Oklahoma Firefighter (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 5, No. 7, Ed. 1 Monday, February 1, 1988 Page: 2 of 20
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OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTER
Page 2 FEBRUARY, 1988
69
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OKLAHOMA!/^
—GFREFIGHTERS
FEBRUARY, 1988
a
i
V-
Executive Board
James B Smith, Stillwater
Mike Bower, Midwest City
SCRIPTURE OF
THE MONTH
President.......
1st Vice President
Executive Director
Director ...........
Director............
Executive Secretary
Secretary...........
Accountant.........
Museum Curator.....
Clerk ...............
my opinion, a more equitable system
for all firefighters is most desireable
The most important aspect of the
lawsuit is what the court said. Fire
fighters and police officers when
vested have a contract with the State
of Oklahoma, and such contracts are
protected by the contract clause of
the United States Constiution, Arti-
cle 1. Section 10, Clause 1, by the
contract clause of the Oklahoma
Constitution, Article 2, Section 15.
and by the accrued rights clause of
the Oklahoma Constitution. Article
V, Section 54.
1
I
Published monthly by and for members of the
State Firefighters Association to educate its
membership, improve the fire service and to
enhance the value and dignity of their profession
either paid or volunteer.
Staff
GREEN COUNTRY
FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION
Bob Hollander
.....Jim Minx
Pete Stavros
lone Brown
. Lois Benne
......Lil Staude
Gene Sam Oruch
Sherry Cochran
Proverbs 3: 5-6 — "Trust in the Lord
with all thine heart; and lean not un-
to thine own understanding; in all
thy ways acknowledge him and he
shall direct thy paths."
When a person is elected of God to
make the step of faith and complete-
made by the Pension System staff
soon as physically possible.
The escalator is important, but
by the State Insurance Commissioner.
House Appropriations chairman Steve Lewis and Pettrsctoros
Stratton Taylor of the Senate have introduced
HB 1583 to give the firefighters their share of the premium tax less the
firefighters share that was returned to insurance companies after the settle-
ment. It is very important that you contact your State Senator and Represen-
I
i
Official Publication of
Oklahoma State Firefighters Association
2716 N.E. 50, P 0 Box 11507
Oklahoma City, OK 73136
405/424-1452
ESCALATOR LAWSUIT
SETTLEMENT
by Bob Hollander, OSFA Executive Director
future needs of firefighters retiring in Oklahoma.
Now is the time to write or call your State Senator
and Representative to let them know that $37 million
of the $70 million in the Insurance Protest Fund
belongs to the Firefighters Pension System by State
statutes (Title 36, Section 312.1) which provides for
disbursement of these premium tax monies collected
Both the Oklahoma State Fire-
fighters Association and the State
Pension Board received notification
of the judge’s order on the escalator
lawsuit on the same day the OKLA-
HOMA FIREFIGHTER newspaper
was being printed last month. We
were able to get the judgement in
that newspaper but didn't have any
details.
The Governor's office and the
Senate, who intervened in the law-
suit, had 30 days to appeal Judge
Russell's order to a higher court.
They have chosen not to appeal the
order. The escalator clause, repealed
by the legislature on May 26, 1983.
has been reinstated as of December
6, 1987, for those vested firefighters
who were retired or eligible to retire
on May 26, 1983. The 10-year vesting
benefit. which many of you have ask-
ed about, did not become law until
1985.
The retirement system now has a
two-tier COLA system: the escalator
clause for those firefighters vested
on May 26, 1983; and firefighters
who were not vested will receive
whatever the legislature passes into
law.
There ••ill be some adjustments.
The order by Judge Russell provides
for legislative increasns to be offset
when increases are given by the
legislature. Since 1983. the legis-
lature has given a 6% increase in
1985 and another 6% in 1986, so this
12% increase will be deducted from
those salary increases given by each
City to its top-step firefighters As an
example, the retired firefighter,
whose retirement qualified for the
escalator and who receives a $600
monthly pension check, should have
received an increase of $20 for 1983.
$20 for 1984. nothing for 1985,$30
for 1986, and $10 for 1987, for a total
of $80. From that $80 total increase,
subtract the State's 12% for 1985 and
1986 which amounts to $74.16 and
The January meeting of the Green
Country Fire Chiefs Association was
cancelled in lieu of the Oklahoma
Fire Chiefs Association workshop
held January 18th and 19th in
Oklahoma City. The next meeting
will be held on February 17, 1988 at
the Tulsa Training Center, 0930
hours.
