However, from our viewpoint, Tom Finneran will be recognized as the one person on Beacon Hill who had the greatest knowledge and insight of our public pension plan, and more than anyone, was responsible for assuring the fiscal solvency that our retirement systems now enjoy.

As both chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and subsequently speaker, his fiscal style irked many. But it was Finneran's insistence on establishing a rainy day fund when state revenues earlier peaked that saved the day when there was a $2 billion budget shortfall during leaner times.

He will be long remembered by our Association's leadership, with whom he worked, as the principal architect of the pension COLA reform law of 1997 (Ch. 17). It came on the heels of a nine-year period during which there had been only three COLAs.

As the result of Tom Finneran's efforts, all of our members, encompassing every retirement system, have received a COLA every year and on a higher base (formerly $9,000) since 1998. "While others may criticize Tom's style, there will be none from this quarter," said Association President Ralph White. "I want our members to know that they had a true ally whose door was always open to us. We wish Tom nothing but the best with his new job."