(By Adam Andrzejewski, RealClear Wire) New Orleans has lost so many police officers that it could be responsible for $38 million in fines over the next 15 years thanks to a state law meant to protect pension funds, according to 4WWL, a New Orleans CBS affiliate.
The Louisiana law is meant to ensure municipal pensions are fully funded, and it stipulates that cities or municipalities may be responsible for lost pension fund contributions if municipal pension funds have unfunded liabilities.
The New Orleans Police Department had so many departures in 2021 and 2022 that the Municipal Police Employee Retirement System considers the department partially dissolved. This triggered the state law, which in effect makes the city pay for the lost pension contributions of the departed officers.
The city already paid $50,314 in July, and is set to owe $214,000 per month, totaling $38 million over the next fifteen years. These payments could be avoided if the city hired more officers. Returning their staffing numbers to their June 2021 level, 1,119 staff participants in the fund, would stop the need for payments.
New Orleans is struggling to find money to make the payments with, as these sizable monthly installments were not budgeted for. In fact, many city council members were taken by surprise at the bills. For this fiscal year alone, New Orleans will be on the hook for about $600,000 in payments.
As police departments across the country face staffing shortages, it’s important to remember there is a cost to downsize major institutions, a lesson New Orleans is quickly learning.
