The latest twist on pension reform doesn’t stem from City Hall — it stems from the courtroom.
In a ruling issued Tuesday, Circuit Judge Thomas Beverly ruled the so-called “30-year agreement” void ab initio — meaning it’s been invalid from the start.
The ruling didn’t come from a lawsuit seeking whether the deal was valid. It came from a Sunshine Law case filed by Curtis Lee and the Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County.
In it, they claimed behind-closed-door discussions were what led to the 30-year deal that led to the 2001 contract. It’s been amended several times since.
Collective bargaining must be done in publicly noticed meetings.
But the city and Police and Fire Pension Fund — the defendants in the case — argued it wasn’t collective bargaining.
Instead, they contended the fund wasn’t a bargaining unit or agent and the public safety unions waived their rights to bargain.
Beverly didn’t agree, stating it was “obvious” that wasn’t the case.
“Applying general law to the undisputed facts yields the conclusion that, in negotiating the Pension Fund Contract and the Proposed Ordinance, the City and Pension Fund were engaging in collective bargaining,” Beverly wrote.
Thus, because it was collectively bargained illegally, the 30-year deal is dead. Benefits earned and currently being accrued don’t change, though, because of the “status quo doctrine.”
Instead, changes made will have to be done at the bargaining table. That’s the step City Council President Clay Yarborough said he hopes happens next, with results presented to council as soon as possible. He doesn’t want to see the issue appealed.
“We need to sit down and get something done,” he said.
With the ruling in hand, though, Yarborough said the city has more leverage. Union leaders in the past contend the 30-year agreement is a valid contract and lays out benefits for their members until 2030.
Fund administrator John Keane said the ruling was sent Thursday to the fund’s attorneys for review.
David DeCamp, spokesman for Mayor Alvin Brown, issued a statement saying the city is reviewing the decision ”to see if it creates new opportunities to achieve pension reform.”
The latest attempt at reform was forged through several open meetings between Keane and Brown last summer. After months of a governance and benefits framework bouncing between council and the fund board, council ultimately rejected the bill Wednesday with a 9-9 vote. Funding for that deal hasn’t been decided upon, although Brown strongly backs a plan involving JEA.
Yarborough said it “was a very good thing we didn’t approve” that reform proposal Wednesday. Council would have been amending a now-voided agreement. He said the ruling effectively now “hits the reset button” and allows Brown’s administration to get the best deal possible.
“Let’s quit the name calling, let’s quit using these emotional responses,” he said. “Let’s get past that and get something done.”
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