Announcements
Welcome New Members
July, 2011
Pearlie A. Bushong Yorktown
August, 2011
Marilyn Morris - Elgin RC
David Hoge Spicewood TLC
Pablo H. Dearkos San Antonio
Teresa G. Crespo Austin
September, 2011
Susan Scoles Austin DADS
Laura Homeyer Austin
Ervin Jameson Austin TEA
October, 2011
Daniel Kern Austin DADS
Remarks by Texas Legislators at 2011 RSEA Annual Meeting
Rep. Elliott Naishtat (Dem, Austin, Dist. 49)
"It's one year and one special session later - the budget was bad news. Approximately $18.3 billion was cut from current state services. In the end, it could have been much worse for state retirees. Your annuity will remain as it was. Sadly, there are no funds for a 13th check. The money just wasn't there.
My mantra during the 82nd legislative session was to maintain a sense of humor and try to minimize the damage.
The legislature mandated that ERS produce an interim report on health insurance and retirement benefits. All of our staffs will be following this study as it enfolds. You need to make your voices heard.
We're on your side. Figure out who isn't on your side and talk to them. These legislative members need to hear from you and hear your concerns."
Rep. Donna Howard (Dem, Austin, District 48)
"Your association has done a lot of good work on your behalf. They came and testified at the Capitol and we saw them many times. Unfortunately, we had a very challenging session and I believe what's coming up is also going to be very challenging. It's going to require that you pay attention and that as many people as possible understand what the real issues are.
We need to talk about how our budget system works. We need to talk about what kind of revenue we're bringing into our state - what kinds of programs and services we want government to provide.
Right now, we have a lot of smoke and mirrors going on and a lot of political rhetoric. Both sides say certain things to justify what they do. We had some money, but because of the political rhetoric, we were not allowed to use it. There is about $6.4 billion in the rainy day fund. Some Medicaid costs will have to come from that as well as payments to our public schools.
The bottom line is that we have balanced our budget with all kinds of gimmicks that are legal things to do. We're 50th in the nation in terms of expenditures per capita. I don't think Texas should be proud of that.
We under budgeted our public education system at the very time that we need to be preparing an educated workforce."
Rep. Mark Strama (Dem, Austin, District 50)
"I'm thinking about what we'll talk about one year from now. We'll be coming to terms with some of the realities - we kicked the can down the road this session. The next biennium budget will be as difficult and complicated than what we just dealt with - we went backwards. We tried to make progress but we literally reduced our commitment to the quality of education for our children. That's a remarkable decision for a political body to make. And we know that education is the most important thing we can give our children.
We made a substantial reduction in quality and we did it across the board.
Next session, we're going to begin with a budget shortfall very similar to the one we had in this past session. We're going to be cutting programs that were just cut. We're going to have to make even more consequential decisions.
It's sobering to think of where we're going to be one year from now. There are a couple of things we can do before the next session. We can make sure the public system is more responsive to legislative actions and we are hoping for a more robust economic recovery."
2011 Annual Meeting
Members of the Retired State Employees Association (RSEA) held their annual meeting on September 16, 2011 in Austin and approved this slate of officers and board members for the term of January 2012 - December 2013:
- President - William "Bill" Hamiltonn
- 2nd Vice President - Justine Martone
- Director - Elizabeth Blount
- Director - Barry Bennett
- Director - Lillie Gilligan
The complete roster of officers and board members includes 1st Vice President Mary Louise Gibson, Treasurer Willie Piρa. Directors Marie Moore, Robert "Bob" Briggs and Don Raschke.
A highlight of this year's meeting was the presentation by President Bill Hamilton of the "State Senator A.M. Aikin Public Service Award" to Senator Robert Duncan for his tireless support of retiree issues during the 82nd legislative session. The late Senator Aikin's son, Bob, attended the presentation.
Representatives Donna Howard, Elliott Naishtat and Mark Strama addressed the assembly and summarized some of the budget issues that were debated during the 82nd regular and special legislative sessions.
