It isn’t over until it’s over.
That’s certainly true of controversy associated with the Police & Fire Pension Fund after former Executive Director John Keane filed suit Thursday against the fund’s board of trustees.
The lawsuit contends the fund has no legal right to pay him pension benefits that are less than what his contract called for, including the Senior Staff Voluntary Retirement Plan, a supplement to the general pension fund.
Keane retired in September 2015 after serving as the fund’s chief executive for 25 years.
In addition to the general pension fund, he paid into the voluntary plan since it was established by the trustees in 2000.
Keane’s attorney, Matt Kachergus, said this morning his client contends it’s fundamentally unfair for the trustees to set up a pension plan — and promise Keane its benefits as he paid into the plan — and then not pay the benefits.
“Mr. Keane contributed to the plan for 15 years and then when it’s time to pay the benefits, they change it,” said Kachergus.
When city General Counsel Jason Gabriel in April issued an opinion that the senior staff plan was unlawful because it was not approved by City Council, Keane’s annual retirement benefits dropped from $234,000 to $187,000.
Gabriel also said the general counsel has the authority to render binding opinions on the fund.
That’s another issue in the lawsuit.
“Gabriel is not the attorney for the fund’s trustees. They have independent counsel,” Kachergus said.
He said Gabriel’s opinion was based on Article 16 of the city charter, which gives council authority to approve pension plans for city employees. But it’s not applicable in this case because Keane was not employed by the city while he worked for the fund.
“The senior executive staff works for the board, not for the city,” said Kachergus.
When the city stopped paying into the senior staff plan following Gabriel’s opinion, there were three members: Keane; the widow of former fund Deputy Director Dick Cohee; and a fund employee.
The dispute over the senior voluntary plan began in 2012, when former General Counsel Cindy Laquidara opined the fund’s board didn’t have the authority to create the additional retirement plan.
Her opinion led to the city suing the fund over the additional benefit.
In April, when Gabriel declared the plan unlawful, the city stopped paying into the supplement and dropped its suit against the fund.
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