Pension Liability: Two Ways to Pay

By Mary Helt Gavin

Two options are being floated for the City to address its massive pension-fund liability.

The State of Illinois has mandated that both the police and firefighters pension funds be fully funded by the year 2033. As of March 1 of this year, the City's unfunded liabilities were $77.5 million for the police pension fund - a 44.3-percent funded ratio - and $62.6 million for the firefighters pension - a 41.1-percent funded ratio.

The City's new actuary, Gabriel Roeder Smith, says the City needs $140 million to fully fund the present liabilities in the two funds. In addition to making up for that shortfall, the City would need to fund new liabilities on an annual basis.

City staff has proposed two ways to address the shortfall: directly, through increases of property taxes and possibly other taxes and fees; and indirectly, by issuing pension-obligation bonds, which themselves would have to be repaid over the course of several years.

The 'pay-as-you-go' plan
If the City funded its pension liability directly, most of the cost would be absorbed through the property tax bill. The City's portion of the property tax bill is about 20 percent.

Under this pay-as-you-go plan, the property tax bill would include the annualized portion of the $140 million shortfall, plus an annual contribution required to fund the new pension liabilities. The City projects the cost to be about $12 million next year, with annual increases of $500,000-$900,000 each year through 2034. (See chart on next page.)

For next year alone, it would take about a 19-percent increase in the City's portion of the property tax to contribute that amount, said the City's Finance Director Matthew Grady III.

City Council has taken at least one step to defray costs of pension-fund contributions by placing a referendum question on the Feb. 5, 2008, ballot requesting an increase in the real estate transfer tax rate of $1 per $1,000 value of real estate, with the increment split equally between the pension funds. City officials estimate they could garner upwards of $500,000 annually from the tax increment, should the referendum be approved.

The greatest advantage to the pay-as-you-go plan, said one local professional financial adviser, is that there are no "hidden" costs: Taxpayers can see how much these obligations are costing them each year. He also said that, given these staggering amounts, citizens might be stirred to ask City officials to try to reduce further obligations in future contract negotiations by requiring greater contributions on the part of the firefighters and police officers or reducing the prospective benefits.

Pension obligation bonds
Phoebe Selden of Scott Balice Strategies, the City's financial adviser, described the issuing of pension obligation bonds.

Basically the City could borrow money by issuing bonds. The proceeds from the bonds could then be invested in a financial instrument that would be structured to produce an annual rate of return on a guaranteed basis that is greater than the amount of interest due annually on the bonds and that is equal to or greater than the actuarially assumed rate of return, Ms. Selden said.

To the extent the City earned more on the financial instrument than it owed on the bonds, it would help reduce the unfunded pension fund liability. The primary risk is that the City could earn less on the financial instrument than it is required to pay in interest on the bonds and less than the actuarially assumed rate of return, Ms. Selden told the RoundTable.

Mr. Grady told the RoundTable that the City was looking at information provided by four institutions concerning the investments they offer. Three "have guaranteed an interest rate of 7.25 to 7.5 percent," he said.

The City estimates that if it funded 90 percent of the $140 million shortfall with pension obligation bonds and reinvested the proceeds at a rate of return of 7.25 percent, it would reduce by $40 million the overall cost of funding the pensions through 2034. Discounted to present-day value, the City estimates the savings to be $20 million. This, of course, assumes the City will earn 7.25 percent on the bond proceeds.

Ms. Selden also said, "Some banks have told us they have instruments that can guarantee that rate. If the City can lock in that favorable arbitrage [the difference between the cost of the bond and the return on investment], it makes sense for the City to investigate further. It's all about managing the risk."

GFOA: 'Use caution'
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends that a city use caution when it considers pension obligation bonds. According to its "Recommended Practices," state and local governments should "use caution when issuing pension obligation bonds. ...Furthermore, the issuance of the pension obligation bonds should not become a substitute for prudent funding of pension plans. ..."

Ms. Selden said she agrees with GFOA. "We always tell municipalities they must manage the liability as well as the asset," she said.

Mr. Grady told the RoundTable he felt the 7.5 - or at least 7.25 net - return would be guaranteed. "These instruments would be collateralized by much safer investments, such as Fannie Mae," he said. 

Yet four financial advisers contacted by the RoundTable said they did not believe any rate of return on investment could be guaranteed.

