Fort Worth City Employees Threaten To Sue City Over Possible Change To Retirement Benefits

FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) -  The City of Fort Worth is considering cutting cost the of living adjustments for retired city workers. The city council voted late Tuesday evening to not take action after an expected vote on the issue.

That's the one thing current and former city workers asked the city not to touch as the city tried to pay for a pension fund before it goes broke.

"I think they're betraying us. I mean it's not just the police department. We have all dedicated our lives to this city," said retired Fort Worth Police detective Angela Jay.

Jay barely survived a 1995 shooting on the job.

She retired in 2011 after 20 years with the Fort Worth police Department.

"The city promised us, they promised us our COLAs (cost of living adjustments) and I'm very disappointed that we are even having this discussion," said Jay.

Retired police officers, firefighters, librarians and garbage collectors, anyone who has ever worked for the city would be impacted.

In order to keep the city employees pension from going broke in 2050, the city and workers have agreed that workers will pay more, they will ask tax payer to pay more and that they will cut COLAs for active and future employees.

The one thing city workers have asked is that cost of living increases for retired city workers be left alone.

"If our COLAs go, we will go to court over this, absolutely," said retired Fort Worth firefighter Jim Tate.

The Fort Worth City Council was expected to vote on the issue at Tuesday night's meeting but, instead, voted not to take action. The vote was rescheduled to Dec. 11.