Alabama Town’s Failed Pension Is a Warning

PRICHARD, Ala. — This struggling small city on the outskirts of Mobile was warned for years that if it did nothing, its pension fund would run out of money by 2009. Right on schedule, its fund ran dry.

Then Prichard did something that pension experts say they have never seen before: it stopped sending monthly pension checks to its 150 retired workers, breaking a state law requiring it to pay its promised retirement benefits in full.

Since then, Nettie Banks, 68, a retired Prichard police and fire dispatcher, has filed for bankruptcy. Alfred Arnold, a 66-year-old retired fire captain, has gone back to work as a shopping mall security guard to try to keep his house. Eddie Ragland, 59, a retired police captain, accepted help from colleagues, bake sales and collection jars after he was shot by a robber, leaving him badly wounded and unable to get to his new job as a police officer at the regional airport.

Far worse was the retired fire marshal who died in June. Like many of the others, he was too young to collect Social Security. “When they found him, he had no electricity and no running water in his house,” said David Anders, 58, a retired district fire chief. “He was a proud enough man that he wouldn’t accept help.”

Full Story Here:
Alabama Town’s Failed Pension Is a Warning

Money is tight right now. States, cities and towns all over this nation are facing a monetary crisis that is placing their employees, retirees and citizens in jeopardy. This crisis in Prichard, AL brings that jeopardy to light.

The town of Prichard doesn’t have a listing on their website giving figures for city employees, at least none that I can find.

I don’t have current census figures available, but as of July, 2009, Prichard is a small town, with a population of 27,578. I’m not sure when this site was last updated, it appears to be sometime in 2009, but let’s take a look at Prichard, AL from the most current statistics on-line.

Prichard Careers
Among the most common occupations in Prichard are Service occupations, 21%. Production, transportation, and material moving occupations, 20%. and Sales and office occupations, 19%. Approximately 69 percent of workers in Prichard, Alabama work for companies, 12 percent work for the government and 3 percent are self-employed.

Popular Prichard Jobs
Currently, the most commonly listed Prichard Jobs are for optometrist jobs, general practitioner jobs, assistant store manager jobs, assistant manager jobs, store manager jobs and RN jobs.

Prichard Industries
The leading industries in Prichard, Alabama are Educational, health and social services, 20%; Manufacturing, 13%; and Retail trade, 9%. Simply Hired’s Prichard job listings indicate that the following industries in Prichard are hiring the most workers: Catering Services, Food Service Contractors, Clinics & Outpatient Services, Home Health Care and Hospitals.

Prichard Job Salaries
According to government data, the average salary for jobs in Prichard, Alabama is $21,792, and the median income of households in Prichard was $19,544.

Prichard Unemployment Rate
Prichard has an unemployment rate of 15.9%, compared the national average of 5.8%.

According to our Prichard Trends data, the number of Prichard, Alabama jobs has increased by 1466% since April 2009.

Average Income
Median for all male full-time - $26,543
Median for all female full-time - $17,040

Race
White - 14%
Black or African American - 85%
Asian - 0%
Other - 0%

Household Income
Less than $10,000 - 28%
$10,000 to $14,999 - 12%
$15,000 to $24,999 - 18%
$25,000 to $34,999 - 14%
$35,000 to $49,999 - 12%
$50,000 to $74,999 - 9%
$75,000 to $99,999 - 4%
$100,000 to $149,999 - 2%
$150,000 to $199,999 - 0%
$200,000 or more - 1%

SOURCE: Prichard Jobs (AL) Simply Hired

Obviously, Prichard is a town that has suffered a steady decline over the years, and is now in danger of implosion.

On Dec. 9th I wrote this post, Houston will order furloughs, and in it the AP story covered the fact that a city the size of Houston was about to order forced, unpaid furloughs for it’s employees in an effort to bring the city budget under control.

I also covered some of the potential problems faced by my home town, Rowlett, TX and the incredibly obscene salaries that a few of OUR city employees are paid.

The fact of the matter is this, and any household that has to operate within a budget already knows that this IS a fact, you just can’t stay afloat if you’re paying out more than you’re taking in. No nation, state, county or city can sustain a deficit or long term deficit spending.

The American people know that. Maybe we need impress that idea upon our elected officials.