Mayor's Comments on Pension

The Mayor's comments on the pension are a vain attempt to justify her lack of foresight and planning.

"We do not gamble with our employees' pensions. Do I have to point to Enron or any of those other things where people invest in riskier forms of pensions funds."

To equate a global large-cap index created by Standard and Poors with gambling or Enron is a ridiculous statement. It shows that the Mayor has absolutely no respect for the intelligence of the voters. Unfortunately, the Mayor's glib remark has painted the Pension Committee into a corner. Now, anything they do, no matter how prudent, can be construed as risky.

Even more embarrassing for the Mayor is that New Milford probably owned Enron stock. Enron was in the S&P 500 index until it went bankrupt. Perhaps diversifying over a global index is not such a bad idea.

"We're more than fully funded."

Yes, because we put taxpayer dollars into the fund each year to make up for our inadequate investment returns.

"We have conservative investments that have paid a very good return."

So if Kimberly-Clark says they want to expand the plant, is the Mayor going to say no? Is she going to say that we have enough tax dollars from KC and really don't want any more?

Robert Kostes - NMF