BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//github.com/rianjs/ical.net//NONSGML ical.net 4.0//EN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DESCRIPTION:SECOND IN A SERIES OF CRITICAL ISSUES: HAS HOUSTON REALLY SOLV ED ITS PENSION CRISIS? THURSDAY\, DECEMBER 8\, 2016\, 11:30A.M.-1:15 P.M. HOUSTON CITY CLUB (GREENWAY PLAZA) The City of Houston has a serious pen sion problem involving the three employee pension systems\, Police\, Muni cipal Employees\, and Firefighters. Depending on which figures you belie ve\, the extent of the debt owed as a result of the City of Houston's unf unded pension obligations ranges from $5 BILLION to a maximum $13.7 BILLI ON. We simply have no money to continue to fund the generous retiree ben efits approved by former Mayor Lee Brown's Administration in 2001\, which accepted\, without question\, very flawed assumptions from actuarial fir m\, Towers Perrin. Ironically\, that firm represented the Firefighters' P ension Fund but the City was unconcerned about the conflict. To make matt ers worse\, the State Legislature controls Houston's destiny by implement ing a law that applies only to Houston\, namely\, that no changes can be made unless all sides agree to discuss. Worse\, the annual contribution t he city must pay is dictated by the Firefighters which was given effectiv e control by the State Legislature in the same state Law. How generous a re the benefits under the current agreement? A long-serving firefighter w ho retires this year will get a lump sum on retirement day approaching $ 1 million. A police officer will get a lump sum ranging from $1 million to $1.5 million. Plus\, they get lifetime annual incomes with guaranteed future annual raises based on higher pay grades than at retirement. Contr ast that generous retirement with the hard facts that many American compa nies are suspending pension plans\, leaving loyal ex-employees with nothi ng. Yet\, our civil servants will retire as millionaires while Houston sc rambles to find the money to continue operations. Is a major tax increas e coming in Mayor Turner's administration? Our speakers\, who will discus s the pending deal negotiated by Mayor Sylvester Turner last month and pa ssed\, upon submission and without discussion\, by City Council\, are thr ee acknowledged experts in the field: (1) Houston City Controller\, Chris Brown\, (2) Businessman\, politician\, attorney Bill King\, and\, (3) C raig Mason\, acknowledged pension expert and retired actuary with 40 yea rs’ experience who served several Mayors as the City representative on th ose pension boards. PLEASE INVITE ALL YOUR FRIENDS WHO CARE ABOUT THE FIS CAL FUTURE OF HOUSTON. RESERVATIONS REQUESTED AS WE EXPECT A FULL HOUSE. THE MEETING WILL BEGIN AT 11:45 A.M. AND END AT 1:15 P.M. SPEAKERS Chri s Brown Chris B. Brown is a proud Houstonian who was sworn into office as City Controller in January 2016. Chris is a proven professional with the private and public sector experience to be a responsible financial stewa rd\, and the commitment to serve his community. Chris began his career tw o decades ago\, as a trader for Coastal Securities\, an investment bank\, where he focused on analysis of high tech stocks. After several years\, Chris co-founded an equity trading firm. Chris\, as head of operations fo r the equity trading firm\, gained first-hand experience with risk manage ment\, compliance\, reporting\, building operations and negotiating compl ex agreements. Prior to being elected Controller in December 2015\, Chris served as Chief Deputy City Controller\, where he managed the day-to-day operations and oversaw the Executive Division of the Controller’s Office . Prior to being appointed Chief Deputy City Controller in 2009\, Chris s erved as City Council Chief of Staff\, overseeing community development i nitiatives and serving as a liaison to the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Comm ittee. In addition to his professional experience\, Chris is an active pa rticipant in his community. He currently serves on the board of the Willi am A. Lawson Institute for Peace & Prosperity (WALIPP)\, Asia Society of Texas Advisory Board\, Texan-French Alliance for the Arts\, and Prevent B lindness of Texas. He is a past board member of the TCU National Alumni a nd SEARCH Homeless Services. Chris is a fourth generation Houstonian\, an d has deep roots in the Houston community. Chris attended Briargrove Elem entary and Lee High School\, where he was a swim team varsity letterman. His family was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church. Chris attended Te xas