Homer City Police Chief, Louis Sacco, is one of just three people – two active and one retired – in his pension plan. He drives around the tiny borough, about 50 miles East of Pittsburgh, with views of looming power plant stacks in the distance and a partly shuttered Main Street.
He’s constantly waving at passersby, many of them people he grew up with, people whose tax payments help fund his pension. What’s it feel like to be the guy in such a small plan? I ask.
He laughs. “That’s not only the pension, that’s a lot of things. You know, when somebody needs something, everybody’s got that guy, I’m that guy in Homer City.”
This is the last of a series of stories on Pennsylvania's municipal pensions, which has aired on WPSU this week and last. Read the full version of this report at Keystone Crossroads' website. Keystone Crossroads is a statewide public media initiative reporting on the challenges facing Pennsylvania cities. WPSU is a participating station.