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Over the last few days I have received direct feedback from Warwick employees and citizens who understand the serious consequences that these escalating legacy costs could have on their future compensation and their future retirement benefits and programs and services throughout the city.

From my sources I have learned that the presentation is causing quite a stir in city hall.

Some employees get it. To those that do I appreciate the courteousness in which you have shown me. However there isn’t much more I can do.

My goal to plant a seed of concern had been accomplished. It is now up to the employees to dismiss the nonsense by individuals such the municipal and firefighters union presidents who sadly are being manipulated by Mayor Avedisian and city council Finance Chairwoman Vella-Wilkinson.

Their frustration is being directed at people like me who have no power to change any budgetary or retirement policy in the city. Instead their energy should concentrate on demanding that the politicians in the city get the actuarial experts to provide future data so that a strategic plan, a Road map to the Future can be created to determine what the impact of these future costs will be on employees and all citizens of Warwick.

How can getting more data hurt? What are people afraid of, learning the truth?

With the rude behavior by some at the meeting who unfortunately only purpose was to disrupt the presentation, I could not play several audio clips at the council meeting of testimony from the pension and healthcare experts describing the effects of these raising costs that people need to hear and understand.

If you are interested in hearing these clips, please copy and post the following links into your browser to see the presentation slides and the audio associated with specific pages.

If any employee or citizen would like to contract me confidentially to obtain more information please email me at cushmanr44@gmail.com.

Presentation Slides:

The unfunded liability side bottom line number of $620,122,322 is correct. What I forgot to do was insert the line associated with the $6.4 million in school pension unfunded liability.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6P1sIPd4PTddUlIV0J0UThNcmM/view?usp=sharing

Audio clips:

https://soundcloud.com/robertcushman/sets/warwick-city-council-10-year-budget-analysis