HomeMy WebLinkAbout070623 Letter re: RPEC ((,'•-o(L .(, , ?-3
ci-
July 3, 2023
REC' WWED
Greg Brotherton
District 3 Jefferson County Commissioner JUL 0 6 2023
P.O. Box 1220
Port Townsend, WA 98368
JEFFERSON COUNTY
Dear Commissioner Brotherton: COMMISS ONEf3S
I am writing to request a brief in-person or virtual meeting or phone call with you about
an urgent matter (details below). I lead a local chapter of the Retired Public Employees
Council of Washington (RPEC), a non-profit organization representing 13,000 retired
county, city, state, and local government employees.
I've provided some initial context below and have outlined some ways that you might be
able to help. As a first step, I hope we can meet briefly by phone, Zoom or in-person in
July, if possible, to answer your questions and to ascertain your interest in supporting
our efforts.
The Problem
Plan 1 of the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems was one of our
state's original retirement systems and included most county employees. The plan
closed to new members in 1977, meaning almost all members are now retired and living
on fixed incomes. There are around 70,000 retirees in the plan. The average retiree
age is around 78.
In 2011, the State Legislature addressed a budget deficit by eliminating the annual
COLA for Plan 1, making it the only pension system managed by the state that doesn't
receive annual automatic COLAs. Since then, most Plan 1 pensions have lost more
than 37% of their purchasing power. Retired workers lost the retirement security they
were promised throughout their careers of public service. Without annual COLAs, many
retired workers who helped make our county the great place that it is today are
struggling to afford healthcare, groceries, and housing.
RPEC has been working to restore an annual, automatic Plan 1 COLA. We have built
great momentum and succeeded in passing legislation to enact one-time COLAs in
2018, 2020, 2022, and 2023. This year, the Select Committee on Pension Policy
(SCPP) has been tasked with studying the issue of restoring an ongoing COLA and the
support of counties is needed.
How you can help
By supporting retired county employees in the effort to restore an annual, automatic
COLA for Plan 1 retirees, you will help grow the local economy and preserve the
number of self-sufficient seniors in our county. Please stand with your former
employees by taking one or all of the following actions:
1) Share this information with your fellow county leaders. They may not be aware
that former county employees are struggling financially due to the lack of a
recurring COLA.
2) Secure approval of a resolution from the county council/commission to the Select
Committee on Pension Policy (SCPP) to demonstrate support for the county's
retired employees vested in Plan 1. A sample resolution is attached for your
consideration. The SCPP is the legislative body that will recommend a proposal
for the recurring COLA. The Legislature typically supports the recommendations
that are advanced by the SCPP.
3) Send a letter of support from the county council/commission to the SCPP to
emphasize that your former employees, vested in Plan 1, deserve retirement
security through an automatic, recurring COLA. A sample letter is attached for
your consideration.
Please have your staff reach out to me to coordinate a brief phone call or an in-person
or virtual meeting about this matter. You can reach me at (360) 821-1211 or by email at
marston@cablespeed.com .
Thank you for your consideration of these requests and for recognizing the contribution
that retired county employees continue to make to our communities.
Sincerely,
\k/\ ' \D_
Mike Marston
President
Chapter 22
Jefferson County
Retired Public Employees Council of Washington
AFSCME Retirees Chapter 10
P.O. Box 2006, Port Townsend, WA 98368
(360) 821-1211