Key Takeaways
- • Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala is calling for "independent oversight" of the county's pension fund, citing a $1.4 billion unfunded pension liability.
- • Zappala's three-page letter responds to a recent report from the county's retirement board and recommends that County Council and the State Legislature appoint independent oversight of the Retirement Board.
- • Zappala also urges consideration of new revenue streams, a new pension system, and a new unconflicted Retirement Board.
- • Zappala attributes the funding problem to political aspirations of board members; County Executive Sara Innamorato disputed his framing in a statement to WPXI.
- • The seven-member board includes three elected county positions, among them the county controller, treasurer and executive.
Summary
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala is calling for "independent oversight" of the county's pension fund, the latest development in a dispute he began in 2024 when he filed a lawsuit over what he described as a "looming crisis." According to WPXI (Channel 11), the call came in a three-page letter responding to last week's report from the county's retirement board.
Zappala blamed the political aspirations of board members as the root cause of the $1.4 billion unfunded pension liability. In his letter, he wrote that he "strongly recommend[s] that immediate steps be taken by Allegheny County Council and the State Legislature to appoint independent oversight of the Retirement Board while consideration is given to the creation of new revenue streams, a new pension system, and a new unconflicted Retirement Board."
The seven-member retirement board includes three elected county positions, among them the county controller, treasurer and executive. Channel 11 reached out to County Executive Sara Innamorato, who said in a statement that she and her team take the health and financial performance of the pension seriously and that the board recently released a preliminary report intended to shore up the fund and protect workers' retirements. She said she looked forward to implementing the plan with other elected leaders and experts, and she criticized Zappala for not proposing a broader solution during his time in office beyond the reform enacted under former County Executive Fitzgerald in 2014.
The report's impact on county workers was also highlighted by WPXI. Gary Herndon, a county facilities worker nearing retirement, said the fund's governance matters to him: "I don't want somebody controlling it who really doesn't know anything about it."
Zappala blamed the political aspirations of board members as the root cause of the $1.4 billion unfunded pension liability. In his letter, he wrote that he "strongly recommend[s] that immediate steps be taken by Allegheny County Council and the State Legislature to appoint independent oversight of the Retirement Board while consideration is given to the creation of new revenue streams, a new pension system, and a new unconflicted Retirement Board."
The seven-member retirement board includes three elected county positions, among them the county controller, treasurer and executive. Channel 11 reached out to County Executive Sara Innamorato, who said in a statement that she and her team take the health and financial performance of the pension seriously and that the board recently released a preliminary report intended to shore up the fund and protect workers' retirements. She said she looked forward to implementing the plan with other elected leaders and experts, and she criticized Zappala for not proposing a broader solution during his time in office beyond the reform enacted under former County Executive Fitzgerald in 2014.
The report's impact on county workers was also highlighted by WPXI. Gary Herndon, a county facilities worker nearing retirement, said the fund's governance matters to him: "I don't want somebody controlling it who really doesn't know anything about it."
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