Under cross examination, Buckley admitted most of the union members consider the lawsuit against Ferguson to be a waste of money. It was also revealed the Pension Board's legal fees from 2006 to the end of 2010 exceeded 1.8 million dollars.
Buckley telling the jury the pension plan has a 191 million dollar deficit today because the actuary keeps changing the numbers assuming city retirees will be living longer when actually they're dying younger. He pointed out the plan recorded an 18 million dollar surplus at the end of 2006 before the actuarial assumptions were changed.
Buckley admitted there was some confusion over disability pensions but it's not the job of Pension Board members to take away benefits and no one on the Board suggested reducing benefits in light of the deficit.
