LONGVIEW, Texas — Members of the Texas Pension Review Board recently praised a step Longview's fire pension board took to help secure the plan's future.
In a meeting this past week, a state pension review board employee told the board about a memorandum of understanding approved by the board of the Longview Fireman's Relief & Retirement Fund. The city of Longview has called an election for May 7 for voters to consider $45.6 million in pension obligation bonds, or debt repaid with tax dollars, to shore up the pension plan.
The new debt would require a tax rate increase of 2 cents, to 57.89 cents per $100 valuation. Current projections indicate the plan will run out of money in 20 years, and new state requirements call for all public pension plans in Texas to develop a plan by 2025 to cover its liabilities within 30 years.
Read more from our news partners, the Longview News-Journal.