Public Employees
February 21, 2012
Riverside County attorneys cut deal to avoid reducing pensions
Despite Riverside County's pension reforms, about 380 attorneys have figured out a way to preserve an extra bump in pension benefits that has been, but is no longer, available to about 5,000 county employees.
Until recently, retiring attorneys, law enforcement officers, department heads, managers, county supervisors and others have drawn pensions nearly matching their pay ---- if they put in a full 30 years with the county.
For starters, working three decades entitled them to 90 percent of their highest single-year salary...
LINK - NCTimes.com
February 21, 2012
Study finds $135.7B in local pension liabilities
Two dozen city and county governments in California face a combined $135.7 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, according to a study released Tuesday that also found the problem is growing.
The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and a nonprofit group, California Common Sense, evaluated 24 local government pension systems that are not part of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the state's main pension fund. The funds ranged from those for smaller entities, such as Santa Barbara and Stanislaus County, to the largest local governments in California, including Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco...
LINK - SacBee.com
February 21, 2012
California city and county pensions in trouble, report says
Many of California's biggest local governments spend an average of 10 cents of every dollar covering pension costs, according to a study of the largest independent pension plans released Tuesday.
The study, by Stanford professor and former Assemblyman Joe Nation and a junior at the school who is a member of a nonprofit that studies California governance, examines plans for cities and counties that do not rely on the state's largest public pension group, CalPERS. They include the city and county of Los Angeles, the cities of Fresno, San Jose, San Francisco and San Diego, and other jurisdictions. The pension plan unveiled by Gov. Jerry Brown last year is intended to change these plans, as well as thousands of other local ones run by CalPERS...
LINK - LATimes.com
February 8, 2012
Pension-reform group suspends initiative campaign
A conservative group announced Wednesday that it was suspending its campaign to put public employee pension reform on the November ballot.
Dan Pellissier, president of California Pension Reform, said his group could not raise enough money to mount a petition-signature drive. A successful drive typically requires at least $2 million.
He blamed unfavorable language issued by the office of Attorney General Kamala Harris, a Democrat, which he said undermined the effort even though pension reform is popular with Californians...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
January 27, 2012
Darrell Steinberg: Pension reform must pass ‘strength test’
Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said today that the Legislature will consider some sort of pension reform bill this session, and he didn't rule out sending a hybrid plan for new hires to Gov. Jerry Brown for a signature.
The Sacramento Democrat talked at length about pensions during a morning meeting with the Capitol press corps on Thursday. The Bee's Torey Van Oot was there and passed this six-minute audio file from the event.
(Warning: To hear the file, you'll need software that plays m4a files, such as RealPlayer or QuickTime. The recording is clear but low-volume, so turn up the sound on your listening device.)...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 25, 2012
Lawmakers urge Brown to provide details on pension proposals
Members of a conference committee charged with crafting comprehensive pension-reform legislation this year urged Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday to quickly provide full details on how he envisions his proposed reforms would work.
"The public is starting to question if this committee is going to accomplish anything," said Sen. Mimi Walters, R-Laguna Niguel. "We need to prove to the public that we are very, very serious about moving forward with pension reform."
She urged the Brown administration to quickly provide the committee with proposed legislative language that would detail his proposals on reform for public employee pensions...
LINK - VCStar.com
January 25, 2012
Gov. Jindal reveals Pension Reform Plan
Governor Jindal unveiled a dramatic redesign of the state employee retirement plan. The Governor, in three parts, tries to help the state dig itself out of an $18 billion hole. No all state workers are on board.
"Louisiana taxpayers are spending nearly $2 billion just this year in state retirement," said Jindal.
He called the state's current retirement system irresponsible, pointing to out of control costs that are impacting what he calls critical investments in priority areas; like classrooms and healthcare...
LINK - WAFB.com
January 25, 2012
Editorial: Lawmakers spin their wheels on pension reform
A joint Senate/Assembly conference committee will hold its third (ho-hum) informational hearing today on the 12-point pension reform plan that Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled with such fanfare last October. Don't expect anything to come of it. So far, a lot of talk has emerged but no pension bill. Efforts to substantially reduce state pension obligations are a sham in this Legislature, and most people who work in the Capitol know that.
