AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF BROOKLINE TO ISSUE PENSION OBLIGATION BONDS OR NOTES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. The town of Brookline may issue, at one time or from time to time, bonds or notes for the purpose of funding the unfunded pension liability of the retirement system of the town. The proceeds of any such issuance shall be transferred by the town to the retirement system. The term of any such bonds or notes shall not exceed 30 years from the date of issuance and the amount of any such bonds or notes shall be outside the limit of indebtedness prescribed in section 10 of chapter 44 of the General Laws. No such bonds or notes shall be issued without a 2/3 vote of the town meeting of the town of Brookline. Upon the authorization of the issuance of pension obligation bonds by the town meeting, the town shall submit the vote and a plan demonstrating how the town will finance and allocate the debt service associated with the bonds or notes to the executive office for administration and finance, and no bonds or notes authorized to be issued by this act shall be issued until the secretary for administration and finance has approved the plan and the issuance of such bonds or notes. Except as otherwise provided in this act, such bonds or notes shall be subject to the provisions of said chapter 44.
SECTION 2. The aggregate principal amount of the bonds or notes issued under authority of this act shall not be greater than the amount sufficient to extinguish the unfunded pension liability of the retirement system of the town of Brookline as determined in accordance with this section. The retirement board of the town shall first determine the amount sufficient to extinguish the unfunded pension liability of the retirement system of the town in accordance with the report of a nationally recognized independent consulting firm, which may be the consulting actuary generally retained by the retirement board, and with the approval of the public employee retirement administration commission. The report shall also set for the present value savings to the town reasonably expected to be achieved as a result of the issuance of such bonds or notes.
SECTION 3. The maturities of such bonds or notes shall be scheduled such that the annual combined payments of principal and interest for each issue shall be as nearly equal as practicable in the opinion of the selectmen, in any manner that shall provide for a more rapid amortization of principal, or in accordance with any other manner consistent with the town's approved funding schedule, as the secretary for administration and finance shall approve.
SECTION 4. Every governmental unit the employees of which are members of the retirement system of the town of Brookline shall be responsible in accordance with this section for paying such proportion of the annual debt service expense paid by the town for bonds issued under authority of this act as is equal to the proportion of the total unfunded pension liability of the retirement system allocated to such member under section 2. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the public employee retirement administration commission shall increase the annual amount to be certified under section 22 of chapter 32 of the General Laws as the amount necessary to be paid by each governmental unit in the retirement system other than the expense as determined in this act, and shall decrease the amount to be paid by the town by an equal amount. The town shall have the same legal rights and authority as the retirement board of the town to collect any amount so assessed by the retirement board to any such governmental unit.
SECTION 5. Notwithstanding chapter 70 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the portion of the annual debt service paid by the town of Brookline for bonds or notes issued under this act applicable to school department personnel who are members of the town's retirement system shall be included in the computation of net school spending for the purposes of said chapter 70 or any other law.
SECTION 6. This act shall take effect upon its passage.