Battle Creek To Seek Waiver From State For Their Pension Plan

The City of Battle Creek will be looking to avoid state oversight due to the funding status of municipal retirement systems.

Last month, the Michigan Department of Treasury said they considered Battle Creek’s employee pension program underfunded, because the fund balance sat below the 60% cutoff; however, the city was only 2.5% below that benchmark. According to the Battle Creek City Commission’s agenda for their April 10 meeting, a resolution allowing a waiver request to be submitted to the state will be voted on.

The resolution states that the Treasury department used flawed calculations in their determination, and that the city has taken action in the past to address the funding level of the pension plan.

The letter notifying Battle Creek of the Michigan's determination was sent March 1, and the city only has 45 days from that date to apply for the waiver; that means the city has to get the waiver application in by April 15.

If the city doesn’t get a waiver from the state, they would need to formulate and carry out an action plan in conjunction with the state to solve the funding problem.