Currently, only active or retired Prior Act, LEOFF 1, and LEOFF 2 firefighters employed by or retired from the city, county, or fire protection district are eligible to be elected to a pension or disability board. Only those covered by the jurisdiction of the board are eligible to vote.
Some boards are facing difficulty in finding members eligible to be elected, and that the problem is expected to worsen as the number of LEOFF 1 members dwindle.
Legislation has been proposed to address this problem and that was the principal focus of the SCPP meeting in so far as LEOFF 1 is concerned.
The issue is not simple because of differences in benefits between different disability boards. So cannot simple combine boards or assign the board responsibilities to another board without finding a way to address the concerns of differing benefits. The proposed changes in this legislation would simply expand the requirements to serve on a board and thereby retain the current local control without the concerns of differing standards or benefits of the individual boards. This proposed solution should address the concerns for a number of years and possibly until such time as all LEOFF 1 members have died.
These links show the presentation and testimony at the SCPP meeting dealing with Disability Boards.
- Click here to view the testimony and presentation.
- Click here to read the presentation and the proposed bills.
- Click here to view the Powerpoint presentation from the hearing.
