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Wilkes-Barre POWER! event benefits Victims Resource Center

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Our View: Time for nurses, hospital to end this fight

<p>PITTSTON &#8212; The city has missed its fourth consecutive mandatory police pension contribution, according to an audit released this week by Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale.</p><p>The city came up nearly $400,000 short in 2017 and has been hit with over $160,000 in interest penalties.</p><p>&#8220;Pittston continues to pay a hefty price for missing its required pension payment deadlines,&#8221; said DePasquale in a press release. DePasquale went on to say that if Pittston does not come up with and follow through on a concrete plan of action to cover the $400,000 pension deficit, he will be forced to withhold future state pension aid to the city.</p><p>&#8220;I do recognize that the city is trying,&#8221; DePasquale said in the release.</p><p>Pittston&#8217;s 2019 budget does include a plan to address the police pension fund deficit, and Mayor Mike Lombardo is confident the gap will be closed in 2019.</p><p>&#8220;The City of Pittston has been working diligently for several years to address the funding issues of its police pension plan,&#8221; Lombardo said in a statement.</p><p>Most notably, the city issued a $2.1 million bond in October of this year. The bond was used to pay down a significant portion of the police pension&#8217;s unfunded liability in an effort to lower future annual obligations and avoid future interest penalties.</p><p>Lombardo also pointed out that any interest penalties paid go right to the pension fund and benefit only the city&#8217;s police, not a third party.</p><p>&#8220;The first read of our 2019 budget reflects clear action steps &#8230; to address the Auditor General&#8217;s concerns,&#8221; said Lombardo in his statement. &#8220;This progress is occurring with no increases in taxes.&#8221;</p><p>The audit report wasn&#8217;t all bad news for Pittston.</p><p>The firemen&#8217;s pension plan is funded at 99.5 percent of obligations and the officers and employees plan is funded at 89.5 percent.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">DePasquale </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/web1_DePasquale-cmyk_ne201811118498306.jpg</photo0><caption0>DePasquale </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Connor Moffitt</p><p>cmoffitt@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

State AG DePasquale: Pittston continues to miss police pension payments