President Fresina responds to article written by James Franco of the Colonie Spotlight.
In part ...
"I am writing in response to a recent Jim Franco column recommending that local municipalities cut their budgets at the expense of first responders (“Look at police and fire to balance budgets,” Dec. 14).
Franco demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of how the pension system works when he claims that cities can reduce fire budgets by cutting pension costs. While taxpayers do, indeed, fund salaries for public employees, professional firefighters pay into their own pensions throughout their careers. The state, not the municipalities, disburses the funds to the pensioners after they retire."
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Op-Ed response by President Fresina