Disability program plagued with problems

Maxine Bernstein and Brent Walth of The Oregonian investigated Portland's police and firefighter disability progam, finding that "the city's system is an open checkbook, with rules that allow injured police and firefighters to collect checks until they retire, even if they can earn a living in another job." One in nine Portland police officers and firefighters is on disability and half of those have been receiving benefits for more than 10 years. "A claim for lost wages in Portland costs $37,390 a year on average — seven times that of police and firefighters statewide.' Trustees of the program sued to prevent the paper from obtaining certain financial records.