Doug Geisser, vice president of Romano Brothers, an Evanston investment firm, said there are "no guarantees. ... It's a roll of the dice. It could be a big win, but if it's a loss it would be a bad thing for the City."
He added, "I do not know of any high-quality investments that would guarantee a 7.50 percent return for 30 years."

Former Evanston resident Girard Miller, an investor, strategic consultant and commentator who worked for 33 years in the public sector and is now a columnist for Governing.com, wrote this in a recent column: "Some municipal bond underwriters are peddling the idea that public agencies should sell bonds now to 'pre-fund' their promised retiree medical benefit plan liabilities. ... GFOA is wary, advising considerable caution.

"Not only is GFOA right, but now is a dicey time for issuers to be selling OPEB bonds. ...Selling bonds to buy a portfolio of market securities is risky business at any time. ... It's especially risky at the tail end of a business cycle, as the odds of a recession increase with every passing month." 

In an e-mail interview with the RoundTable, Mr. Miller wrote, "I'm not totally opposed to pension obligation or OPEB bonds, but only at market-cycle-appropriate times, and it is my firm professional opinion that this is not such a moment. ... I have communicated this opinion to several cities in similar circumstances, and would advise Evanston similarly."

City Council has not approved the issuing of pension bonds in any amount, and at least one alderman has voiced skepticism about issuing pension obligation bonds.

Mr. Grady said he feels the meetings and discussions with City Council about the bonds are an "education process - we're not there at a decision yet." 

Nonetheless Mr. Grady said he "definitely" recommends issuing the bonds.

Estimated cost to fund police
and fire pensions, assuming:
(1) no pension obligation bonds
and (2) 90% funding with pension
obligation bonds (in 000's)
Year   No POB   90% POB
2007     $8,017       $8,017
2008     12,146       12,146
2009     12,576       11,977
2010     13,029       12,173
2011     13,488       12,367
2012     13,973       12,577
2013     14,444       12,789
2014     14,980       13,324
2015     15,507       13,849
2016     16,069       14,416
2017     16,654       15,000
2018     17,239       15,581
2019     17,860       16,206
2020     18,500       16,845
2021     19,160       17,504
2022     19,840       18,183
2023     20,534       18,881
2024     21,271       19,616
2025     22,023       20,369
2026     22,765       21,109
2027     23,618       21,960
2028     24,408       22,754
2029     25,294       23,640
2030     26,204       24,551
2031     27,163       25,508
2032     28,195       26,540
2033     29,320       27,666
2034     16,004       14,350
Total:   530,566    489,909

Source: City of Evanston

Moody's Downgrades City's Rating

By Mary Helt Gavin

Late last month Moody's Investors Service downgraded the City of Evanston's general obligation unlimited tax (GOULT) debt to Aa1 from Aaa. The downgrade - one step in Moody's 10-grade rating system - affects $209 million of outstanding debt, and the rating will likely remain for at least three years, if not for the life of that debt, Shawn O'Leary of Moody's told the RoundTable. Because of the downgrade, Moody's also revised the City's outlook from "negative" - which Moody's applied to the City last year, alerting investors to a possible downgrade within a three-year window - to "stable," indicating the likelihood that the Aa1 rating would continue.

The City's pension-fund liability, coupled with the City's already-high debt, was the main cause of the rating change, Mr. O'Leary said. "For a number of years we've identified the pension liability as a problem; that's why we applied the 'negative' outlook in December of 2006. There wasn't really a way to address the problem and the structural defect that caused and continued it." In a statement released late last month, Moody's said it was the "persistence of these structural issues over the last decade that has diminished the city's overall financial profile and resulting credit quality."

Moody's lowered rating was "not an indictment of the City's plan to issue pension bonds," Mr. O'Leary said. "The City doesn't have the capacity to absorb the unfunded liability as bonds, because you already have so much debt," he added. Hence, he said, the downgrade.

Fallout from the downgrade
It is "too late to do something" to preserve the Aaa rating, Mr. O'Leary said, but Moody's appeared to look at the City's response to the pension-funding problem with some favor, noting that the City had changed actuaries and taken some concrete steps to address the problem.

