Three-member conference committees from the two branches are now meeting on a daily basis attempting to reach agreement on a myriad of differences within the two budgets before a final vote can be taken, prior to sending the budget to Governor Cellucci.

Although the budget takes effect on July 1, members will recall that last year’s budget was not sent to the Governor until November and the July ‘99 COLA was not final until the House and Senate voted to override Cellucci’s COLA veto on November 17.

"There was a standoff between House and Senate leaders on some major items within the two budgets last year. This is not unusual," said Association President Ralph White, "but the length of the standoff was unusual. However, this year’s legislative session ends on July 31, therefore a final agreement will be reached on the budget sent to the Governor well before that date."

At the local level, eligible city, town, county and authority retirees/survivors will also receive the same 3% COLA in their July checks - the checks mailed at the end of July.

Thanks to our Association’s legislation, these local retirees were also able to receive a 1.7% increase retroactive to July 1999, to bring last year’s COLA up to a full 3%. Originally the COLA was 1.3%, based on the consumer price index (CPI). However our legislation, contained within last year’s budget, allowed local boards to later vote for the additional 1.7%, plus, upping this July’s scheduled 2.4% CPI COLA also to a full 3%.

The enabling COLA legislation (Sec. 51, Ch. 127, Acts of ‘99) required local retirement boards to receive acceptance of the new law by their governing bodies prior to voting for 3% COLAs. This would be a city council or board of aldermen in a city, county advisory council in a county, town meeting in a town having its own retirement system, and the directors of authority or district systems.

Most towns, being members of their county retirement systems, were promptly covered by county acceptance of the law. However. towns with their own systems, in most cases, were required to wait until spring town meetings. The majority of city retirement boards received approval earlier this year, while a few went right down to the wire this June.

"The local retirement boards did a fine job of lobbying their respective governing bodies for acceptance of Section 51," said Association Legislative Chairman Bill Hill. "I know that Ralph White and Shawn Duhamel were active in several communities that asked for assistance, but on the whole the local boards should be commended for taking the lead on behalf of the members of their retirement systems."