Christian University and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administrati on in Finance and later a Master in Business Administration from the Univ ersity of Houston. Chris\, his wife\, Divya\, an attorney\, and their dau ghter\, Milana\, reside in southwest Houston. Bill King A lifelong reside nt of the Houston area\, Bill King grew up the son of a union pipefitter and worked his way through the University of Houston\, earning both his b achelor's degree and law degree there. In so doing\, he became the first in his family to graduate from college. For the last 40 years\, Bill has practiced law and run businesses in Houston. After "falling on my face" a s he describes his experience during the economic downturn of the 1980s\, he picked himself up\, rebuilt his business career\, and has gone on to serve his community in a variety of ways. In 2012\, Bill co-chaired the H ISD bond campaign to rebuild its dilapidated high schools throughout the city. The measure won nearly 70 percent voter approval. Prior to that\, h is efforts to revamp the region's hurricane preparedness plans earned him several gubernatorial appointments and other recognition. More recently\ , as a columnist for the Houston Chronicle\, and previously as a candidat e for Mayor\, Bill has earned a reputation as an outspoken advocate for b alancing the city budget\, investment in infrastructure\, and common sens e solutions to Houston's most challenging problems. Craig Mason Mr. Mason was a management consultant for over 30 years with Mercer\, the internat ional human resource consulting firm. As a consultant\, he provided advic e to employers on the design\, implementation\, funding and administratio n of employee benefit plans\, with a concentration on pension benefits. A fter retirement from Mercer\, he became an independent consultant. From O ctober 2005 through August 2015 he provided consulting services exclusive ly to the City of Houston relative to the three pension plans sponsored b y the City. As part of his consulting services to the City of Houston\, h e served as a trustee on the administrative boards of all three of the Ci ty of Houston sponsored pension plans. Mr. Mason graduated with a BA degr ee in mathematics from Texas Christian University. He was an Enrolled Ac tuary and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries during his consulti ng career with Mercer. DTEND:20161208T191500Z DTSTAMP:20240328T134712Z DTSTART:20161208T173000Z LOCATION:Houston City Club SEQUENCE:1 SUMMARY:HAS HOUSTON REALLY SOLVED ITS PENSION CRISIS? UID:2c706336-64c2-4445-a642-c3ea09bff5d0 X-ALT-DESC:
SECOND IN A SERIES OF CRITICAL ISSUES : HAS HOUSTON REALLY SOLVED ITS PENSION CRISIS?
\n\nTHURSDAY\, DECEMBER 8\, 2016\, 11:30A.M.-1:15 P.M.
\n\nHOUSTON CITY CLUB (GREENWAY PLAZA) strong>
\n\nThe City of Houston has a serious pension problem invol
ving the three employee pension systems\, Police\, Municipal Employees\,
and Firefighters. \; Depending on which figures you believe\, the ext
ent of the debt owed as a result of the City of Houston'\;s unfunded p
ension obligations ranges from $5 BILLION to a maximum $13.7 BILLION.&nbs
p\; We simply have no money to continue to fund the generous retiree bene
fits approved by former Mayor Lee Brown'\;s Administration in 2001\, w
hich accepted\, without question\, very flawed assumptions from actuarial
firm\, Towers Perrin. Ironically\, \;that firm represented the Firef
ighters'\; Pension Fund but the City was unconcerned about the conflic
t.
\n
\nTo make matters worse\, the State Legislature controls
Houston'\;s destiny by implementing a law that applies only to Houston
\, namely\, that no changes can be made unless all sides agree to discuss
. Worse\, the annual contribution the city must pay is dictated by the Fi
refighters which was given effective control by the State Legislature in
the same state Law. \;
\n
\nHow generous are the benefits u
nder the current agreement?
\nA long-serving firefighter who retires
this year will get a lump sum on retirement day approaching $ 1 million.
 \; A police officer will get a lump sum ranging from $1 million to $
1.5 million. Plus\, they get lifetime annual incomes with guaranteed futu
re annual raises based on higher pay grades than at retirement. Contrast
that generous retirement with the hard facts that many American companies
are suspending pension plans\, leaving loyal ex-employees with nothing.
Yet\, our civil servants will retire as millionaires while Houston scramb
les to find the money to continue operations. \; Is a major tax incre
ase coming in Mayor Turner'\;s administration?
