Colorado PERA will hold a second statewide series of conversations to provide stakeholders with more information after the Board of Trustees meet in late September to develop legislative recommendations to improve the funded status of the plan and preserve its sustainability.
This follows the first phase of PERAtour, which included a dedicated website, a telephone town hall, and a series of community meetings. Thousands of members, retirees, employers and the general public have participated in this process. More than 900 people attended one of the 12 meetings, where they had the opportunity to ask questions and provide input on the principles and priorities for the Board to consider as it developed its recommendations.
The second phase of the PERAtour will include the following activities:
Telephone Town Hall
Executive Director Greg Smith will hold an interactive telephone town hall on October 3. The meeting for retirees takes place at 2:00 p.m. and the one for active members happens at 7:00 p.m. For those who have previously registered their phone number, they will automatically be called and invited to participate. More information is available . A recording of both calls will be available online afterward.
Online Resources
The special website established to communicate about PERA’s funded status and educational efforts, www.peratour.org, will be continually updated with information and reporting from telephone and community meetings.
Community Outreach Tour
Throughout October and early November, PERA will be hosting meetings in 12 communities across the state. No reservation is required and everyone is invited to attend.
Live Webcast
October 27 | 12:00 p.m.
Full details available on PERAtour.org
Grand Junction
October 16 | 6:00 p.m.
DoubleTree Hotel, 743 Horizon Drive
Durango
October 17 | 6:00 p.m.
Fort Lewis College Student Union Ballroom (SUN 212), 1000 Rim Drive
Alamosa
October 18 | 12:00 p.m.
Alamosa Family Rec Center, 2222 Old Sanford Road
Pueblo
October 18 | 6:00 p.m.
Pueblo Convention Center, 320 Central Main Street
Aurora
October 19 | 6:00 p.m.
Radisson Hotel Denver Southeast, 3155 South Vaughn Way
Boulder
October 23 | 6:00 p.m.
Boulder Jewish Community Center, 6007 Oreg Avenue
Greeley
October 24 | 6:00 p.m.
Island Grove Event Center, 421 North 15th Avenue
Sterling
October 26 | 6:00 p.m.
Sterling Elks Lodge, 321 Ash Street
Colorado Springs
October 30 | 6:00 p.m.
Colorado Springs Marriott, 5580 Tech Center Drive
Fort Collins
November 1 | 6:00 p.m.
Hilton Fort Collins, 425 West Prospect Road
Denver
November 2 | 6:00 p.m.
PPA Event Center, 2105 Decatur Street
If the state fails in its responsibility to pay its share of retirement package going forward we will find ourselves back in the same spot. It was failure to fund, on the part of the state that caused PERA to fall into financial problems in the first place. Any plan offered should have safeguards, such as, a plan to catch up, on the part of the employer(State of Colorado) rather than simply walk away from contractual obligations.
Why doesn’t the state just man-up and declare bankruptcy (despite state and U.S. constitutional prohibitions against doing that, as well as reneging on contracts, our politicians never let ethics or law get in their way)…If the state could declare bankruptcy, at least I could stand in line in court (hopefully as a secured creditor) and present my claim on a state park or property.