A conference committee was formed to produce a reform package, but after three months, no author has emerged willing to champion the governor's proposal and no language has been drafted that would give substance to the modest plan Brown outlined...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 24, 2012
More work to do on pension reform in New Jersey
In talking to state legislators, there appears to be a willingness to address a fresh concern with the New Jersey public pension system.
News reporter Lauren Taniguchi has written stories the last two Sundays about public employees retiring, collecting pensions and then getting new public jobs. Labeled “double-dipping” by critics, the practice amounts to two hefty public paychecks for many of these individuals.
It’s a practice our state cannot afford and one that should be ended....
LINK - NJ.com
January 24, 2012
San Bernardino County pension reform measure moves forward
The president of San Bernardino County's most powerful labor union announced Tuesday it is bankrolling an initiative to reduce county supervisors' jobs to part-time status.
The announcement by Laren Leichliter, president of the San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Association, or SEBA, came hours after he appeared before the Board of Supervisors to protest pension reforms proposed by Supervisors Janice Rutherford and Gary Ovitt.
On a narrow vote, the board authorized county counsel to draft a ballot measure requiring any proposed pension increases for county employees be put to a vote by taxpayers....
LINK - ContraCostaTimes.com
January 23, 2012
The pension clock is ticking
It's the norm in January: After the governor proposes a new budget and delivers his State of the State address, legislators slide into hibernation until spring.
Oh, there's some rustling around in the dens — a few committee hearings, brief floor sessions — but no strenuous activity, no risk taking until May, when deadlines sprout and the governor revises his budget proposal.
Not every year follows that pattern — last March, the governor and the Legislature made sharp spending cuts — but winter 2012 has all the signs of the rhythmic long nap...
LINK - LATimes.com
January 23, 2012
Reform Washington state’s pension system to help state close its budget gap
Washington state must reform its overly generous pension system. The Seattle Times editorial board favors pension reform of the type proposed by state Sen. Joseph Zarelli.
IN the work to balance the state budget, short-term gains are nice, but the long term is critical. One of the most fruitful areas for saving money long term is public-employee pensions. This cannot mean taking away a benefit already promised, which is illegal. Surely it will mean changing what is promised to new employees.
An example is Senate Bill 6378, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield. Under the bill, new state employees would no longer get a full pension at 62 after 30 years service or an 80 percent pension at age 55 — a benefit light-years away from what most private-sector workers have...
LINK - SeattleTimes.NWSource.com
January 20, 2012
S.B. COUNTY: Pension reform voter measure proposed
Future retirement benefit increases for San Bernardino County employees could be decided by voters under a proposal that will go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Supervisors Janice Rutherford and Gary Ovitt are proposing that the county place a ballot measure before voters in the June election to amend the county charter. If it passes, county voters’ approval would be required before retirement benefits for county employees, legislative officers and elected officials could be increased.
Rutherford described the proposal as “insurance” for taxpayers...
LINK - PE.com
January 19, 2012
Oklahoma House leaders to unveil new plans for overhauling pensions, government modernization
House Speaker Kris Steele and members of the House's Republican majority will unveil new proposals for modernizing state government and propping up the state's underfunded pension systems.
Steele and other GOP leaders plan a news conference Thursday to discuss the proposals. The Shawnee Republican has made government modernization and pension reform among his top priorities for the 2012 Legislature that convenes on Feb. 6...
LINK - TheRepublic.com
January 19, 2012
Assm. Grove complains about CCPOA?
Assemblywoman Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, issued the following response to Governor Jerry Brown’s State of the State address:
Governor Brown’s remarks today were essentially identical to past years and years of liberal Democrat speeches and promises. While the Governor talks a good game of reigning in spending and getting our fiscal house in order, his actions demonstrate a much different agenda.Governor Brown has given pay raises on the backs of taxpayers to the high-paid prison guards and other unions who helped put him in office, granted taxpayer subsidies to illegal immigrants for college loans and scholarships under the “Dream Act,” pushed an expansive “green” energy mandate which has and will continue to raise taxpayer energy costs, and most recently put his stamp of approval on the $100+ billion and growing high-speed rail disaster that epitomizes the incompetence and waste that results from a massive government. Governor Brown signed 745 bills into law from last year. This does not lift burdens off of our struggling economy, but instead adds more through increased government bureaucracy....
