Kim Buchanan informed the board that she had been asked by the IMRF representative Christine Fine to present a resolution that would eliminate county board members from the retirement fund.
According to the resolution, the county board was never eligible in the first place since service on the board did not require the 600-hour service clause.
“This resolution should have been passed back in 1997 when the IMRF retirement plan was adopted, but it was not,” Buchanan said.
Board member Danny Gibbs said not only does the resolution proposed by Ms. Fine not address the long-term financial crisis, but it doesn’t even mention the county’s ECO retirement, which is in financial crisis as well.
Gibbs explained the resolution did not address the time accrued (unbeknownst to those accruing it) illegitimately.
“Therefore time that a county board member had served as an elected official would still count as time towards becoming fully vested in the IMRF system. This would mean that any board member who had served 8 years before this resolutions effective date could simply go and get another IMRF job, and would then still be a long term financial liability when they retired, as the county would still be liable….”
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To read the rest of this comprehensive article, click the link at the headline above the excerpt if you are a member to the online e-Edition; or, if you don’t have an online subscription, simply click this link here to get started on your subscription. And if you sign up now, you’ll get full access to all the special editions we have planned for the rest of the year, starting with the July 2 issue! Or, if you still prefer to read your paper while holding it in your hands, visit any one of our awesome vendors, including these Saline County businesses: ROC One-Stop in Harrisburg (Poplar Street and Commercial Drive), Eldorado (State Street and Highway 45), Galatia and Carrier Mills; Raleigh Quick Mart in Raleigh; College Drive Liquors in Eldorado; and our Harrisburg vendors M&H Liquors on Commercial Drive, Discount Food Mart on Main Street, and Book Emporium on Gum Street. Hurry…this one goes off the stands in less than two weeks, and you NEED to know what’s going on in the county with its finances…