EXCERPT:

The Knoxville City Council tonight will consider a resolution calling for the city's special Pension Task Force to conduct its meetings in public... City Council should approve the measure and Brown should honor the request. Bringing the task force’s important work into the public realm would build trust in the recommendations it will give to resolving the city’s growing pension funding problems.

City officials say $9 million in taxpayer funds will have to go toward meeting pension plan obligations this year. By 2019, that amount is estimated to more than triple to close to $30 million. That's about what it costs to fund the fire department.

Obviously, taxpayers would be hard-pressed to continue funding to that extent, so the need to come up with a long-term solution is vital.

To read the full article, please go to the Knoxville News Sentinel.