Local 21 Brothers and Sisters,

As of 1430 on Wednesday, June 29th, the City of St. Paul and Local 21 have settled the issues that dealt with the tax burden and repayment options.  We are now able to give our members the green light to sign off and pay back the overpayment.  The following are some of the points we want everyone to keep in mind so that our members our educated and prepared now and when the time comes to file your 2016 taxes.

1.  The deadline to sign off on the repayment has been extended to Friday, July 8th.  Your signed forms must be turned in by 1630 on the 8th to be eligible for the $300 settlement.  This settlement is for members who had $366 illegally taken out of paycheck #5 in 2015.  If you are unsure if you are affected, please check this paycheck.

2.  You have 4 options for repayment. Members can pay back with a personal check for the entire amount.  This is for members who would rather not have the city make payroll deductions from our checks.  The less the city messes with our paychecks...the better. The other 3 options are the 1, 5, and 10 pay period deductions from our checks.

3.  It is in everyone's best interest that you keep a copy of the repayment agreement and terms, PLUS the repayment receipt (the INFOR deduction report PR275) that the city will be providing.  Submit both of these documents when filing your 2016 taxes.  The IRS rules state that when a repayment is made for an overpayment in the following year, the tax payer is eligible to have the repayment amount deducted from the gross income for that year.  This is allowable ONLY IF our members itemize deductions.  Make sure you itemize the amount and do not place it in the schedule A deductibles section.

Local 21 Chair Officers are looking forward to getting beyond this fiasco that was not caused by our members.  We realize that this has been a burden to our members and stress we all could have done without.  If you have any questions, please call me.

Respectfully,

Jeramiah K. Melquist

Local 21 Treasurer