Retired Workers Aren't Getting Checks

The day many retired workers in our area have been fearing has arrived.
The checks aren't in the mail.
Retired city workers in Prichard did not get their pension checks on the first of the month as usual.
Many are wondering what to do now.
Retired worker Alfred Arnold said, "We had direct deposit. We have not received anything."
Another retired worker, Norman Raley, said Thursday, "Yesterday was the 30th, this is the first. No check this morning after midnight."
Those are some of the stories retired Prichard city workers told at Thursday afternoon's city council meeting.
City Council Member and Pension Board Chairperson Troy Ephriam confirmed the news.
Ephriam said, "I was clinging onto a last little bit of hope that maybe somewhere along the way that the funds could have been found, and I was actually informed today that there were no additional deposits to make the payments, unfortunately and regrettably."
Now, many retired workers and their spouses are wondering how they're going to pay their bills.
Raley said, "I've got about $400 worth of medication for me and my wife."
Mary Berg, the wife of a retired worker, said, "I'm a widow and I pay my mortgage with this payment."
But Ephriam said, "Right now, the funds have just not been identified yet. That doesn't mean efforts have stopped. I think all efforts are going to be continual. Its just a matter of what and when."
Ephriam said the Prichard City Council Finance Committee is set to meet Monday to look at additional cuts to the proposed budget.
And he hopes that money could be freed up to put in the pension fund.