NEW ORLEANS — The U.S. Supreme Court refused to block state court rulings requiring New Orleans to pay $16.5 million for its share of the fire department’s retirement fund for 2010 through 2012.
The Associated Press reported that the city said it could not afford the payments and argued that the law gives the mayor discretion over the amount of city contribution.
The city also says poor investments by the Firefighters Pension Board have driven up the city’s contribution amount, according to the report.
Deputy Mayor Andy Kopplin said the $17.5 million judgment “will be devastating to the City’s budget and could potentially lead to cutting critical City services.”