The legislative budget conference committee removed the provision that had been inserted in the Senate version of the budget that raised the base for calculating municipal retiree cost of living increases from $12,000 to $16,000. This prospective change, made without the benefit of additional state funding, had been widely criticized by the MMA and other local officials (including myself). See my post “Pension Pile On” The legislature agreed to further study the state and local pension systems by creating a commission to do so and including a representative from the MMA. It was a wise decision made by the legislative leadership, in spite of the fact that retirees at that level could use an increase. Funding sources must be identified for future benefit increases or the house of cards that exists today will be made worse.