Unions Bankrolled Analyst Vetting Pension Bill

NY Times ^ | May 16, 2008 | DANNY HAKIM

[neverdem]

ALBANY — A bill offering thousands of additional city workers early retirement has been gaining support in the Legislature in recent weeks. New York City officials have protested, saying it would cost the city $200 million annually.

Not so, lawmakers countered. It won’t cost a cent, they said, pointing to the review of a highly credentialed actuary to prove it.

But what the legislators did not disclose, as they cited the expert analysis of the actuary, Jonathan Schwartz, was that Mr. Schwartz had not been paid by the state to conduct his analysis. His work was bankrolled by unions, including District Council 37, the umbrella group of municipal unions that drafted the early retirement bill, which is now moving through the Legislature.

Lawmakers have cited Mr. Schwartz’s analysis on hundreds of bills in recent years, with billions of dollars worth of potential costs. His projections were used to fulfill a legal requirement that every piece of legislation be accompanied by a “fiscal note” that examines its impact on spending. Mr. Schwartz’s consultant work for the unions was discovered during a review of Department of Labor documents by The New York Times this week.

Mr. Schwartz, a former city actuary, said that he routinely skewed his projections to favor the unions — he called his job “a step above voodoo” — and admitted...

--snip--

“What people call actuarial science is at least as much as an art as a science,” Mr. Schwartz said.

“Back in my days as city actuary, I would go to that part of the range that would make things look as expensive as possible,” he added. “As consultant for the unions, I go to the part of the range that makes things as cheap as possible, but I never knowingly go out of the range.”...

[freekitty]

They are probably offering bonuses to managers who cull their departments. This does happen.

[Hildy]

No, like bankrupt (Morally and financially) San Diego, they are offering early retirement to city employees at an incredibly high rate. This will bankrupt the city. I never understood how or why government workers are allowed to have a union. It makes no sense whatsoever.