Syracuse’s City Auditor is speaking out about the strain projected pension costs are putting on local finances. Alex Marion said this year, the city’s bill will exceed $35 million, and it’s expected to go up another 58 percent by the year 2030.
"Our employees are the most valuable asset we have for the city of Syracuse,” said Marion. “They deserve to have a solid career, be well compensated, and receive a generous retirement package for the work they do for our community. But these costs are growing."
And he says revenue is not. In his new report, Rethinking Retirement, Marion said the city is not in crisis but should look for solutions to alleviate future pension costs. He’d like to see New York state cover employer contributions to ease the burden on local governments, or at least cover part of it.
He would also like municipalities to be able to pre-fund retiree health care programs and have the option of investing in the state retirement fund.
Marion said pension costs are a national challenge and will require teamwork across the state to fix.
"We have much more in common than not, and whether you're talking about New York City or Buffalo or Albany or Ithaca, we have a lot of these same issues in common, and we can try to find solutions that work for all of us,” he said.
Marion said he has shared his report with the administration and looks forward to productive discussions about the issue going forward.
