Hello all CMERA Members!!
I believe every Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. my retirement is in jeopardy. That is when City Council meets. They usually meet to approve financial matters, housing issues, zoning laws, safety ordinances, and quality of life issues. But sometimes they pass legislation that adversely impacts my life. I am sorry to say that I have once again lost trust in the organization that I dedicated years of service to. I thought that the Collaborate Settlement Agreement of 2015 provided me with some trust in the City government, but the Futures Commission Report has shaken that trust. I read the report and I know there is no mention of what will happen if my pension is transferred to OPERS. And that is the problem. I don’t know. At my age, it is important to know that my future (whatever is left) will be. Maybe you feel the same. Oh, how I dread Wednesdays!
For the past several months, the Board of Directors have been planning the spring General meeting. Actually, the planning began after the fall meeting last meeting with the reserving the church. During recent months, the agenda has been created while we coordinate that effort with our newsletter. There is also scheduling volunteers to staff the reception desk, having membership forms, and, most importantly, making sure there is coffee and donuts. Fortunately, most Board members have done this before, so the experience of the team really helps. We did attempt to get a speaker from several organizations, but those attempts did generate any success. Topics to include an update on the Collaborate Settlement Agreement and the latest on the Cincinnati Futures Commission Report. Be sure to see firsthand the work of your leadership at the General Meeting on Saturday May 11 at 9:00 a.m.
I have seen the term “AI” (artificial intelligence) being used more and more. At first, AI is very stupid like any computer. It will learn what it is taught to learn and do only what it is told. After its education, it then tries to mimic human thinking by using its vast knowledge of data to quickly find a solution to a problem. So, if an AI computer is asked to find the best way to get rid of a headache, it will review hundreds if not thousands of references to a headache in a matter of seconds and narrow down what it thinks is the best solution. The best solution is to take two aspirins. But what the AI system does not know is that I am allergic to aspirin so tries to kill me instead of making me feel better. AI reminds me of the character Spock from Star Trek. He could analyze lots of data and generate a solution based upon his knowledge. But he lacked human emotion, so his solutions were logical but not always practical. Maybe the Futures Commission relied on AI to produce some of its recommendations. When it determined that the pension fund was a hindrance to the City, it simply decided to get rid of it. Very logical, but not very practical – or human. I hope I get to live long and prosper.
Members of the Executive Committee met Jon Salstrom, the most important person in City government. He is the Retirement Director, and he is responsible for the daily oversight of the pension and health care benefits for retirees. That’s what makes him so important. I slept a lot better after meeting him knowing that he seems to care about retirees as people, and not an albatross as we are referred to in the Futures Commission Report.
Until next month.