Phoenix named ‘AllAmerica City’ PAGE
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This Week
BUSINESS.......... 15
Sfizio brings together food and family
FEATURES......... 17
Kuma’s Great Adventures
YOUTH.............. 20
Student creates awardwinning app to store milestones and memories
OPINION.................... 12 BUSINESS.................. 15 FEATURES................. 16 YOUTH....................... 20 CLASSIFIEDS............. 22 Zone I
Lee Perreira playing at MIM Anthem Area Edition
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Wednesday, August 17, 2022
Phoenix still faces staggering pension debt BY PAUL MARYNIAK Foothills Focus Staff Writer
A
rizona municipalities, counties and fire districts last fiscal year took advantage of unanticipated general fund revenue increases to make big additional payments on their debt to the fund that pays the pensions earned by thousands of retired police officers and firefighters. But those government entities still have a long way to go before they erase their huge unfunded liabilities and none has a bigger debt among them than the city of Phoenix. Phoenix owes $3.4 billion to the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, records show. That accounts for nearly half the $8.84 billion of the plan’s unfunded liability that
existed at the close of the 2021-22 fiscal year on June 30. For the entire state system, including county and state corrections officers’ retirement plans and the plan for judges and elected officials, that number was $10.9 billion. Still, the state Legislature — together with county, municipalities and fire districts — eliminated $2.85 billion of unfunded pension debt last fiscal year. “I think it’s great,” said PSPRS Administrator Mike Townsend, who has been in the job since November 2019. “This system has been underfunded for so long and those lingering unfunded liabilities just ended up costing taxpayers more and more money over time,” he said, calling the government employers’ additional pay-downs “a huge move.”
see PENSION page 8
Mike Townsend is administrator of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, which covers pensions for thousands of police officers, firefighters, corrections officers and court workers. (PSPRS/Submitted)
School employees undergo active shooter training
BY ALLISON BROWN Foothills Focus Staff Writer
O
ver 100 Phoenix-area school employees received critical preparedness training to help better equip school employees in case of an active shooter event thanks to efforts from community partners. The Phoenix Suns Charities donated $40,000 to the United Phoenix Firefighters Charities,
which was used to provide 120 Phoenix-area school employees lifesaving training at four different Valley locations. Over 25 school districts sent educators to attend the training that took place July 27 and July 28, in preparation for the start of the new school year. “According to the FBI, there were 61 active shooter incidents in 2021, which was an over 50% increase from the year before,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said about the initiative.
“Active shooter incidents are a reality that we face. As we go back to school, we want to make sure that our teachers and our school employees have the tools that they need to respond. We will do our best to prevent these situations from going forward, but we want to make sure that we are training those who work at schools to respond to active shooter incidents.”
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see TRAINING page 4