| "America's Finest City" is in a fine mess. Its unfunded pension liability -- the gap between the value of its pension assets and its obligation to retirees -- stood at $1.17 billion at the end of January. It faces an additional shortfall of $545 million for retiree medical benefits. The seaside city of 1.3 million people would need to double its pension contribution to $259 million next year -- or about one-tenth of its annual budget -- just to avoid falling further behind, said April Boling, who heads Mayor Dick Murphy's Pension Reform Committee. That's more than three times what it spends on parks and seven times what it gives libraries.
Later retirement age proposed
Boling, who is also Murphy's campaign treasurer, isn't shying away from the b-word. She says the city will need to sell $600 million in bonds over three years and raise the retirement age to 62 from 55, among other things.
"If the city doesn't follow our recommendations, we will be headed toward bankruptcy," Boling said. "That is a fact."
         
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