LINK - RidgecrestCA.com
January 19, 2012
NY Governor Takes on Union Pension Reform
Another go showing the unions no love. This time, it is not Republican Chris Christie in New Jersey. This time it's democrat Andrew Cuomo next door in New York.
Cuomo clamping down, pushing union members to pony up, and now unions are fed up and now fighting back. Tonight a democrat base getting in his face.
The Keystone cop out. Republicans lashing out at the president's decision to knock out a job creating pipeline. Then if image is everything then this image tell you every thing you need to know about Carnival Cruise Lines futures. The picture that could sink an entire company...
LINK - FoxBusiness.com
January 18, 2012
Arizona may undo fix to pension system
Key state lawmakers want to rescind last year's hike in the contribution that more than 200,000 Arizona State Retirement System members make toward their pensions, citing fears of losing a lawsuit over the issue.
House Bill 2264 would return to the previous funding system, under which contributions to the ASRS for public-employee retirements were split 50-50 between employees and their employer...
LINK - AZCentral.com
January 17, 2012
Cuomo Likely To Push Pension Reform, Overall Budget Reduction
In addition to highlighting Gov. Cuomo’s possible plans to link school funding to a teacher evaluation system, my story and the accompanying graphic today also hit on other parts of tomorrow’s budget announcement.
Cuomo’s budget is expected to reduce overall spending for the second year in a row, hike state taxpayer supported funding by just under 2%, close a $2 billion budget deficit and--and possibly include his new plan for pension reform.
Like the teacher evaluation system he is expected to include, the pension reform plan will likely raise the ire of the public worker unions...
LINK - NYDailyNews.com
January 17, 2012
NM Legislature: Pension Reform
The Educational Retirement Board or ERB is proposing changes to the pension system for school district and University employees. The changes include a minimum retirement age of 55 and limits on cost of living increases.
We asked Senator Steve Fischmann about the issue on KRWG-TV's Your Legislators. He says changes must be considered to prevent the pension system from becoming insolvent...
LINK - PublicBroadcasting.net
January 16, 2012
California: Pension Reform & “Vulture Capitalists”
If the squealing by the forces behind attempts to blow up the state's public pension are any indication, the truth must really hurt.
In the last few days, both the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office and Attorney General issued their judgment on pension reform proposals being proposed by former Schwarzenegger aide Dan Pellissier. And it wasn't pretty.
The LAO noted that the proposals would cost governments more than $1 billion per year for up to 30 years...
LINK - CapitolWeekly.net
January 11, 2012
Public Employee Pension Reduction Initiative - Gathering signatures now
Reduces pension benefits for current and future public employees, including teachers, nurses, and peace officers, but excluding judges. Eliminates constitutional protections for current and future public employees' vested pension benefits. Creates hybrid pension plan for new employees, capping collective benefits at 75 percent of salary. Limits cost-of-living adjustments for retired and current employees. Prohibits public retirement systems from providing death or disability benefits to future employees. Requires that current employees add up to three percent of their salary to their pension contribution annually, when pension plan is underfunded. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government...
LINK - SOS.ca.gov
January 11, 2012
Governor vows to take on pension reform to boost credit rating
Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday sought to ease concerns about a recent downgrade in the state's bond rating that cemented Illinois as the state with the nation's worst credit rating, saying he will push for major pension reforms this year to try to reverse it.
Quinn's comments came just days after Moody's Investors Service downgraded the state's rating from A1 to A2. The change "follows a legislative session in which the state took no steps to implement lasting solutions to its severe pension underfunding or to its chronic bill payment delays," Moody's said in its report.
The Democratic governor noted that Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings did not lower their ratings of the state's debt — they rank California as worst in the nation, with Illinois one notch above — but Quinn acknowledged the state's ranking should be improving after last year's income tax increase, not getting downgraded...
