St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS — The Missouri Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from St. Louis firefighters attempting to block an overhaul of their pension system.
The move on Tuesday by the state’s highest court effectively ends a long legal battle.
The Firemen’s Retirement System sued the city asking St. Louis Judge Robert Dierker to block fixes made to Mayor Francis Slay’s firefighter pension reform plan passed by the Board of Aldermen. Dierker sided with the city in 2013. An appellate court affirmed Dierker’s decision last year.
The bill restored some retirement benefits that had been cut for vested firefighters but created a new, parallel system for new and younger firefighters, giving them reduced benefits.
Firefighters with less than 20 years of service have seen reduced benefits because of the bill, which has helped curb rising pensions costs that have strained the city’s budget.
Last year, the city said it saw savings of over $10 million.
“I proposed changes that are both fair to firefighters and to taxpayers,” said St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. “I thank the aldermen, who stood up under enormous pressure to fight for taxpayers and sponsor legislation to create the new plan.”
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