City Unions Want Another DROP Study

Two days after Mayor Nutter released a study that he commissioned which found the controversial DROP program costs the city big bucks, at least two of Philadelphia's four municipal workers' unions are calling on the city's pension board to conduct a new study of the pension perk.

KYW's Mike Dunn reports from City Hall that whether the DROP program lives or dies is the biggest political hot potato in town at the moment, and ultimately will be decided in City Council (see related story).

But the matter came up today at the regular meeting of the city's pension board, raised by Carol Stukes, one of the four union representatives on the board.

She called Nutter's study "a cut-and-paste job" and she joined in the call for a new actuarial study of DROP:

"I don't feel comfortable with the documentation that is used for this report.  I firmly do support the union -- and I represent District Council 47 -- getting another study done."

Nutter's study, conducted by Boston College economists, found that DROP costs the pension fund $22 million a year.  And based on that, the mayor wants the program abolished (see previous story).