Howard County officials now must show they can pay for current and future retiree benefits under new accounting regulations that go intoeffect in July.
“It requires more disclosure about how governments are funding the obligations,” said Gerard Carney, spokesman for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
The board developed the requirements, which were in place for pension funding, to ensure that governments provide more complete financial reporting.
This benefits obligation is roughly $477 million, said Lonnie Robbins, the county?s deputy chief administrative officer.
There are 2,181 full-time employees and 134 part-time benefited employees, who work more than 50 percent of the week.
By showing there aren?t huge benefit liabilities on the books, employers can protect their bond ratings, said Larry Wilson, an actuary with Fort Lauderdale-based Gabriel, Roeder, Smith and Co. Howard currently has the top AAA rating.
“Some of the users of the financial statements would find this more helpful for rating bonds,” he said.
smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com tjohnson@baltimoreexaminer.com