Although the City's credit rating in the financial markets has been somewhat negatively affected, Mr. O'Leary said, Evanston's rating is "still better than 90 percent of the cities in the country. You have an above-average debt profile in relation to the Aaa-rated municipalities in the nation." Omaha, Neb., he said, was just placed on a negative outlook and Indianapolis, Ind., was recently downgraded from Aaa to Aa1.

While the downgraded rating might affect the pricing of further bond issues, said Mr. O'Leary, "I would not expect property taxes to increase significantly because of this." Mr. Grady said, "Since the bond issue will cost more - when we do a bond issue - that cost will come out of property taxes."

Mr. O'Leary said ratings are only one part of how the interest rate on bonds is determined. A further downgrade, something he does not foresee, could have an adverse effect on the City's finances, because it would be required to seek private insurance for its bond issues.

Mr. Grady added the City is "providing our bond counsel [Katten Muchin and Rosenman] with information about a pension bond issue." Mr. Grady said Fitch Rating Service, which also rates the City, has rated the City Aaa, "and we have no indication to believe they would change that."

See the Downtown Evanston Plan Summary , Public Review Draft, 10/19/07 (PDF)

View all of the documents for the Downtown Plan. (PDF)

Council Bytes

The moratorium on construction in the downtown area expired yesterday. Now that downtown is open for building, developers who apply for permits will have their projects reviewed under the present zoning process.

An leftover from previous Council meetings considered at the Dec. 10 meeting was the acceptance from Northwestern University of the remaining four blue-light emergency phones. The University had proposed installing nine emergency phones - five at CTA stations, and four in the neighborhoods - then turning them over to the City. Some residents near the University had objected to the phones, saying they "stigmatized" the neighborhood as a high-crime area.

Aldermen Cheryl Wollin, 1st Ward; Delores Holmes, 5th Ward; and Edmund Moran, 6th Ward, said they favored the phones as deterrents of crime. Alderman Steve Bernstein, 4th Ward, who cast the sole "no" vote, said he felt the phones offered only the "illusion of safety."

The Council also approved a new energy policy, under which the City would more actively participate in monitoring energy policies and rates and in educating residents, and a contract with Land Design Collaborative in the amount of $32,100 to implement phase one of the Ladd Arboretum master plan.

Low Enterprises and Golub & Company, owners of 1603-1629 Orrington Ave., received an extension of the completion date for the project at 1603 Orrington Ave. from Jan. 14 to April 30, 2008. The project has not been started, and David Reifman, attorney for the developers, requested the extension to "develop a proposal and bring it back in January."

A public hearing on the expansion of the West Side tax-increment financing (TIF) district was held at the beginning of the meeting. Betty Ester and Priscilla Giles asked that Council include in the extension document a commitment to developing affordable housing in the district. The expansion, said Robert Ryschliki, the City's TIF consultant, is in area only; the term of the TIF - until 2028 - will remain the same.  

Jay Terry, who was attending his last City Council meeting as director of health and human services, received a standing ovation for his service to the community. 

Hearing on Downtown Plan Focuses on Core, Height and Density

By Mary Helt Gavin

All told, there might not have been 42 stories, but criticism of the downtown plan ran high at the Nov. 27 Plan Commission hearing. The comments, research-backed as well as anecdotal, focused on the core area of the draft downtown plan.

As proposed, the plan would add height and density to most of downtown area and would allow a building of up to 42 stories in the core downtown area. Transitional areas (those along the edges of downtown, such as Emerson Street and central-south Maple Avenue) could allow height as great as 18 stories, and traditional areas, such as west Davis street, eight stories. The consultants propose a "cap-plus-bonus" system of heights for the downtown area: Structures could be built as of right up to a certain height, and, by providing certain public benefits (yet to be worked out), a developer could garner specified additional height.

"We were asked to take a look at downtown Evanston with a form-based code approach ... a neutral, objective, fresh look at downtown Evanston to help craft a new downtown plan, to replace the 1989 plan."
        -- John LaMotte of the Lakota Group

Some speakers at the meeting were dissatisfied with the new recommendations for parking spaces in new residential buildings; others were concerned about traffic patterns and circulation. Some spoke of the need for additional office space, and some were puzzled, concerned or even angered about the added height in nearly every aspect of the plan.

Parking and two-way streets
City planners will soon begin a multi-modal transportation study for the whole of Evanston. In the meantime, the downtown plan also has recommendations for parking and traffic circulation in the downtown area.

