The Board of Selectmen is investigating the feasibility of providing cost of living adjustments (COLA) to select retirees of the Guilford Police Department (GPD).

“We decided not to act on it at this point. We are looking for more information, relative to the options we have in terms of awards. Can we make some awards to some? Can we make selected awards based on the time folks retired?” First Selectman Matt Hoey said. “So, we are going to look at all of the data relative to the folks who are enjoying their retirement at this point, to see when they came on and so forth. It may be an opportunity to fine tune a cost of living adjustment if we decide to offer one at all.”

The issue of COLA adjustments for GPD retiree pension plans comes before the Board of Selectmen (BOS) every two years by town policy, and the BOS heard the issue at its July 18. Police retirees haven’t received a COLA to their pensions since 2008 and are currently requesting one from the town that they consider “long overdue”.

Members of the BOS countered, however, that the police pensions are already generous, and though not obligated to, any COLA made to the police pension plans would necessitate a COLA for all other town retirees making it a fiscally difficult move for the town.

Rather than vote to accept or reject the request, the BOS asked that the matter be delayed so that they could obtain more information on several aspects of the current contract.

“We are looking at going back and codifying the contracts,” Hoey explained. “We want to look at that as an opportunity. As we discussed during the meeting, every two years this becomes a confrontational issue, but if it’s codified in the contract, which to some degree it already it is, because the Police contract says that we (the BOS) will look at it every two years, but doesn’t specify anything beyond that.”

According to the GPD pension contract, every two years the town is obliged to look at the COLA impact and the BOS is charged with enacting any COLA adjustments, after input from the Town’s pension committee. The town no longer offers these type of pensions and instead utilizes defined pension plans like 401(k) plans for current employees, with the exception of those who have been employed long enough to have been covered by a previous contract, according to HR Director Mitch Goldblatt.

According to their contract, GPD officers can retire after 25 years on the job and receive a full pension along with health benefits. The Town has not approved a police retiree COLA since 2008, according to HR records.

Hoey said the BOS needs some time to consider the matter further, but did not provide any indication of when, or even if, the Board will act.

“Right now, it stands in a discovery phase based on the questions and the information requested by the Board members at the last meeting,” said Hoey. “We are pulling together a bunch of information relative to beneficiaries, time of service, when they retired, and what their compensation is. Largely because there is some concern that not everybody needs to be painted with the same paint brush or the same schedule because a lot of these folks retired at different times and different levels. We are not going to act on this for a while. But this will eventually be on an upcoming agenda for consideration and a decision.”

Retired officer Jeff Hocking, a 32-year member of the GPD force, said he and fellow retirees only want what is contractually afforded to them.

In a statement presented to the Board, Hocking said, “Although the COLA language is only in the police contract, Mitch Goldblatt and Matt Hoey have said over the years that it is ’only fair’ to give it (a COLA) to everyone. Considering we are a high-risk job, working nights, holidays, weekends, natural disasters, crime scenes, etc, away from our families, we feel it is not fair to characterize us all the same,” said Hocking. “It’s been 14 long years since a COLA was awarded to us…we ask that you please award the retired men and woman of the Guilford Police Department a COLA.”

Hocking added that holding GPD retirees to language and contractual points from other town employees’ contracts is not allowed.

“We also contribute the highest percentage (currently at eight percent) towards our pension, Town employees only three percent, and school employees contribute nothing. From an economic standpoint (as has been many times used as a reason for denial) it doesn’t make fiscal sense to award a COLA to 163 retirees when you are only obligated to award it to 51 retirees,” Hocking said.