Bellevue City Councilman Pat Shannon is chasing an elusive $300,000.
The money is the amount that would be saved annually if the City of Bellevue stopped a double contribution to Bellevue firefighters’ retirements.
The scenario has resulted in the city contributing 19.2 percent to firefighter retirement instead of a state-mandated 13 percent. The funding stems from a decision made in 1951, but which carried no consequences for the city until it began paying its firefighters after 2009.
In 1950, the U.S. Congress amended the Social Security Act of 1935, which previously excluded participation for employees of state and local governments. This posed a problem for those employees if their jurisdictions did not maintain separate retirement funds. The 1950 amendment permitted government employees to join the Social Security system if they lacked access to a government retirement fund.