By Greg Bishop (The Center Square), includes “A proposal to consolidate the state’s 649 police and fire pension funds won't solve the state’s pension funding problems, a taxpayer advocacy group said Wednesday. … Supporters of consolidating the downstate police and firefighter pension funds have said it will cut down on administrative costs for local funds and increase investment return potential. … ‘I don’t see that will help the taxpayers and it won’t result in any significant savings for the pension funds either,’ Tobin said. …”