At the December meeting we con-
ducted the annual election of of-
ficers. The new executive board is:
President: Tom Baker -
Fire Chief. Tulsa
Vice-Pres.: Melvin Mashburn -
Fire Chief, Broken Arrow
Sec./Treas.: Paul Morgan -
Administrative Asst.. Glenpool
We are all looking forward to
another very good year.
See you at the February meeting.
This report submitted by Paul
Morgan, Sec./Treas.
I *** Capitol Beat * * * !
■ by Pete Stavros
The second half of Oklahoma's 41st Legislative session has begun. One of
the most important issues concerns the insurance premium tax and its
disbursement.
The Insurance Protest Fund as of August 26, 1987. includes $37 million due
the Firefighters Pension System from insurance
premium taxes. The insurance premium tax. which
has been earmarked since 1913 for the Firefighters ADh
Pension program, is needed to continue funding the P"TTA
Pension System not only for today but to meet the I A
the additional monies due the
firefighter is $5.84 beginning
December 6, 1987. In those cities
who reduced salaries, there could be
some reduction in retired firefighter
benefits. The law was changed in
1984 to keep the volunteer fire-
fighters close to what retirements
would have been if the law had not
changed in 1983. That Pension Law
change in 1984 has proven beneficial
for retired volunteer firefighters
Under the old law, 8% of the average
beginning paid firefighter's salary
would be $92.97. Currently, under
the 1984 change, all 20-year retired
volunteer firefighters receive $95.40:
therefore, no adjustment will be •D
made for retired volunteer fire-
fighters as a result of the escalator
lawsuit settlement.
The judge also stated that fire-
fighters are not entitled to monetary
damages since the Pension Systems
did not violate clearly established
law and the individual Pension
Boards have been sued in their of-
ficial capacities only. Any retroac-
tive monetary relief for the pen
sioner is barred from being granted
by the eleventh amendment to the
United States Constitution. Any ad
justment to pension benefits will be
ly trust the Lord with life s
challenges, there will be some very
difficult times along with some
joyous occasions. Unless the Lord
works his purpose in your life it will
be meaningless and without purpose
in the long run. HOWEVER — if we
do place ourselves in God's keeping,
we must totally rely on his power
and allow him to guide us through
his word.
Phillipians 4:13 — "I can do all
things through Christ who
strengthens me."
My thought for this New Year
would be, "When we are so weak as
humans, we have access to a source
of strength that never runs out — IE
WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT."
God Bless,
Brother Norman Miller
To the Editor
The OKLAHOMA I IRE-
FIGHTER encourages the
open exchange of ideas, opi-
nions and concerns among
members of the fire service
communits. The Board and
staff of OKLAHOMA
FIREFIGHTER may not
agree with the expressions but
will provide adequate space
to allow freedom of those ex-
changes.
Letters to the Editor
should concentrate on issues,
not personalities; be typed us-
ing double spacing; be signed
by the writer and include
writer's telephone number;
and be mailed or delivered to
the Oklahoma State
Firefighters Association,
P.O. Box 11507, Oklahoma
City, OK 73136.
The OKLAHOMA FIRE-
FIGHTER reserves the right
to edit and condense letters
according to space limitations
and the editor's judgment.
Great care will be taken to en-
sure the message in the letter
is not altered. Anonymous
letters will not be published.
OSFA does not ondoree either the com-
pany or the product of any paid adver
tisement.
tative as soon as possible in support of HB 1583 to ensure these monies go into
the Firefighters Pension System fund. The Oklahoma State Firefighters
Association directors and staff will be working toward that goal and with your
help, the premium tax monies may soon be working for your through the Fire-
fighters Pension System fund.
I fl
I
Ev)yr
I I
II —
2nd Vice President Kenneth Bunch, Okla. City
3rd Vice President........David Burch, Lawton
Past President.......Haskell Starbuck, Shattuck
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Oklahoma Firefighter (Oklahoma City, Okla.), Vol. 5, No. 7, Ed. 1 Monday, February 1, 1988, periodical, February 1, 1988; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc1941652/m1/2/: accessed July 18, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma State Firefighters Museum.