If anyone wonders why Utica and other municipalities are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, consider the pension that Utica Police Department retiree Michael Bailey will be collecting for the rest of his life.

Bailey, who retired May 25 after 22 years on the force, will be getting $50,000 a year. He’s 45 years old, and if he lives another 40 years — not improbable in these times — he’ll have collected $2 million, subsidized largely by taxpayers. That’s more than most people in central New York will earn in their lifetime.

First, let’s be clear. This isn’t about Michael Bailey. He had a stellar career as a law enforcement officer, and the record shows him to be a bright, likeable guy known for his leadership abilities. In fact, in 2006, Bailey was an Accent on Excellence honoree in a community recognition program of area leaders under 40, sponsored by the Observer-Dispatch and Northland Communications.

This is about the system — a system that has helped to financially sink Utica and dozens of other municipalities across the state whose taxpayers cannot sustain such generosity.

Help is on the way — major pension reform pushed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo was approved by the state Legislature in March — and while that might plug the hole in the dike for future generations, the water will lap at municipal doors for years to come.

Officials need to start searching now for ways to further reform a system that places an undue burden on taxpayers, who should not be responsible for funding the pensions of public employees. Many of those taxpayers don’t even have pensions themselves, and are forced to save through other retirement programs…..

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