The Perils of PERAC - Sticker Shock?

I was minding my own business, but then I read this wedged into Sunday's Blog of Record (Link):

Lynch's retirement was approved by the Lowell Retirement Board on March 21. He had 29 years, 8 months of total municipal service. His pension was not available as of Friday.

Sorting through the nooks and crannies of PERAC (Link) is a daunting task. I dare you to rummage through M.G.L. Chapter 32 (Link) on come out with some easy answers.

So, if we are so interested in Bernie Lynch's retirement. Should we think hard before we hire our next City Manager? What will this guy cost us, as taxpayers? We better do this ourselves because the 'fiscal watchdog' is busy licking a bone.

Maybe, in the future, when we hire a City Manager, or a high paid Administrator; hell, even elect a City Councilor, maybe we should run a spreadsheet on how much Lowell will have to carry for their retirement?

So, Bernie worked in Chelmsford for a good long while. But, he got paid a decent wage, so Chelmsford was banking on his behalf to cover it. In Lowell, Bernie took a bump in pay, but he only worked in Lowell for 7+ years. And, he did have to put in his own money, as a payroll deductions. Do the math.

Kevin Murphy, who has leaned so convincingly on his 13 years on Lowell's payroll, as an Asst City Solicitor to qualify himself for CM, will be on Lowell's dime for those 13 years. Plus, the 3-6 years he does as our City Manager.

What's a State Rep make? 75-80 Grand? The Commonwealth will carry the burden for Murphy's 17 years of service.

Won't Lowell carry a burden calculated on 16-19 years of service for Murphy? At what rate? 180 Grand?

Aren't the PERAC calculations prorated across various employers, so if you worked for 3 municipalities and had 1 state job, over the span of your career, would the burden be spread out? But, equally or based on the time in each position and how much you made while working there?

You'd think that, like buying a car, these candidates would come with a "sticker price."

Ya, RIGHT! When politicians hire other politicians, they are happy to whistle past the graveyard.


PS. Don't be pissed with me because I'm snooping into Murphy's checkbook. The Sun doesn't give a shit about being nosy and intrusive for political reasons. Why should I? Fair is fair.