subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite mapBuy a Classified
Mon, Nov 09 2009 

Resources

print this story   Print this story
  Post to del.icio.us

Published July 01, 2008 12:03 pm - Gov. Steve Beshear got a warm reception from local officials and city employees here Monday as he touted the pension reform legislation passed in special session last week.

Beshear touting pension plan


By RONNIE ELLIS
CNHI News Service

BOWLING GREEN

Gov. Steve Beshear got a warm reception from local officials and city employees here Monday as he touted the pension reform legislation passed in special session last week.

Bowling Green Mayor Elaine Walker, who introduced Beshear to about 75 city employees, said the bill will save the city budget about $400,000 next year and the county government about $200,000.

“Through his leadership, we’re going to be able to realize benefits immediately,” Walker said. “The governor’s enormous leadership has helped.”

The purpose of the visit and later stops scheduled Monday for Hopkinsville, Paducah and Owensboro and Tuesday in Covington, Ashland and Lexington is to boost his image as an effective governor who can get things done. After a regular session earlier this year when his proposals for casino gambling, an increase in the cigarette tax and pension reform went nowhere, both Beshear’s and lawmakers’ standing with the public plunged.

Beshear put together a compromise bill on pensions, combining features previously agreed on by both the Democratic-controlled House and Republican-controlled Senate and told legislative leaders he’d call them into session if they could agree on that or another bill in advance. Lawmakers made a few changes to Beshear’s plan – including mandating payment of incrementally larger percentages of the annually required payments to the systems – and then passed it last week. The bill calls for a working group to study other issues in the pension puzzle and make recommendations to the 2009 General Assembly.

Sherry Legrand, 52, a state Medicaid worker for 27 years, asked the governor about the bill’s provisions for those who wish to retire with full benefits but return to work. The bill allows that after a break of three months (one for hazardous duty employees), but the returning employee cannot qualify for a second pension as they previously could.

Legrand said that doesn’t bother her but she can’t afford not to retire this year because of an opportunity to have her benefits calculated on the highest three years of salary rather than on the average of the highest five. But she has a son at Western Kentucky University and isn’t ready to stop working.

“I’m not finished, so hopefully I can work something out to come back to work after three months,” Legrand said.

She gave Beshear credit for bringing lawmakers together on the pension bill, but she wasn’t happy with the way the regular session ended with major issues unresolved.

“I was very disappointed in the first (regular) session,” Legrand said. “But hopefully this bipartisanship will get some things going in the right direction.”

Beshear promised to work to foster a continuation of bipartisan cooperation.

“I’m happy to report that during this special session, you actually saw Republicans and Democrats leaving politics at the front door and coming together to address quite honestly one of the most complex and most financially troubling issues that we have to deal with in state government,” Beshear said. “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that same bipartisan attitude that allowed us to do pension reform is also focused on improving the education of our kids, that it’s also focused on providing health care for our people and that it’s focused on creating new jobs.”

Beshear said the bill puts the pension systems on sound financial footing, if the annual payments are honored. But the key will be the annual payments, by a legislature that couldn’t find enough money this spring to avoid cutting existing services in education and health and human services.

“The legislature and the governor are going to have to make those yearly payments a priority,” Beshear said when asked how tough it will be to find the money.

Beshear said he will soon announce that two Japanese companies will locate facilities in Kentucky and he touted the state’s potential to be a leader in providing alternative fuels. Part of that, he said, will be the use of coal, but he said Kentucky must lead the way in making coal “cleaner and greener.”



print this story    email this story   






autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Premium Jobs

COMPETITIVE PHARMACEUTICAL DISTRIBUTOR IS
seeking full-time tele-sales reps. Base pay plus commissions. You must possess strong work ethics, good attendance rec...>MORE

CAREER MINDED INDIVIDUALS SEARCHING FOR A HOME
We offer HOME ON WEEKENDS!!
2500 miles per week
100% no touch freight
No force dispatch to NYC. Safety &
...>MORE

BLUEGRASS SUPPLY CHAIN SERVICES
Has immediate part time forklift operator openings at a client location in Edmonton, KY. Team members are responsible fo...>MORE

