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Friday, March 2, 2012

Totten Says Common Council Would Not Okay Radical Change To Pension Plan

Former City Manager Terry Totten finishing up his cross examination at the defamation trial of former Common Councillor John Ferguson.

Totten concedes questions posed by Ferguson in 2005 about the city's pension plan were appropriate but isn't sure when they were responded to.

Totten testified he's not an expert on pensions which prompted Ferguson's lawye Rod Gillisr to question whether it would not have been better to hire a pension expert rather than spend money sending pension board trustees to Vegas, California, Hawaii and Florida. 

Totten told the jury by 2007, he didn't know what to do about the rising pension plan deficit.  

Gillis tried to pin Totten down on if he ever specifically recommended the city move from defined benefits to defined contributions. Totten maintains he recommended Common Council investigate that but couldn't get approval to which Gillis replied so it's Council's fault.