LINK - ChicagoTribune.com
January 10, 2012
Backers of Calif. public pension overhaul lag in fundraising effort
The effort to place a public pension overhaul before California voters this November has moved into a new and challenging phase.
Backers have reported contributions from but a handful of donors, and on Tuesday bashed Attorney General Kamala Harris for what they said was a "grossly misleading" official description of their measures.
The Sacramento-based California Pension Reform reported raising $128,600 late last month, mostly from Silicon Valley venture capitalists...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 10, 2012
Illinois Gov. Quinn urges pension fix; he’s ‘willing to lead the expedition’ this year
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn pledged Tuesday to reform the public employee pension system "once and for all" this spring.
The Democratic governor said he's willing to take on the ailing program in a year when every seat in the Legislature is up for election because the state's contribution to five retirement plans is eating up more and more of the state budget.
The system is short about $85 billion what it will eventually need to cover all its liabilities. But repair could mean reducing benefits for state employees, something that's highly unpopular with powerful unions who contribute money to political campaigns...
LINK - ChicagoTribune.com
January 6, 2012
Jerry Brown budget would slash 3,000 state jobs, merge departments
Gov. Jerry Brown's 2012-13 budget proposal would cut state government by a few thousand jobs and consolidate nearly 50 state organizations, while avoiding furloughs.
Brown's plan would reduce the state's workforce by some 3,000 positions, mostly from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The savings would fill just a tiny fraction of the $9.2 billion budget hole projected through June 2013....
LINK - SacBee.com
January 6, 2012
Illinois pension reform signed into law
Public employees can no longer rely on some loopholes to inflate their state benefits, including one that allowed two union officials to qualify for teachers’ retirement perks after a single day in the classroom, under a law signed Thursday.
The law, which takes effect immediately, also aims to end the practice of double dipping. In some cases —notably in the Chicago area — employees took leaves of absence from city jobs, took full-time union jobs, then collected pensions from both.
The legislation also says current union leaders can’t base public pensions on union pay checks; now their pay will be based on their salaries when they leave their government jobs...
LINK - SJ-R.com
January 5, 2012
Pension reform debate is about to heat up
The next few weeks will draw the lines more sharply in the 2012 debate over public employee pensions. A road map:
On Monday, the attorney general's office expects to issue the titles and descriptive summaries for two potential November ballot initiatives that aim to cut government pension costs.
One of the measures backed by California Pension Reform would put newly hired state and local government workers into "defined contribution" plans similar to a 401(k) account...
LINK - SacBee.com
January 4, 2012
The GOP’s California Pension “Reform” Plan Continues to Get Bad Reviews
With the Attorney General expected to release its Title and Summary for the pair of GOP pension-gutting measures any day now, we can only hope she comes to the same conclusion the Legislative Analyst did when it put its lump of coal into the stockings of the millionaires behind the proposals: The revelation that their sloppily-drawn "reform" plans in fact will cost state and local governments billions MORE in pension costs.
The LAO pegs the taxpayer cost of the pair pension-stealing ballot measures at no less than $1 billion dollars every single year for the next three decades. The Orange County Register warns that taxpayers aren't likely to see any savings until they are "grizzled and gray." And although the LAO sees "potential" savings in the distant future, “pension reform could actually cost governments, and the taxpayers who fund them, more,” says the Register...
LINK - CAMajorityReport.com
January 4, 2012
Cuomo Proposes Pension, Mandate, Education Reform
Before 2,000 onlookers, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined economic growth measures, pension reform, mandate relief, and public education reform this afternoon, in his second State of the State Address.
He also announced plans to lay out a blueprint for economic development. Cuomo’s job creation measures were described as “$25 billion in state, federal and private economic activity,” through private-public partnerships. He described plans to rebuild the Tappan Zee Bridge, and the Jacob Javits Convention Center on Manhattan’s west side, and proposed an energy superhighway, among other proposals.
Meanwhile, Cuomo proposed amending the state’s constitution to further regulate and allow casino gaming...
