The Metro Council is expected to discuss and vote on a proposal tonight that would require the proposed city of St. George to pay off its share of pension debt to the city-parish retirement system, should the incorporation effort succeed.
Also on tonight’s agenda is a request by Metro Councilman Chandler Loupe to hire an outside law firm to represent the city-parish in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the children of Alton Sterling, who was fatally shot by a Baton Rouge police officer in 2016.
Two new ITEP requests will be introduced at tonight’s meeting, as well, for a public hearing and vote at the Sept. 25 meeting. One of the tax break requests is for a $332 million expansion at Formosa Plastics, creating 15 new jobs, while the other ITEP request is for a $2.2 million expansion at Fabricated Steel Products, which will create two new jobs.
The St. George pension debt item was deferred at the last meeting, and it’s unclear if it will be taken up tonight or deferred again. St. George spokesman Andrew Murrell says organizers have been meeting with the East Baton Rouge City-Parish Retirement System to discuss the proposal and determine how to calculate its share of pension debt liability.
“We’ve had fairly productive meetings,” Murrell says. “Part of the issue is the city-parish has employees who have nothing to do with St. George. Should we have (pension debt) liability for them? What are we liable for? Who are we liable for? How do we quantify that and determine the payment amount?”
The proposed ordinance amendment, requested by CPERS, doesn’t say how much St. George would have to pay, but it does state that the amount would be determined by the CPERS’ actuary—not the newly incorporated city.
CPERS could not be reached for comment as of this morning’s deadline.
