Yes on 26-93

Portland voters have another choice to vote on, beyond Measures 49 and 50 – Measure 26-93, which amends the Police and Fire Disability and Retirement program rules. I’m voting YES on all three measures.

Measure 26-93 fixes an obvious flaw in the Portland Police Officers and Fire Fighters pension and disability program, which is funded on a pay-as-we-go basis by our property taxes (check your bill that arrived last week, to see the line item). Currently, the silly rules are such that if a public safety employee covered by the Fund is injured on the job, s/he can’t return to work without losing health insurance coverage for the work-related injury on retirement. But if they don’t get back to work as soon as possible, perhaps in an alternate capacity that allows productivity while accommodating the disability, they continue to receive medical coverage for the impairment after they retire. That leads to some staying out on disability until they’re eligible for retirement, instead. Measure 26-93 amends that rule to ensure that workers who want to get back to their jobs don’t risk losing the injury-related health care coverage at retirement.

I covered the core issue back in April, when the unions took the problem to the Legislature in an effort to get it fixed sooner rather than later. It should have been part of the pension system reforms we voted on two years ago. And since it wasn’t, the Council should have put it on this May’s ballot with the other Charter reform measures, after the unions highlighted the problem again. Politics as usual interferred. And so we, the taxpayers, have likely been paying for officers staying out on disability instead of returning to work, for years longer than necessary. Better late than never… I recommend Yes on 26-93.