LINK - TheDailyHarrison.com
January 4, 2012
Lawmakers face budget strife, election challenges
The state Legislature reconvened Wednesday for a year of diminished expectations set against a background of intense partisanship and election-year politics.
Lawmakers face a $13 billion budget deficit and several hot topics that include pension reform, high-speed rail and whether to keep an $11 billion water bond on the November ballot.
Gov. Jerry Brown and his fellow Democrats, who control both houses of the Legislature, already have said they do not plan to engage with Republicans in budget discussions after last year's failure to reach a compromise. Instead, they'll go to the ballot and ask voters to increase taxes on the wealthy and boost the state sales tax...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
January 3, 2012
Pension reform: Cheaper to do nothing?
Pushing public workers out of pension plans with guaranteed payouts could save taxpayers billions each year — but perhaps not until the folks reading this story are grizzled and gray, according to new analyses by the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.
In the short-term, the LAO said, pension reform could actually cost governments, and the taxpayers who fund them, more.
We’ve been telling you about the two versions of an aggressive initiative filed by California Pension Reform (whose VP is Fullerton’s own Jack Dean), which are in the signature-gathering stage and aiming for the November ballot...
LINK - OCRegister.com
December 29, 2011
Debt-ridden Stockton a battleground for police union, City Hall
The first eyebrow-raising salvo in the fight between the cops and this city was the billboards.
"Welcome to the 2nd most dangerous city in California: Stop laying off cops!" read one at the city's entrance. Other billboards posted by the Stockton Police Officers' Assn. depicted splattered blood, gave a running tally of the city's record number of homicides — and the city manager's phone number.
Since then, the fight moved closer to home: The police union bought the house next to City Manager Bob Deis...
LINK - LATimes.com
December 28, 2011
LAO: Ballot proposals to cut California government pension costs may wind up increasing them
Two ballot proposals aimed at cutting government pension costs could wind up increasing them, are fraught with legal and fiscal uncertainty and would put pressure on governments to increase public employee pay, according to new analyses of the measures.
The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office on Tuesday released its takes on two public pension reform plans filed by Dan Pellissier, president of California Pension Reform. The group hopes to put one of the proposals to a statewide vote next November...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 27, 2011
Legislative Analyst releases review of California pension plans
Two public pension reform plans aimed for the November 2012 ballot wouldn't make much of a dent in government costs for decades, and the savings to employers' retirement expenses would be "offset to some extent by increases in other employee compensation costs," according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
The analyses share much of the same language and conclusions. Click here for the LAO's review of the defined contribution plan backed by California Pension Reform. This link opens the review of CPR's alternative hybrid pension proposal that mirrors a plan backed by Gov. Jerry Brown....
LINK - SacBee.com
* Links above open in a new window.
December 27, 2011
Double dipping retirees eyed by Brown
Gov. Jerry Brown's plan for sweeping public pension reform would hit the pocketbooks of employees who hope to collect a pension check and paycheck at the same time.
It's a common practice statewide -- especially in law enforcement -- and the central San Joaquin Valley is no exception.
Visalia Police Chief Colleen Mestas, for example, gets an annual pension of about $55,000 based on her 20 years with the Fresno County Sheriff's Department and also collects $140,000 a year, including benefits, from her current job...
LINK - FresnoBee.com
December 24, 2011
Opinion: Pension reform hindered by limits of contract protections
When it comes to public-employee pensions in California, what goes up usually can't come down.
At least that's the prevailing legal theory, severely restricting reform options across the state. As the state pension squeeze intensifies, we soon could see those limits tested.
Pensions typically are based on the number of years an employee works. Each additional year adds to future retirement payments. Starting in 1999, most public agencies in California increased that annual accrual rate...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 22, 2011
Press Release from the Tennessee State Senate Republican Caucus, Dec. 22, 2011
State Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) announced today he has introduced legislation that would reform the way pensions are calculated for new state employees. The plan would be offered for new state employees but not for local government employees or for education workers. Kelsey said the proposal would establish a privately managed cash-balance plan to eventually replace the Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System defined benefits plan, participation in which would continue to remain available for current employees.
