ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- As long anticipated, trustees of the Firemen's Retirement System of St. Louis sued the city today to block Mayor Francis Slay's sweeping pension overhaul.
According to a statement released by attorneys of the retirement system, the five-count lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and injunction against the city, aiming to stop Slay's plan to close the current system and open a new system with vastly lesser benefits going forward.
It specifically aims to "prevent the implementation of ordinances and to stop proposed ordinances" referred to in the suit as a "scheme" to change pension benefits and control the fund.
"We hope that this lawsuit and a court ruling in our favor will end, once and for all time, the attempts by the City of St. Louis to control firefighter pensions and benefits," said Vicky Grass, system executive director, in the statement. "The system is not broken and once the economy rebounds, the crisis will end. We have been diligent in the handling of pensions for retirees and benefits for firefighters and it is senseless to try to reinvent FRS under city control."
Dan Tobben, outside attorney for the system, filed the suit in district court this morning. It was first sent to Judge Bryan L. Hettenbach's courtroom. Hettenbach, however, recused himself, Tobben said, sending the suit on to Judge Joan L. Moriarty.
The suit argues that the city cannot change or repeal either its charter or the state statutes governing the system, according to the statement. Moreover, it says the mayor's bills violate the contract rights of firefighters and break the state constitution by "unlawfully delegating state power from the Missouri General Assembly."
The suit also argues that Slay's Board Bill 11, which tries to prevent trustees from filing just such a suit, violates the city charter and state statutes. That bill has passed out of aldermanic committee and is set for discussion on the floor Friday.
The suit asks the court to declare the ordinances invalid and stop the city from ending the current firefighter retirement plan and prevent the passage and implementation of the bills.
"The City of St. Louis has passed an ordinance violating rights of firefighters. Those rights, under the U.S. Constitution's Contract Clause cannot be changed by city ordinance, state statute or even an act of congress," Tobben said in the statement.
Jeff Rainford, the mayor's chief of staff, criticized the suit as a waste of money.
"They used taxpayers' money to file this lawsuit against the taxpayers," he said in an emailed statement. "The lawsuit seeks to allow them to continue to use taxpayers' money to sue the taxpayers. That is just plain wrong. If they want to sue the taxpayers, they should use their own money.
"We look forward to defending the taxpayers and protecting their rights and their money. We are very well prepared."
The Firemen's Retirement System was created in 1944, substantially revised in 1960 and provides retirement, disability, death and survivor benefits to nearly 2000 active and retired firefighters and their families.
Slay's office did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Tobben's office said the suit's first hearing was scheduled for 11 a.m. Thursday.
Copyright 2012 - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
