The Port Huron City Council met on Monday evening. Port Huron City Manager, James Freed took the floor to address the council about the cities unfunded liabilities which has been a focus of his administration over the past 5 years. In the meeting, which lasted just over 90 minutes, Freed spoke in great detail about the city’s comprehensive financial plan and issuing bonds for the city’s retirement program. Freed began by talking about the unfunded liabilities, saying that it was the most singularly focused area for his administration over the past 5 years. The city, said Freed, was only able to contribute 3.25 million to the pension system when he arrived in June of 2014. This year it is scheduled to be 5.8 million and it is projected to rise to almost 9 million dollars by 2023. He said one of the reasons for growth in the amount of money that can be contributed is that his administration has reduced the cost of government by almost 3 million dollars. Freed said employees also sacrificed by doing more work with less people and they took significant concessions in the last contract agreement. Freed said the city needs to do more to fund future liabilities. He went on to show a plan to issue bonds which will put the city in a positive cash flow position within 36 months. He said in time, unfunded liabilities will become less and less over time, and will be less of a burden on Port Huron taxpayers.