The legislation is the tenth in a series of announcements by Kelsey in his “12 for ’12” initiative for the next legislative session, which is set to reconvene January 10, 2012...
LINK - TNReport.com
December 22, 2011
California employees will pay higher payroll tax on next check
Here's one more thing to blame on Congress.
Although the battle over extending a Social Security payroll tax reduction continues in Washington, D.C., the matter has already been settled for California state workers: They'll have more money withheld from their checks next month, no matter what.
It's a matter of timing...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 18, 2011
Public pensions in free fall
As the bill to reform Ohio’s five public pension plans crawls through the General Assembly, the need to deal with the unfunded liabilities only gets more urgent.
A study issued this month by The Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions entitled “Hanging By A Thread” places the total unfunded government pension liabilities at $66 billion.
But Ohio isn’t alone in being threatened by this epidemic. An Associated Press survey conducted earlier this year found the 50 states have a combined $690 billion in unfunded liabilities and $418 billion in retiree health-care obligations...
LINK - Vindy.com
December 18, 2011
Pension Reform Updates: Panel Discussion Webinar
This session will provide you an update on the latest changes to California's pension laws, including the rules for hiring annuitants and new PERS regulations defining compensation. This session will discuss available strategies, and pitfalls to avoid, in reducing liability for pension benefits.
Issues that will be addressed include implementing pension tiers, sharing pension costs with employees, eliminating "spiking" and discontinuing accrued leave payouts that are considered compensation for retirement...
LINK - CSDA.net
December 18, 2011
Split (San Jose) council votes to place pension reform on ballot
Over the loud objections of city workers and retirees, the San Jose City Council voted 6-5 Tuesday to approve language for a pension reform measure that could go before voters in June.
The vote was a key political victory for Mayor Chuck Reed, who since last May has been trying to sell the council on a measure that overhauls pensions to prevent the layoffs of more cops and a severe reduction in city services.
"We need to move ahead," Reed said during a spirited three-hour debate that drew an overflow crowd of mostly city workers and retirees...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 16, 2011
Million-dollar nurses at CDCR?
California has paid Lina Manglicmot $1.5 million since 2005, an average of $253,530 a year, to work as a prison nurse in the agricultural town of Soledad.
Manglicmot is one of 42 state nurses who each made more than $1 million in those six years, mostly by tapping overtime, according to payroll data compiled by Bloomberg News. Together, those nurses collected $47.5 million. In 2008, Manglicmot was paid $331,346, including $211,257 in overtime...
LINK - Bloomberg.com
December 16, 2011
Voters side with Jerry Brown on pensions
Jerry Brown made a rare gubernatorial appearance this month before a joint legislative committee that was delving — with obvious reluctance — into whether California’s public employee pension benefits should be overhauled.
While seeking his second stint as governor last year, Brown had pledged pension reform and has since offered a 12-point overhaul that attempts to strike a middle ground between the defenders of the status quo and the radical changes outside groups want...
LINK - DailyRepublic.com
December 13, 2011
Our View: Don’t flip-flop on pension reform
When it comes to state pensions and Springfield, nothing really is a surprise anymore.
Lawmakers talk big about fixing the system and reforming an unsustainable model. But they do little about it. And they do even less to address the $85 billion hole the state is in for underfunding the pensions systems in years past.
Now, it appears, that even when lawmakers do enact some sort of pension reform, they want to take it back – particularly some House Democrats...
LINK - Daily-Chronicle.com
December 13, 2011
Older employees hesitant about VA pension reform
Geoff Borah isn't looking to get rich from his state pension.
He's just looking for stability and, like many older workers, he is keeping an eagle-eye on the retirement debate coming up in Richmond.
He joined the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, or ARHA, a public agency that works on affordable housing, as a carpenter in September 2008...
LINK - Virginia.StatehouseNewsOnline.com
December 13, 2011
San Berardino to impose LBF on county probation/correction officers
The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors today will consider cutting salary and benefits for a group of probation correction officers, a move officials say will result in $3.6million savings annually.