With two relatively new large parking garages and smaller parking "decks" in the downtown area, the City is making a concerted effort to get people to park their cars in these parking structures rather than using the on-street spaces. In addition, there have been suggestions that the one-way streets - Sherman and Orrington avenues and Church and Davis streets - become two-way.

Evanston resident Diane Corling, former Kane County planning chair, said she favored keeping as much on-street parking as possible. "The capacity of one-way streets is greater than two-way streets," she said, adding she believed newcomers to Evanston could "get acclimated" to the one-way streets.

Judy Fiske, who owns a business on west Davis Street, said she felt having Davis as a two-way street would be untenable, because of the trucks that stop in the middle of Davis Street to load and unload, blocking traffic. 

Carl Bova said he opposed the recommended parking ratios for new downtown development. The consultants recommend about 1.2 parking spaces per bedroom; the present zoning ordinance requires about 1.4.

Mr. Bova said he felt downtown parking was necessary for sustainability - to encourage people to leave their cars at home and take public transportation. He said he felt requiring fewer parking spaces would not necessarily limit the number of cars the residents would have. He also said he favored keeping the one-way streets. "The reason to get rid of one-way streets - to create more open space - is laudable, but the unintended consequence is a disaster for downtown."

'Whence the height?'
 For the Fountain Square block - the very core of downtown Evanston - the consultants recommend a by-right maximum of 28 stories - the same height as the Optima Views building on Maple Avenue. "And because it is a small block in the center, we believe it could stand extra height," said Kirk Bishop of the consulting group Duncan Associates. "We recommend a bonus height of 50 percent - another 14 stories," which would allow a 42-story building on the Fountain Square block.

The consultants all emphasized that their recommendation for this height was "totally independent" of the 49-story tower proposed for that site or of any other building that might be built there.

Pat Corey Rossi was one of many who expressed concern over the recommendation of additional height in both the transitional and core areas. "The most obvious [concern] is the height in the downtown core. The maximum [height] limits should be far less. ... More incentives should be [given] to maintain and enhance existing buildings and promote the businesses in them rather than tear the buildings down. The plan seems more focused on developers. ..."

Reading a statement on behalf of Jessica Feldman, who did not attend the meeting, Shirley Shevic said, "a plan that gathers dust because it does not reflect citizen input will lose support and favor quickly. ... During the visioning process, height was not a factor. ...
No matter how much you protest, the issue of a 42-story building is too close to ignore."

Jeanne Lindwall said she felt the Fountain Square block was a conduit between the north and south parts of downtown. "Instead of a super-core block, look at it as a super-traditional block," she suggested. She said she favored a smaller building there - up to about 15 or 20 stories - with office space rather than residential space.

Ms. Fiske said she did not believe the Fountain Square block, one of the smaller blocks in the downtown area and the only one surrounded by local retail shops, should be developed. "After years and years of marveling at the resilience of downtown Evanston, I would hate to see you do that. If you really have to do this, you'll be throwing the baby out with the bathwater," she said.

Barbara Rakely said she had combed through comments about the plan made by residents at the series of meetings and the downtown charrette held in July. She had compiled a spreadsheet, she said, that showed "about 1,100 comments on the record, and I find no support for rezoning downtown with this height. ... One comment I found was 'The core is swallowing the apple.'"

Mary Singh said she had attended the July roundtable meeting in the Parasol Room of the Civic Center, and "not one person at that meeting said we need more height."

Jeff Smith also objected to the height and the overall plan. "I'm a little concerned with its tilt toward height. ... The plan doesn't fully integrate smart growth and arguably undermines it. Smart growth is growth, and this plan lets the exception become the rule."

One of the reasons given by the consultants for the additional height was that City officials have said they wish to use a relatively new zoning concept called "form-based zoning." Form-based zoning looks at the way the proposed building is pitched on the site, on how it is perceived from the street, and on how parking is handled. A building with ground-floor retail shops with large, inviting display windows and with setbacks above the second story, for example, might be approved if it were sufficiently attractive and well built, even though its height might violate the previous, traditional, zoning ordinances.

 "Form-based zoning doesn't model our built environment," Ms. Lindwall said. Using as examples two high-rises by developer Robert King that have been approved but not begun near Emerson Street, she said, "The King properties have not been built, but the plan considers them as though they have been built." 

