MIDLAND, Texas — Midland's firefighters have done a lot for their city and they'd like to get their benefits after they retire.
Unfortunately, their Midland Fireman's Relief and Retirement Fund - a pension designed to give them benefits for life post-firefighting - has been underfunded, only $109 million over the course of 20 years.
According to Midland Mayor Lori Blong, the pension plan for the Midland firefighters was first established back in the 1950's, but the statute that set it up was made way back in 1937.
That statute is what established the current fund we see in 2023 and it’s pretty important for the firefighters.
“The Midland retirement fund for the firefighters is specifically designed for the firefighters of Midland," Mayor Blong said. "They do not receive social security benefits so this is their only opportunity to be investing in their future.”
The problems didn’t start creeping up until about 15 to 20 years since it was established.
That's when the cracks began in the fund and began to show.
“We find records all the way back to the 2000's of notices that were given to the board from the actuaries that were doing evaluations to show that it was heading in the wrong direction for the past twenty years,” Mayor Blong said.
While previous administrations have made changes to the pension fund as early as 2020, Mayor Blong says those changes are only just getting enacted in 2023.
That’s not to say the City of Midland and the Midland Fire Department have just been sitting idly by because they’ve worked together to make some changes to the fund.
“We’ve gone forward and made several changes. The fire department voted to change part of the way their benefits are calculated related to overtime, so that vote was taken this summer," Mayor Blong said. "The city most recently as last Tuesday voted for a two percent increase in our contribution to the firefighters from our paycheck.”
That increase came at the city council meeting on Dec. 12, and Mayor Blong believes that the increase, while small, will still net some positives in both the short and long term.
“When we look at the issues the pension fund is facing, really here are two primary issues. There has been a lack of performance investments, and there is also a lack of adequate contributions to the fund to meet the future promised benefits of the fund," Mayor Blong said. "So we are increasing our contribution to the fund so that we can more adequately meet the promised future benefit.”
However, this is far from a done deal, as there are still many issues that need to be solved. But Mayor Blong believes that with enough cooperation and work, both the City and MFD can get the job done.