County Chief Executive Officer Greg Devereaux is recommending that supervisors impose a "last, best and final offer" on the Specialized Peace Officer Unit and reject an arbitrator's recommendation that the county and the unit adopt a tentative agreement from June 30.
That agreement was rejected by members of the peace officer unit, and a later attempt to bargain failed...
LINK - SBSun.com
December 12, 2011
Cities want to rollback pension standard OK’d under Jeb Bush
Florida cities said Monday that they are poised to make another attempt at revamping costly pension requirements that emerged under former Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.
The current Republican-led Legislature may be wary of antagonizing police and firefighter unions, a frequent election-year ally. But Florida League of Cities officials said they hope a pocketbook appeal might drive changes when lawmakers reconvene in January...
LINK - PostonPolitics.com
December 12, 2011
SC legislators give initial OK to pension reform
A legislative panel has initially approved a plan to fix South Carolina's pension system.
A House subcommittee unanimously approved the rough draft Monday. It includes increasing the number of years public employees must work to draw full retirement from 28 years to 30. Employees currently within five years of retirement would be exempt from the longer requirement...
LINK - DailyComet.com
December 12, 2011
SC legislators give initial OK to pension reform
A legislative panel has initially approved a plan to fix South Carolina's pension system.
A House subcommittee unanimously approved the rough draft Monday. It includes increasing the number of years public employees must work to draw full retirement from 28 years to 30.
The proposal would also tie retirement to age. Workers could not draw full retirement until age 62. A reduced benefit would be an option at 60...
LINK - WISTV.com
December 9, 2011
San Jose attorney calls pension reform unconstitutional
In a strongly-worded letter dated June 21, 2011 to Mayor Reed and the City Council, local retired San Jose city attorney Joan Gallo expressed bewilderment at why the City of San Jose would undertake an action which clearly violates the contract clause of the California and United States Constitutions.
Citing key California Supreme Court cases, Gallo writes the court has held that pension rights are an integral portion of compensation which cannot be changed once they have vested and with respect to active employees, some limited modification of vested pension rights has been allowed by the resulting disadvantage to employees must be accompanied by comparable new advantages...
LINK - Examiner.com
December 7, 2011
More Californians say public pensions too generous
About 41 percent of California voters think pension benefits received by public employees are too generous, with Republicans overwhelmingly viewing the retirement benefits as over-the-top, but independent and Democratic voters more supportive of the current system, according to a Field Poll released today.
The survey also found majority support for Gov. Jerry Brown's proposal to raise the retirement age for new government workers and set limits on public employee benefits.
The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters last month and found that the number of Californians who view government employee pensions as too generous has grown over the past two years, from 32 percent in 2009 to the current 41 percent. However, the poll also found that a majority of both Democrats and independent voters view the current benefits as about right or not generous enough - and that 49 percent of all voters feel that way...
LINK - SFGate.com
December 7, 2011
Anti-union “paycheck protection” measure qualifies for Nov. 2012 ballot
As expected, conservative Californians have qualified a measure for the November 2012 ballot that would prohibit unions from deducting dues from paychecks.
Known as “paycheck protection” by supporters, the initiative has long been expected. It’s not the first time union critics have tried: two efforts, in 1998 and 2005, failed at the ballot box.
Here’s how the Attorney General’s office is describing the measure...
LINK - SFGate.com
December 7, 2011
California voters give edge to Jerry Brown’s public pension overhaul
A majority of California voters support Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to dial back public employee pensions and a plurality think that state and local government retirements are "too generous," according to a new Field Poll.
A little more than half – 51 percent – said that Brown's pension proposal "strikes about the right balance."
Poll director Mark DiCamillo said that finding shows that Brown, a union-backed Democrat who introduced a 12-point pension reform plan last month, has credibility with voters...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 7, 2011
San Jose City Council votes 6-5 to place pension reform on June ballot
Over the loud objections of city workers and retirees, the San Jose City Council voted 6-5 Tuesday to approve language for a pension reform measure that could go before voters in June.
The vote was a key political victory for Mayor Chuck Reed, who since last May has been trying to sell the council on a measure that overhauls pensions to prevent the layoffs of more cops and a severe reduction in city services.
