Gov. Cuomo is considering exempting city cops and firefighters from his push for pension reform, the Daily News has learned.
Our Lovett and Blain report:
While Cuomo inches toward an agreement with legislative leaders, leaving out the two uniformed agencies from pension reform would be a major blow to Mayor Bloomberg.
“That would be a huge carveout to the bill,” said E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center for New York State Policy.
“The mayor has a lot riding on Police and Fire,” he added. “It’s one of the biggest parts of his problems, if not the biggest.”
Payouts to NYPD and FDNY retirees in 2011 made up 46% of the city’s $7 billion pension costs.
The governor’s pension plan initially aimed to save the city $30 billion over 30 years — though it’s unclear how much of that would come from Police and Fire….
But as Cuomo tries to strike an election-year deal that can pass a reluctant Legislature, he’s raised the possibility of completely or partially exempting New York’s Finest and Bravest — though they may be asked to contribute more toward their pensions…