Irene Gregory said she did not feel developers should be given a bonus of additional height for constructing sustainable buildings. "Isn't' creating a green building a reward in itself?" she asked. "People should not be rewarded for doing the right thing, just like kids should not be rewarded for picking up their clothes."

Mr. Smith said, "Ultimately, growth is not green. We, as Americans and middle-class consumers, are capable of a great deal of rationalizing and denial. ... We want our retailers to succeed, but already we're building too much, consuming too much, and already our planet is running out of resources.

"Because we have less commercial land, we have a higher tax rate. We have to make better use of the land by putting more stuff on it." -- Ron Kysiak of Evanston Inventure, speaking of the need for office space in the downtown area

"When the moral question and the environmental question come up, I think we have to avoid the convenient answer - that we can pretty much go on doing things as we've been doing them - because the challenge for the next half century will be how to be happy with and make the best of what we have already."

Ron Kysiak, head of Evanston Inventure, said, "We have to learn to adapt to the growth, but we also have to learn how to manage it better. We've not done a good job of managing our growth. We have to have a plan. We can argue about the height and the bonuses - and we will, till the last vote of City Council - but for God's sake, let's get ourselves a plan."

Barbara Janes and others who oppose the additional height in the downtown area said they felt there was a secret or hidden City mandate to add the additional height and push it through as though it were community-driven. The Lakota Group's Mr. LaMotte said, "We were asked to take a look at downtown Evanston with a form-based code approach: 'Take a neutral, objective, fresh look at downtown Evanston and help us craft a new downtown plan" to replace the 1989 plan.' ... Our responsibility is to give the most optimal recommendation. The decision is the Plan Commission's and, ultimately, the City Council's. We're advisers to the City."

Mr. LaMotte said the added height came from community input in the downtown sessions. "Some citizens told us they don't mind the height as long as views and vistas are considered. ... We've had people say, 'We've got to support the economic growth of the City, and there are people that don't like change and are ignoring that." He said he hoped through the process people would "understand that with good planning and architecture you can still have a [very good, even if dense] downtown. One of the fundamentals of good urban planning is the quality of life on the street."

The Plan Commission members and the City Council will try to sift the emotional content of some of the comments from the issues, said Mr. LaMotte. "They have to have a finger on the pulse of Evanston and try to come up with a professional, balanced perspective that doesn't exclude economic development or open space," he added.

Retail, Office and Shopping
Linda Goodman of Goodman Williams real estate analysts presented an overview of the commercial potential for downtown Evanston over the next 10 years.

"Let's defuse the polarization of national chains versus local realtors," she said. "We need a mix. The national stores have the name, the money, the customer loyalty and the predictability that draw customers. Then the customers may stay because of the attractive local, unique shops." She said she felt it was more necessary to preserve the smaller commercial spaces that local retailers use and to regulate certain types of businesses, such as fast-food businesses and drive-throughs, than to try to keep national chains away from downtown.  

Evanston resident Joan Kelly said she felt it was a "slippery slope to balance local merchants and retailers with the national chains."

Ms. Williams also said she thought Evanston could use between 50,000 and 100,000 square feet of additional office space.

Mr. Kysiak spoke of the need for additional commercial space in the downtown area. He said Inventure "is concerned about the long-term health of Evanston. Only 11 percent of the land is zoned commercial; condominiums are being built on commercial land. Because we have less commercial land, we have a higher tax rate. We have to make better use of the land by putting more stuff on it. The developers want to go high, because that's how they can make it financially."

He said he was "extremely concerned" about the loss of office space in the downtown area. "City Council recently approved the demolition of 1890 Maple. Where will the tenants of the 708 Church building go?" He suggested that the plan offer bonus height for affordable office space, "so small businesses can remain here."

Timetable
The Plan Commission will meet on Dec. 19 to begin deliberations on the downtown plan. Their recommendations will be forwarded to the City's Planning and Development Committee, where there will be the opportunity for more public comment and revision, and then to City Council, whose members have the ultimate say.

Recipes for a Happy Holiday

Several community leaders responded to the RoundTable's request that they share a favorite holiday recipe.

A potluck of their responses follows in dinner order.

With the addition of a main course, their dishes would make a full meal in the spirit of Evanston past, present and future.

From Mayor Lorraine Morton came this recipe for acorn squash, along with a few hints for ease of preparation. In a season that abounds in sugarplums, it would be welcomed by diabetics and others alike.

