Longview Firemen’s Relief and Retirement Fund projected to remain solvent

LONGVIEW, Texas (KLTV) - The Longview firemen’s relief and retirement fund is on the right track based on the projections made by the consultant, Foster & Foster at Thursday evening’s City Council meeting.

Back in February of 2022, city council called on a bond election in the amount of $45.6 million to help address unfunded liabilities in the firefighter’s pension fund.

According to the Chairman of Longview Firemen’s Relief and Retirement Fund, Kolby Beckham, the city would run out of funds in 30 years if no action had been taken.

“It was an infinite status meaning that even though we had money above what the normal cost was, it wasn’t enough to pay what the cost of the fund was going up every year.’

And by calling on this bond election, Longview citizens approved the bond later in May to ensure that current and retired firefighters get their benefits.

At tonight’s City Council meeting, Foster & Foster gave an update on the fund since the bond approval saying the plan is projected to remain solvent, meaning they will be able to pay their debts.

Looking ahead, they plan to watch the stock market to protect from any losses since its poor performance at the beginning of 2022.

Foster & Foster says they are hopeful that the market will return as negative downturn years are followed by rebound years.

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