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WS – Item 2 <br />WORK SESSION STAFF REPORT <br />Work Session Item No. 2 <br />Date: September 7, 2021 <br />To: City Council <br />From: Meg Sawyer, HR and Communications Manager <br />Re: Statewide Volunteer Firefighters Retirement Plan <br />Background <br />Staff has reviewed the employee benefit level for Paid On-Call Firefighters (POC) and <br />recent legislative changes related to the Statewide Volunteer Firefighter Retirement Plan <br />(SVFRP) and the City’s ability to seek reimbursement for pension related costs for full- <br />time fire personnel. <br />Increase to SVFRP Benefit Level <br />Staff has determined that the Lino Lakes SVFRP is financially stable and well-funded <br />and would support increasing the benefit level for POC Firefighters. The current benefit <br />level per year of service is $5,000 which was established when Lino Lakes enrolled in the <br />SVFRP in 2014 (City of Lino Lakes Resolution #14-110). <br />Staff requested that PERA conduct a cost analysis of the Lino Lakes SVFRP to determine <br />what the impact would be on the overall financial stability of the Lino Lakes SVFRP if <br />the benefit level for POC Firefighters increased. It was determined that increasing the <br />benefit level to $7,000 per year of service, will not adversely impact the financial stability <br />of the Lino Lakes SVFRP. <br />Funding of the SVFRP is from existing fire state aid and investment earnings; increasing <br />the benefit level to $7,000 per year of service will not require a municipal contribution. <br />Reimbursement of Pension Costs for Full-Time Fire Personnel <br />Minnesota statute 477B.041 was amended during the 2021 legislative session and signed <br />into law by Governor Walz allowing municipalities in Minnesota that provide fire <br />services with a combination department (fire services provided with POC and full-time <br />fire personnel) to petition for reimbursement for pension costs paid by the municipality <br />for full-time staff. <br />Prior to this law, municipalities that utilized POC firefighters to provide fire services <br />were not able to seek any funding for pension costs paid by the municipality for full-time <br />fire personnel.