Mayor Morton's Acorn Squash for Diabetics
Note: "Acorn squash are very difficult to cut.  My suggestion is to bake it about 15 minutes in an oven (not the microwave).  Cut squash in half, discarding seeds and strings.  Rub the inside of squash with salted butter, leaving a pat of butter in the center.  Depending on the size, place Splenda brown sugar in the center, fill squash cavity with crushed pineapple and a red maraschino cherry. Bake in 350º F oven for 40 minutes, then sprinkle with a few shakes of cinnamon or allspice.  Eat while warm.  Enjoy."

Janice Klein, director of the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian, forwarded two Native American bread recipes, one with yeast and one without.

Onion Dill Bread from the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
"This recipe was adapted from herb bread recipes several centuries old  and is representative of breads baked by Indians of the Great Plains and of the woodland dwellers of the Northeast."
1 pkg. (1/4 oz.) dry yeast 
1/4 c. all purpose flour, sifted   
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. dill weed
2 tsp. grated onion
1/4 c. hot water
2 Tbs. butter, melted
1 c. cottage cheese, lukewarm or 1 egg, beaten lightly
2 c. all-purpose flour, sifted
Dash garlic salt

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, 1/4 c. flour, soda, salt, dill weed, and onion.  Stir in the hot water and melted butter until well mixed. Beat in cottage cheese and/or egg.  Beat in flour gradually to make a stiff batter. Cover bowl with dry cloth and let it rise to double in size in a warm place. Stir down. Shape into a  rounded loaf.  Transfer to a greased casserole dish. Cover again with cloth, and let it rise to nearly double.  Dash top with garlic salt.  Bake in preheated  350º F oven for 35-40 minutes.

Mitchell Museum Cherokee Sweet Potato Bread
"Adapted from the Cherokee - typical of breads of Native Americans who lived in what is now the Southeastern United States.

1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. shortening, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1 c. cooked or canned sweet potatoes, mashed
1/3 c. water
1/2 c. chopped nuts
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. baking powder

In a mixing bowl sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices. Set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl cream sugars and shortening till fluffy.  Beat in eggs, then sweet potatoes, then water. Stir in dry ingredients; fold in nuts and raisins. Pour batter into a well greased 9x5-inch loaf pan.
Bake in preheated 350º F oven 50-60 minutes. Bread tests done when knife inserted in center comes out clean.

Sandra Hill, executive director of Family Focus Evanston, seasoned her dessert submission with a bit of family history that makes it all the more special.

Sandra Hill's Sweet Potato Pie
"Sandra's sweet potato pie recipe is a composite of the contributions of many of my family members. Recipes were given to me by my mother, Helen Small, passed down from my great aunts and my Uncle Frank, who was a cook on the Pullman Railroad, during the 1940s and 1950s."
1 frozen pie crust shell
3 large sweet potatoes (scrubbed)
1 stick butter
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 c. evaporated milk or half-and-half
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
whipped cream

Thaw pie crust shell and pierce with a fork. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake in 350º F oven until slightly brown. Set aside.

Boil sweet potatoes in skin until tender when pierced with a fork.

Mash sweet potatoes and add dry ingredients (remaining sugars, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon). Add remaining melted butter to mashed sweet potatoes.

Mix eggs with evaporated milk or half-and-half.  Add to sweet potato mixture.

Add vanilla to sweet potato mixture.

Using electric mixer on low speed, mix sweet potato mixture until all ingredients are folded well.  To ensure proper texture of pie filling, do not whip.

Fill pie crust shell with sweet potato mixture. Spread evenly.

Bake in 350º F oven for about 40-45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of pie comes out clean. 

Let stand to cool completely.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve cold or heated with a dollop of whipped cream. (original or French vanilla-flavored)

Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky's Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
Fire Chief Alan Berkowsky's cookies bake in a preheated but turned-off oven and then crisp overnight while the oven cools. His recipe, appropriately, is almost fireproof.
4 egg whites
1 c. granulated sugar
2 c. mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 300º F. Beat egg whites until peaks form. Slowly beat in sugar. Gently fold in mini chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Once oven heats up to 300º F, turn it off. Let cookies sit in closed oven overnight.

Next time: Comfort food and what to eat after the leftovers are gone.