Title
Consider General Manager recommendation to approve the 2027 amended plan agreement with the Texas County and District Retirement System for the plan year commencing January 1, 2027.
Body
STAFF RECOMMENDED MOTION:
Move the Board adopt Resolution and Order No. 11-26-159 of the Edwards Aquifer Authority Board of Directors approving the amended plan agreement with the Texas County and District Retirement System for the period January 1, 2027, through December 31, 2027.
SUMMARY:
The purpose of this agenda item is for the Board to consider an EAA staff recommendation to approve an amended plan agreement with the Texas County and District Retirement System (TCDRS). The proposed plan increases the employer match from 180% to 200%, effective January 1, 2027.
The EAA, and its predecessor agency, the Edwards Underground Water District (EUWD), has participated in TCDRS as a means to provide a defined-benefit pension plan for employees since 1978. Each year, before the January 1 start of the plan year, the EUWD and EAA boards have voted to adopt a TCDRS Plan Agreement, which establishes the benefits, retirement eligibility criteria, and employer required rate for that plan year.
The employer match rate of 180 percent has been in effect and remained unchanged since 1988. Considering that the EAA has achieved great success in carrying out its mission over its first 30 years due in large part to the development of a workforce representing an advanced scientific skillset, collaborative spirit, creativity, professionalism, integrity and mission stewardship that has set the EAA apart as a water management leader in the region and state, now is a good time to acknowledge past progress by further ensuring its continuation into the future, in part by enhancing our retirement benefit. Increasing the employer match rate from 180 percent to 200 percent conveys a message of confidence and acknowledges a commitment to the following:
• Affirming our Values - our stated belief is that our greatest asset is our human capital - our people. This presents an opportunity to demonstrate this by investing in their future, thereby investing in the EAA’s future.
• Remaining a Leader -- Align the EAA more closely with prevailing area employer practices, strengthen employee retention, and support the agency’s long-term workforce stability i.e. solidify the EAA’s position as a leader in the region and as an employer of the highest quality.
• Invigorating the Mission -- support the EAA strategic plan’s emphasis on long-term sustainability, organizational credibility, and multigenerational impact by investing in the workforce needed to sustain the EAA’s mission over the next generation.
• Maintaining a Competitive Edge -- Position the EAA to have the best chance to compete for skill and talent within both the public and private industry. Whereas private industry can utilize financial reward as a key incentive to recruit and retain; our best competitive edge is the lure of stability and long-term reward via a defined retirement benefit that offers surety. This matches with our mission of generational impact rather than short-term gains.
Attached to this item are the following: a Plan Assessment summarizing the EAA’s retirement plan provisions for Plan Year 2027, including the proposed amendment; a presentation by the EAA’s TCDRS representative, which was delivered to the Finance/Administrative Committee at its October 27, 2026, meeting; and a resolution and order that has been reviewed by legal counsel.
The EAA’s TCDRS Employer Elected Rate for 2027 is 11.09% of covered payroll, or approximately $1,293,995, at the current employer matching level of 180%. Should the Board adopt a 200% employer matching provision, as recommended by the General Manager, the EAA’s Employer Required Rate would increase to 14.05% of covered payroll. This represents a difference of 2.96%, or approximately $345,377, for an approximate total of $1,639,372 for 2027.
At the meeting on October 27, the Finance/Administrative Committee discussed the 2027 Plan Agreement and, without taking a vote, agreed to forward the 2027 Plan Agreement to the full Board for consideration.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
This agenda item supports the general EAA mission and underscores the following idea articulated in the strategic plan:
People fuel our purpose…from the people of our organization, who carry out our work, to the more than 2 million people across our eight-county region, who rely daily on the Edwards Aquifer as their primary source of water. Just as we cannot separate ourselves from our impact on the natural resources on which we depend for our sustenance and wellbeing as a people, we cannot separate ourselves from each other as people bound together in the work to manage, enhance, and protect the Edwards Aquifer for the “Next Generation and Beyond.”
FISCAL IMPACT:
If approved, funding in the amount of $1,639,372 will be accommodated in the 2027 operating budget. The increase of $345,377 required to fund an employer match rate of 200 percent will be appropriated out of projected end-of-year fund balance that would otherwise be left undesignated within reserves.