Our speakers\ , who will discuss the pending deal negotiated by Mayor Sylvester Turner last month and passed\, upon submission and without discussion\, by City Council\, \;are three acknowledged experts in the field:
\n\n(1 ) Houston City Controller\, Chris Brown\, (2) \; Businessman\, politi cian\, attorney Bill King\, and\, (3) Craig Mason\, acknowledged pension expert and \; retired actuary with 40 years&rsquo\; experience who se rved several Mayors as the City representative on those pension boards. p>\n\n
PLEASE INVITE ALL YOUR FRIENDS WHO CARE ABOUT THE FISCAL FUTURE OF HOUSTON. \; RESERVATIONS REQUESTED AS WE EXPECT A FULL HOUSE. THE MEETING WILL BEGIN AT 11:45 A.M. AND END AT 1:15 P.M.
\n\nSPEAKERS
\n\n\n\nChris Brown
\n\nChris B. Brown is a prou d Houstonian who was sworn into office as City Controller in January 2016 . Chris is a proven professional with the private and public sector exper ience to be a responsible financial steward\, and the commitment to serve his community.
\n\nChris began his career two decades ago\, as a t rader for Coastal Securities\, an investment bank\, where he focused on a nalysis of high tech stocks. After several years\, Chris co-founded an eq uity trading firm. Chris\, as head of operations for the equity trading f irm\, gained first-hand experience with risk management\, compliance\, re porting\, building operations and negotiating complex agreements.
\n\nPrior to being elected Controller in December 2015\, Chris served as C hief Deputy City Controller\, where he managed the day-to-day operations and oversaw the Executive Division of the Controller&rsquo\;s Office. Pri or to being appointed Chief Deputy City Controller in 2009\, Chris served as City Council Chief of Staff\, overseeing community development initia tives and serving as a liaison to the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee .
\n\nIn addition to his professional experience\, Chris is an acti ve participant in his community. He currently serves on the board of the William A. Lawson Institute for Peace &\; Prosperity (WALIPP)\, Asia S ociety of Texas Advisory Board\, Texan-French Alliance for the Arts\, and Prevent Blindness of Texas. He is a past board member of the TCU Nationa l Alumni and SEARCH Homeless Services.
\n\nChris is a fourth genera tion Houstonian\, and has deep roots in the Houston community. Chris atte nded Briargrove Elementary and Lee High School\, where he was a swim team varsity letterman. His family was a member of St. John'\;s Episcopal Church. Chris attended Texas Christian University and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and later a Master in Business Adm inistration from the University of Houston. Chris\, his wife\, Divya\, an attorney\, and their daughter\, Milana\, reside in southwest Houston.
\n\nBill King
\n\nA lifelong resident of the Houston area\, Bill King grew up the son of a union pipefitter and worked his way through the University of Houston\, earning both his bachelor'\;s degree and law degree there. In so doing \, he became the first in his family to graduate from college.
\n\nFor the last 40 years\, Bill has practiced law and run businesses in Hous ton. After "\;falling on my face"\; as he describes his experienc e during the economic downturn of the 1980s\, he picked himself up\, rebu ilt his business career\, and has gone on to serve his community in a var iety of ways. In 2012\, Bill co-chaired the HISD bond campaign to rebuild its dilapidated high schools throughout the city. The measure won nearly 70 percent voter approval. Prior to that\, his efforts to revamp the reg ion'\;s hurricane preparedness plans earned him several gubernatorial appointments and other recognition.
\n\nMore recently\, as a column ist for the Houston Chronicle\, and previously as a candidate fo r Mayor\, Bill has earned a reputation as an outspoken advocate for balan cing the city budget\, investment in infrastructure\, and common sense so lutions to Houston'\;s most challenging problems.
\n\nCraig Mason
\n\nMr. Mason was a management consultant for over 30 years with Mercer\, the international human resource consulting firm. As a consultant\, he provided advice to e mployers on the design\, implementation\, funding and administration of e mployee benefit plans\, with a concentration on pension benefits.
\n\nAfter retirement from Mercer\, he became an independent consultant. Fr om October 2005 through August 2015 he provided consulting services exclu sively to the City of Houston relative to the three pension plans sponsor ed by the City. As part of his consulting services to the City of Houston \, he served as a trustee on the administrative boards of all three of th e City of Houston sponsored pension plans.
\n\nMr. Mason graduated with a BA degree in mathematics from Texas Christian University. \; H e was an Enrolled Actuary and Member of the American Academy of Actuaries during his consulting career with Mercer.
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