December 10, 2013
The Civic Federation supports the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s tentative budget of $1.2 billion for its responsible pension practices and transparent long-term planning. The District is prudently basing its pension contribution this year on the actuarial needs of the fund, rather than blindly following statutory requirements. The District’s responsible pension fund stewardship is guided by its continued reliance on publicly-available long-term financial plans.
The District also continues to maintain substantial reserves for unanticipated expenses or emergencies. In FY2014 the District is setting aside 38.5% of its operating funds as non-appropriated fund balance. While the District notes in the budget that it plans to reduce its level of reserves, the Civic Federation encourages the District to improve its fund balance policy by adding a maximum target and a formal plan for spending down excessive reserves.
The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District’s Fiscal Year begins January 1, 2014 and ends December 31, 2014.