Verna Sees No Action On Pension Program Before Year End

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The president of Philadelphia City Council said on Thursday it is extremely unlikely that Council will take any action before the end of the year on abolishing the controversial lump-sum pension perk known as DROP.

Councilmembers have been putting off scheduling a hearing on the mayor's plan to eliminate DROP (the "Deferred Retirement Option Plan") until they hear back from a Baltimore consultant (see previous story).  That firm, the Bolton Group, was hired by Council to study the validity of the study on which Mayor Nutter based his claims that DROP needs to go.

"We are still waiting for the report," said Council president Anna Verna (above) on Thursday.

Verna says the Bolton Group's report won't arrive now until mid-December, making any final action by Council this year unlikely.

"Maybe we could schedule a public hearing, but it doesn't seem very likely that it would go anywhere until January," she said.

Six councilmembers including Verna are enrolled in DROP, though any action to eliminate it would not affect them.

Reported by KYW City Hall Bureau Chief Mike Dunn.