Ballots have been mailed to those eligible for the first round of voting on a proposed pension settlement, with an April 3 deadline in place.

The website set up to outline the details of the settlement and provide updates, www.ripensioninfo.org, indicates ballots have been sent to union members and retirees for the initial voting.

Returning of the ballot through a self-addressed, postage-paid envelope provided with the mailing is only required for those who oppose the deal, which was announced in February by state and union officials after a lengthy, court-ordered mediation process. Those backing the settlement do not need to return their ballots, and unreturned ballots will be counted as “yes” votes.

Tabulation of ballots will be handled by ProMail Inc.

The proposed deal would settle a total of six lawsuits, which challenged 2009, 2010 and 2011 changes to Rhode Island’s pension laws.

While the deal would preserve much of the savings realized under the landmark 2011 reform championed by General Treasurer Gina Raimondo, it would result in an approximately $232 million increase in the total unfunded liability.

Figures provided by the parties involved indicate the state’s share of that liability would be roughly $123 million, while the share for municipalities would be approximately $109 million.

The settlement would not impact planning for the coming fiscal year, but for fiscal year 2016, which begins in July 2015, the deal would result in a combined estimated increase of $24 million in pension liability for the state and municipalities.

Both sides have said they continue to have faith in their respective legal cases, but framed the agreement as providing certainty in the face of a legal process that would likely prove lengthy, costly and unpredictable.

Under the approval structure put in place, six separate blocks of union members – teachers, state employees, municipal employees, firefighters, police and retirees – must approve the settlement terms in the initial round of voting. The deal would fail, and litigation would continue, if more than 50 percent of any block opposes the agreement.

The court’s involvement would then be needed, with the first step being the amendment of the complaints to designate the plaintiffs as a class. The blocks would then vote again within a 45-day window, with the same criteria for passage in place. If the settlement were again supported, it would go back before the court for a fairness hearing and judicial approval. Lawmakers would also need to back the settlement, without amendment, for it to take effect.