3A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • MONDAY, JULY 31, 2017
PERS board lowers assumed rate of return
Change swells
state liability by
about $2 billion
By CLAIRE
WITHYCOMBE
Capital Bureau
TIGARD — The governing
board of the state’s public pen-
sion system Friday lowered
the rate of assumed earnings
on the state’s pension fund.
The board adopted a 7.2
percent rate of return on the
state’s investments of the Pub-
lic Employees Retirement
Fund. The rate is currently 7.5
percent.
That decision doesn’t affect
how much the state actu-
ally earns on its investments,
which are overseen by the
state’s investment council.
But the change is pro-
jected to increase the system’s
unfunded actuarial liability,
the amount by which the sys-
tem’s obligations exceed its
assets.
Using the new rate, the
state’s actuary will calcu-
late a new unfunded actuar-
ial liability, a figure that will
be revealed later this year.
The new rate is expected to
increase the unfunded liabil-
ity — at most recent valuation
$21.8 billion — by about $2
billion.
The decision is also
expected to increase the
amount of money that indi-
vidual public employers must
dedicate to paying for employ-
ees’ pension benefits as a share
of payroll.
In a defined-benefit plan
such as the one Oregon pro-
vides to its employees,
employers have to make up
the difference between what
employees are guaranteed and
what the state’s investments
are able to return.
Local budget managers are
bracing for the effects of the
change.
While the decision may
appear abstract, for school dis-
tricts, where personnel costs
can make up roughly 80 per-
cent of annual budgets, the
effects are real.
Nearly every year since
2008, for example, Eastern
The vote ‘should serve as
a sobering moment for our
state’s political leaders.’
Rep. Mike McLane, R-Powell Butte
Oregon’s Umatilla School
District has had to make cuts,
in part because of increased
pension costs, according to
Superintendent Heidi Sipe.
Sipe said the increases have
been higher than additional
funds from the state can cover.
“Over the past 10 years,
we’ve modified our textbook
adoption processes, limited
our supply budgets, enacted
energy saving procedures, lim-
ited staff increases, cut paid
days and had pay freezes,”
Sipe wrote in an email last
week. “If we cannot get fund-
ing to adequately address
the PERS increases from the
state, I see those same strate-
gies again at play in our future
which is concerning for our
students.”
The rate decision has been
monitored with interest, espe-
Dundee’s receives state sanction
The Daily Astorian
SEASIDE — Dundee’s Bar
& Grill received a violation
notice from the Oregon Liquor
Control Commission after an
employee worked for almost
a year without a valid service
permit.
The Broadway restaurant
will have the option of a nine-
day suspension or a $1,485 fine
after reaching a settlement.
According to Christie Scott,
an alcohol program spokes-
woman with the commission,
permitting an employee to
sell or serve alcohol or super-
vise those who do without a
valid alcohol service permit
is “one of the more common
violations.”
Scott said it is also one of
the easier ones to avoid by
making sure all employees
take an alcohol server educa-
tion course and apply for an
alcohol server permit.
W A NTED
Alder and Maple Saw Logs & Standing Timber
N orth w es t H a rdw oods • Lon gview , W A
Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500
We, the family of
Barbara Knick,
give our heartfelt thanks to the
Lower Columbia Hospice, Dr. Law, and the
wonderful staff of Clatsop Retirement Village
for their loving and tender care of our mother
(grandmother and great grandmother) until her
death on July 25, 2017. We deeply appreciate the
compassion, kindness, and support
they gave our family.
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• At 60 days of employment,
you’ll be offered medical,
dental and vision benefits,
even as a part-time employee.
cially by those advocating for
reforms to the state’s pension
system.
A Brighter Oregon, a coa-
lition of state businesses that
angled for spending reforms
during the recently concluded
legislative session, is one such
observer.
“A more realistic assump-
tion is an important first step
toward unmasking the sever-
ity of the problem these ris-
ing PERS costs create for our
state, schools and local govern-
ments,” said Pat McCormick,
spokesman for the group, “and
ultimately for Oregon taxpay-
ers left holding the bill for
the pension system’s growing
unfunded liability.”
State House Minority
Leader Mike McLane, R-Pow-
ell Butte, said in a statement
Friday that the vote “should
serve as a sobering moment for
our state’s political leaders.”
Earlier this week, a group
appointed by Gov. Kate
Brown to find ways to lever-
age state assets to chip away
at the unfunded liability, held
their first meeting. The group
has been charged with finding
a way to shave $5 billion from
the unfunded liability and is
reviewing the state’s assets.
Lawmakers can’t reduce
benefits already earned, per a
2015 Oregon Supreme Court
decision.
Some lawmakers, includ-
ing many Republicans, pro-
pose
modifying
public
employee benefits going for-
ward as a way to cut down on
the system’s costs.
The Capital Bureau is a
collaboration between EO
Media Group and Pamplin
Media Group.
A RTHUR G RAFTON , J R .
J UNE 25, 1930 - J ULY 24, 2017
Arthur Grafton, Jr., age 87, passed away peacefully at home on July 24, 2017 in Seaside, Oregon.
He was born on June 25, 1930 in Seaside, Oregon to Arthur and Esther (Swanson) Grafton. He
was a lifelong resident of Seaside and graduated from Seaside High School in 1948. Art served in
the Army then returned home where he met Barbara who had moved from South Dakota to be
a nurse in Oregon. He married Barbara Jean Dollenbacher on August 21, 1955, in Cavour, South
Dakota. Art was a devoted husband and father of four children. He liked fi shing and clam digging
and watching WWE (wrestling). He worked for the US Postal Service for 30 years until he retired
in 1992. After retiring he traveled to places near and far, with the travel trailer, on cruises, and
to various destinations in Europe, always with Barbara
at his side and usually with his sister Carol and her
husband Lloyd. The adventures were always fun and
memorable, but he also looked forward to getting back
home to the rest of his family. Taking the grandkids
camping, hiding Easter eggs, making them waffl es
for breakfast, creating his famous potato salad, and
imparting words of wisdom like “always dry between
your toes”, made him without a doubt the best Papa in
the world. He will be remembered for his calm, quiet
demeanor and unquestionable love for his family.
He is survived by his wife Barbara; three children:
daughter and son-in-law Tina and Ted Ames of
Warrenton, Oregon; daughter Jenny McCollister of
Seaside, Oregon; son and daughter-in-law Tim and
Elizabeth Grafton of Portland, Oregon; daughter-in-
law Sandy Grafton of Bend, Oregon; eight grandchildren: Kari Ames; Kevin Ames and wife Loren;
Aimee Stanton and husband Kyle; Kelley Ames and wife Jilian; Christopher McCollister and fi ancée
Jennifer Kaplan; Sarah Azril and husband Adam; Samantha Grafton and fi ancé Mack Hagen;
Briauna Grafton and partner Joshua Yeomans; fi ve great grandchildren: Amara, Eva, Grayson,
Carson, Wednesday. He is also survived by his brother Robert Grafton of Gresham, Oregon, his
sister Carol Cady of Salem, Oregon, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death
by his son, Jeff rey Grafton.
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 5, at 1:00 PM, at Hughes Ransom Mortuary,
220 N Holladay, Seaside, Oregon. A reception will follow at 1000 N. Holladay, Seaside, Oregon.
Memorial donations may be made to Shriners Hospital in Portland, Oregon. Visit the online
memorial tribute at www.hughes-ransom.com to leave a message and/or sign the online
guestbook.
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