City Council members could have approved a settlement for former Police and Fire Pension Fund administrator John Keane’s retirement Tuesday.
They could have pushed to further lower his proposed $228,000-a-year settlement.
They could have rejected it outright, sending a signal the deal wasn’t right and deserved an answer in court over whether Keane’s specially created plan was unauthorized.
They could have done any of those. Instead, they did none of them.
Council by a 14-4 vote decided to indefinitely postpone action on the Keane settlement.
It didn’t come easy and only after an hour-plus of debate that saw widely varied opinions.
Without a settlement, Keane and his spouse would collect an expected $2.6 million over the rest of their lives.
The proposed settlement trims a little more than 2 percent off that or lowers it to $2.3 million. And the thought of spending $1 million or more in a prolonged legal battle didn’t sit well with some.
“We lose either way,” said Reggie Brown.
In his viewpoint, it was better to get out early.
Others felt the complete opposite. Al Ferraro said he couldn’t support any settlement — his constituents weren’t having it. They feel ripped off, he said.
Likewise, Matt Schellenberg wasn’t buying any settlement. As he has in the past, he strongly pushed against it.
“By going to court, we’ll aggravate the hell out of him,” Schellenberg said of Keane.
Instead of enjoying retired life with his grandchildren, going on cruises and seeing the world, Keane would be stuck in court, Schellenberg said.
Throughout the debate, there was a new wrinkle: A potential lawsuit that seeks to declare the senior staff pension plan the pension fund created void due to Sunshine Law violations.
John Winkler, president for the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County, confirmed his group and Curtis Lee as an individual expect to file the lawsuit soon and notified council members of their intent.
Winkler said he and Lee asked the pension fund for public records relating to noticed meetings when the plan was being discussed and approved in 1999-2000. The records returned last week showed agendas and minutes, but no notice, Winkler said.
He said it took four months to get the public records from the pension fund.
The lawsuit will seek to not only declare Keane’s senior staff pension void, but also make him ineligible to be placed in the general employees’ pension plan that would provide about $187,000 a year.
Instead, Keane would only be entitled to his contributions back.
The possible lawsuit provided plenty of consideration for Bill Gulliford, who initiated the effort to postpone a settlement vote.
“I think it’d prudent to know if there’s any merit there,” Gulliford said afterward. “It certainly could change the dynamics of a settlement.”
However, he thinks even if the senior staff plans were declared void, Keane should still be allowed to enter the general employees plan.
“The man is entitled to a pension,’ Gulliford said.
Postponement also allows council members to have a shade meeting, which means they would meet in private over the issue. Doing so would allow council to become better educated, he said.
And then there’s the message it sends. Perhaps, Gulliford said, Keane and the pension board see the action and have a little more sensitivity to the issue and the anger it’s caused in the community. Maybe they come back with a better offer.
But there’s also the chance they could walk away and simply let it play out in court. That’s one of possibilities without an agreed upon settlement.
Ultimately, Tuesday’s action meant the John Keane saga isn’t over. It could just be beginning again.
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