September-October 2022

Dear Members,

Every county in North Carolina is legally required to provide child protective services. The staff who work in protective services courageously intervene in situations of alleged abuse or neglect of our most vulnerable. The emotional dexterity to stand in a room with an alleged child abuser while simultaneously remaining human enough to nurture a child who has been traumatized makes these public servants more than extraordinary.

Add to that the irregular work hours and the necessity to de-escalate high conflict situations every day, and you can see why many are deterred from choosing this profession. The strength to do this work every day for 30 or more years seems almost superhuman, but I recently had the privilege to speak with a few NCRGEA members who retired from working in child protective services. They are proud of the work they did. Children’s lives were saved. Families were reconnected. Communities were safer. They made a difference.

Though they no longer face the daily conflict of protecting children, they shared with me the fear and anxiety of struggling to make ends meet with minimal COLA increases and the impact of long-term inflation on their home budgets. They want their stories told, so I am dedicating my space in this edition to telling their story.

The commitment these individuals made in their professions is an inspiring legacy of self-sacrifice for the betterment of their communities. The challenges they now face inspire me to do the best I can to make a difference for them and all of North Carolina’s retired public servants in my new role as the executive director of the NCRGEA. There is much work to be done, and I am honored to do it on behalf of so many who worked so hard in ways seen and unseen.

Over the next few months, you will see changes in some key areas of NCRGEA operations. Our board, led by Mike Taylor, is ensuring the NCRGEA’s vision of “being the voice and go-to resource for North Carolina’s retired public servants” is authentic and true.

Here are just a few changes that are either launching or will be launched shortly:

• A new partnership with AMBA to serve you better. From more accessible enrollment in dental and vision plans to opportunities to save you money with free access to a discount benefits platform.

• More robust communication channels. In the next 30 days, we will launch a new website that informs, connects, and engages you as members. Equally important, the new design will make finding

• Strengthened advocacy capacity. As the state’s largest retired public servant association, we are investing in the infrastructure and training required to channel the voices of our 65,000 members. Volunteer leadership, sound legislative agenda strategy, and technology will come together to ensure the value and contributions of retired public servants are known.

On behalf of the board and staff, I thank you for your membership. We look forward to serving you and working alongside you for the benefit of all of North Carolina’s retired public servants.

Sincerely,
Tim O’Connell
Executive Director

LivingPower Newsletter, Sept./Oct. 2022

Almost every month, it seems North Carolina is named “best” or is given another lofty ranking by some group. Just recently, CNBC named North Carolina the best place for business. The Old North State is almost always named one of the finest places to live and retire. Those admirable rankings take into consideration tax rates, affordable housing, and a readily available workforce, but they also consider services such as education (from Pre-K to universities and colleges), health care, libraries, recreation, transportation and cultural opportunities. One factor those last amenities have in common is most are staffed and led by public servants, from school teachers to
public health nurses and technicians to librarians, as well as professionals in numerous other public service fields.

Whether current public servants or those of us retired, we all played a role in our state obtaining those distinguished rankings and national
attention. We have “all been warmed by fires we did not build, and have drunk from wells we did not dig.” I am both a community college graduate (Lenoir Community College, 1971) and a retiree from that system, having spent 32 years working at four different colleges in the 58-college system. As a student, I benefited from those who came before and created what is one of the best community college systems in the country. In my career, I tried to pay back those previous public servants and helped to continue building a system of excellent two-year colleges for future generations.

The same is true for our NCRGEA members as well as all state and local government retirees. In whatever career path you followed as a state or local government public servant, you contributed to our state’s success. One of our NCRGEA goals this year is to gently remind decision-makers that all of us — current public servants and retirees — played a role in our state’s success and should benefit accordingly.

Over the past two years, there have been bonuses for retirees. Last year, state retirees received a 2 percent bonus in December and this year will receive a 4 percent bonus in October. Meanwhile, in January, the Local Government
Retirement Board of Trustees approved a 2 percent bonus, to be paid in October, for local governmental retirees. Those extra dollars from the General Assembly and Local Government Retirement Board are appreciated, but clearly more needs to be done, especially for local government retirees. All retired public servants deserve a cost-of-living increase. Inflation does not distinguish between those employed and those retired, and the value lost since the great recession has stripped retirees of a lot of purchasing power.

Current state and local government employees deserve their recent raises. As the state does well, public servants should be rewarded appropriately. However, today’s success is built on a solid foundation laid by our retirees, and those retired public servants should be remembered, as well, with cost-of-living raises. North Carolina’s current
success has been a team effort, and the entire team should benefit from these achievements.