PARIS, Texas — Councilmembers at a special budget workshop Aug. 22 debated restoring a cost-of-living adjustment for city retirees and whether to adopt updated service credits (USC) through the Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS). The proposal drew support and concern as members weighed pension costs against workforce retention and overall budget stress.

City staff described the two interconnected items: a recurring COLA for retirees and an approach to restore updated service credits (a TMRS mechanism that can increase retirement benefits when certain conditions are met). Finance director Gene Anderson read TMRS guidance explaining how USC is calculated and offered sample impacts: at a 50% USC, an employee with 30 years of service would see about a $476 monthly increase; a 20-year employee about $111 monthly; and a 10-year example about $33 monthly, according to the TMRS examples shared by staff.

Council debate split along fiscal-responsibility and equity lines. Several councilmembers and public commenters — including multiple retired city employees who described decades without a COLA — urged approval. "There's a lot of men and women that have worked hard for this city," one councilmember said in support. Other members urged caution, noting the COLA and USC would add recurring costs and that staff had not provided a detailed history explaining why the automatic COLA was stopped in 2008; staff described that prior councils removed the automatic repetition for budgetary reasons.

Officials discussed timing. One councilmember called for delaying the COLA for a year to allow a newly hired city manager and further staff work to identify funding and impacts; others said acting sooner would be preferable and that delaying could increase eventual costs. Staff warned only that a later decision could be slightly more expensive but did not provide a full year-by-year projection at the workshop.

Ending: Council members did not record a formal adoption at the workshop. Staff were directed to prepare budget materials and public-hearing notices for the regular Sept. 9 meeting and a special Sept. 10 meeting that will include tax-rate ratification if a property-tax increase is required.