Oxford Township officials decided to bump up what the municipality is paying to satisfy its pension obligations.

Last week, the board voted 5-2 to pay an additional $200,000 to help fund the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (MERS) of Michigan.

“It makes a dent,” said Treasurer Joe Ferrari, who made the motion to take the money out of the general fund’s reserves (i.e. fund balance).

According to MERS Annual Actuarial Valuation Report dated Dec. 31, 2015, the township had 59.9 percent of its pension obligations funded. Oxford had accrued $5.098 million in liability and $3.056 million in assets, leaving $2.042 million in unfunded liabilities.

Based on what MERS representatives told her, Joanne Edmonds, the fire department’s finance manager, said contributing an additional $200,000 should raise the funding percentage to approximately 66 percent.

“Sixty-six percent funded is much better than 59 percent funded,” said Trustee Margaret Payne.

Edmonds noted there are 732 municipalities currently participating in MERS.

“Of those, only 21 percent are below 60 percent funded,” she said. “Fifty percent of them are between 60 and 80 percent (funded). So, I really think we need to try and head in that direction.”

“I just want to move that needle,” Ferrari said.

Since 2001, when it was at 94 percent, the township’s funding percentage has been steadily decreasing each year. The township has 30 people participating in the MERS plan. Thirteen are active employees (all with the fire department), three are vested former employees and 14 are retirees and beneficiaries.

Participants are a mix of past and present employees of the Oxford Fire Department and the joint, township-village police department that ceased operating in 2000.

“The biggest draw on the MERS is the prior police department,” said Supervisor Bill Dunn.

The 14 retirees and beneficiaries participating in MERS represent $3.094 million of the accrued liability and of those, 12 are linked to the defunct police department.

The additional $200,000 to MERS will come from the fund balance in the township’s general fund. As of Dec. 31, 2015, the township had a fund balance of approximately $2.05 million, according to the audited financial report.

Of that, $1.1 million was previously set aside to fix the drainage and road issues plaguing the Elk View Estates subdivision, a situation the township’s been working to resolve since the late 1990s.

Last year, the township allocated $262,500 from its fund balance to help the parks and recreation department construct a new maintenance facility in Seymour Lake Township Park. That left the fund balance at $685,143.

Minus the $200,000 for MERS and $400,000 transferred to the highway roads fund for resurfacing Pontiac Rd. (see story on Page 2), the township is left with an estimated fund balance of $85,143. However, the township is expecting its fund balance to grow by an estimated $721,726 from unspent revenue accumulated last year.