OPENING FOR PET GROOMER-STYLIST
for bush pet boarding & grooming business. Pleasant working environment with established client base. 5 years experience...>MORE

ADULT THERAPIST
LifeSkills has a full-time Adult Therapist position available for our service center in Metcalfe County. The position is...>MORE

MANAGEMENT (KEYHOLDER) POSITION WITH LOCAL
shoe store. Exciting career opportunity. Retail experience preferred. Competitive benefit package. Apply at SHOE SHOW, 2...>MORE

ELECTRICIAN WANTED. KY LICENSE PREFERRED.
OSHA 10 hr. 10+ years exp., commercial, EOE, Drug free workplace. Job is located in Glasgow, KY. Interested applicants c...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Autos

1999 DODGE WORK VAN, LWB, V8, AUTO,
a/c, pb, ps, cruise 110k mi. $2,700 OBO Call 270-646-8440...>MORE

2002 HARLEY DAVIDSON ROAD KING,
black, leather bags, $7,000. Call 270-678-9502....>MORE

1990 CHEVY SPORT TRUCK
350, black, automatic, air conditioned, power windows, alloy wheels. $3,500. 651-3906.

...>MORE

2007 PT CRUISER, 56K MILES
excellent condition. $7,500.00. Call 270-590-4725.

...>MORE

1997 CHRYSLER LHS, 4 DOOR, AUTO,
loaded, leather, sunroof, 84K actual miles. $3,400. OBO. Call 646-5017.

...>MORE

2005 DODGE MAGNUM SXT WITH 73,000 MILES.
White ext., gray leather int., automatic, 6 cylinder, 3.5L engine. Asking $10,900. Call 270-202-2346.

...>MORE

05 KIA - $4,995; 02 CHEVY MALIBU 80k mi. $4,995;
02 Dodge Intrepid, very low miles; 04 Saturn 4 dr nice $4,995; 2000 Pontiac Grand Am 4 dr; 99 Mustang LX; 96 Mustang; 03...>MORE

1997 GEO TRACKER, 2 DR. AUTO, 2 WD., 4 CYL. GAS
no a/c manual steering, great gass mileage, $2,200. Call 646-8122....>MORE

LOOKING FOR A GREAT AUTO DEAL?.....
Looking to buy or sell?
Check here for the Premium Auto Section.
You can post an ad with unlimited text and
...>MORE

See all ads

Premium Homes

2 BR, 1.5 BA, W/D HOOK-UP, D/W, NEWLY REMODELED.
C/H/A located by old library. $400 mo. + $400 dep. Call 270-646-8440....>MORE

COMMERCIAL STORE FRONT/OFFICE SPACE
750 sq. ft. good location in town. Call between 9am-6pm. 270-651-2495, 270-576-7031....>MORE

1-2 BEDROOM HOUSES AND APARTMENTS. 579-3947.
...>MORE

2 BR HOUSE AT 319 JEFFERSON ST.
Hardwood floors, $475 mo. Cell phone 670-3139.

...>MORE

3 BR, BRICK HOUSE W/BASEMENT IN HAYWOOD AREA.
First time home buyers, take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit before it ends! Call Freddie Joe, at Mr. Bill Realty 270...>MORE

2 BR, 1 BA 209B FORRESTER RD. 1 CAR GARAGE,
appliances furnished, large living room. $450 mo. plus $400 dep. 270-576-7271....>MORE

2 BR, 1 BA APT., ALL APPLICIANCES FURN., CENTRAL
h/a, hardwood floors, $450/mo 6 mo. lease 270-670-9677....>MORE

LG. 2 BR, 1 BA, ALL APPLIANCES INCL. WASHER & DRYER
E. Main St. $450/mo. New management. 404-3580.

...>MORE

2 BR HOUSE IN PARK CITY, APPLIANCES FURNISHED.
$350 mo. HUD approved. Call 749-2104 or 670-4720....>MORE

November Rent FREE Lg. 2 BR, 1 BA
all appliance incl. washer & dryer, E. Main St. $450/mo. 404-3580....>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index