Other speakers included Ann Fuelberg, Employees Retirement System executive director, and Art Acevedo, Police Chief of the City of Austin.
The meeting concluded with music from "The Polkadillos" and a barbecue lunch hosted by Blue Cross/Blue Shield.
Be Alert to Possible Identity Theft Problems
An alert came out April 11, 2011 that personal information from the Texas Workforce Commission,
Teachers Retirement System (TRS) and the Employees Retirement System (ERS) had been on an agency
server at the Comptroller's Office that was accessible to the public for over a year. Records of
3.5 million people were placed on the server.
The Comptroller has set up a website (www.txsafeguard.org) to provide details and recommendations
to protect your identity information. Please see the story Texans put at risk of fraud in the
April 12, 2011 Austin American-Statesman for more information.
Do You Ever Wonder Where RSEA Members Live?
It's probably not surprising to many retirees that Austin has over 450 RSEA members, more than any other Texas city.
Other Central Texas towns with RSEA members include Bastrop, 14, Cedar Park, 17, Pflugerville, 17, Round Rock, 32
and New Braunfels, 17.
RSEA has members in some other large Texas cities as well. San Antonio has more than 110, Houston, 68,
Fort Worth, 40,Wichita Falls, 32, and Dallas, 25.
And there is an RSEA presence out of state as well with some members living in Colorado, Illinois, Oklahoma,
Utah, California, Washington, Maryland, New Mexico, Tennessee, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Arkansas, Mississippi,
Nebraska and Montana.
- The slate of Officers and Directors of the board
for 2012-2013 includes:
| OFFICERS |
DIRECTORS |
PRESIDENT
William
C. (Bill) Hamilton
Office of Court Administration
2010-2011 |
Marie
Moore
Tx. Bond Review Bd.
2011-2012 |
1st VICE PRESIDENT
Mary Louise (Mary Lou) Gibson Comptroller of Public Accounts
2011-2012 |
Robert
(Bob) Briggs
TxDOT
2011-2012 |
2nd VICE PRESIDENT
Justine Martone
Comptroller
of Public Accounts
2011-2012
|
Elizabeth
Blount
Comptroller
of Public Accounts
2010-2011 |
TREASURER
William M. Piña
Dept.
of Human Services
2010-2011
|
Barry
L. Bennett
Texas
Parks and Wildlife Dept.
2010-2011 |
| |
Don Raschke
Texas State Securities Board
2011-2012
|
| |
Lillie Gilligan
Governor's Office and
Texas Department of Health
2012-2013
|
|
|
-
Monthly Meetings - The RSEA Board of Directors monthly meeting
is
open to all interested members.
It is held on the third Thursday of each month (except September and December)
at 1 p.m. in the Patio Room of the Lamar Senior Activity
Center, 2874 Shoal Crest in Austin. This is just east of the intersection
of North Lamar Blvd. and 29th Street.
- Blue Cross/Blue Shield Booklet is a Good Resource
Blue Cross/Blue Shield publishes an excellent booklet, "Making your Benefits
Work for You." It covers the Health Select program very well and in great
detail. It includes such items as:
- What is covered and not covered;
- Prescription Drug Benefits;
- How to read your Explanation of Benefits form
This booklet comes in two different versions: one for retirees aged 65 and over
and another for retirees who are under 65 years of age.
You can download the version of the booklet that pertains to your age group
from the Health Select website at: www.bcbstx.com/hs/ and
click on the second bullet 09/01/08 Benefits Book. Or call 1-800-252-8039
and ask to speak to a Customer Advocate. Be patient. It may take some time
to reach a Customer Advocate but that person will be a good resource for
you.
- Medicare Information You Can Use
RSEA member Tony Reda recently spent some time looking for a new primary
care physician in Austin after his physician retired. He wrote that he
made contact with at least 15 different doctors' offices and found that
none of them would take Medicare patients or new Medicare patients. He
then found an Internet site, Medicare
- The Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare, which
he wanted to pass along to other RSEA members who may also be looking
for a new primary care physician. Tony reported that you can access physicians
by specialty on this website.
|