"We need to move ahead," Reed said during a spirited three-hour debate that drew an overflow crowd of mostly city workers and retirees...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
December 6, 2011
Rhode Island makes pension system cuts
With government pension costs going up and revenues still down, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed a law on Nov. 18 that alters the public pension system and reduces the state’s liability.
“I take no joy in the pain this will cause for thousands of Rhode Islanders,” Chafee said in a statement. “But the most important objective was ensuring retirement security for those in the state system.”
The state has an unfunded liability of $7 billion, and pension costs are making it difficult for the state to invest in other public services, according to a state report. The Rhode Island Retirement Security Act of 2011 is expected to reduce that liability by more than $3 billion with an 80 percent funding level for all pension systems...
LINK - AmericanCityandCountry.com
December 6, 2011
Initiative to ban payroll deduction for political spending qualifies
The fight over unions using members' dues to fund political spending is headed back to the ballot next year.
A proposed initiative to block unions and corporations from using automatic payroll deductions for political purposes has made the cut to go in front of voters next November, the secretary of state announced today.. The measure, backed by GOP groups, also bans labor unions, corporations and, in some cases, contractors doing business with state government, from making contributions to candidate-controlled committees...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 5, 2011
Sac Bee Editorial: Legislators dither and pander on pensions
Gov. Jerry Brown showed up personally to pitch his 12-point pension plan before a joint Assembly- Senate Committee on Thursday.
The rare appearance underlines the importance of pension reform for this governor. Without it, Brown told legislators, "I don't think we will have the credibility to ask the people to do other things that are very much needed."
Chief among those "other things" is a tax increase he hopes to put before voters next year. Sadly, legislators seemed unimpressed...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 5, 2011
San Diego City Council To Take Up Pension Reform Issue
An initiative to reform the city's debt-ridden pension system, which has qualified for public vote, will be taken up by the City Council Monday.
The council is legally obligated to place the measure on an upcoming election ballot since it received enough petition signatures from residents. Supporters want it scheduled for the June 2012 primary and said on Friday they were worried opponents would try to delay it until November.
The measure calls for new city hires -- other than police officers -- to be given 401(k) plans instead of being enrolled in the employee pension system...
LINK - 10News.com
December 1, 2011
Local state senator leading pension-reform committee
The Golden State's pension systems are fraught with areas of concern.
A report last year by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research said retirement funds for 2.6 million California teachers, state workers and university employees have long-term unfunded obligations totaling as much as $500 billion.
At the center of the attempt to fix the state's pension system is an Inland Valley lawmaker who faces a difficult election bid next year...
LINK - DailyBulletin.com
December 1, 2011
Stockton police take unusual step in budget fight with city
In the annals of both labor and neighbor relations, a low point registered recently in Stockton, where the police union, feuding with the city manager, purchased the house next door to his.
While the union publicly contemplated whom to rent the house to – a police officer or a family in need of subsidized housing, perhaps – the city accused police of intimidating and harassing City Manager Bob Deis, and complained in court when a police officer on a backhoe clipped Deis' maple tree.
"Him and his wife yelled at me all day long," said Jose Ulloa, the officer who was using the backhoe. He said it was an accident...
LINK - SacBee.com
December 1, 2011
Public Pension Reform: State Lawmakers Urged To Look At Hybrid Plans
At the annual fall forum of the National Conference of State Legislatures, pension reform advocates briefed the nation's state legislators on hybrid pension plans on Thursday, saying there is "nothing more dangerous" to state fiscal health on legislative agendas today.
Lawmakers must address the pension reform issue in the face of rising pension costs, declining pension reserve funds and the current state of the nation's financial markets, they argued.
"The unfunded (pension) liability is somewhere between $1.5 and $3 trillion," said former Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Mark Singel (D) about the total liability among the 50 states...
LINK - HuffingtonPost.com
November 30, 2011
State panel may require more steps before impasse is declared
A state board’s interpretation of a new law could profoundly change future labor negotiations in the city of San Diego and other public agencies in California if it requires additional action before a city can impose contract terms on union workers.
The legislation, authored by state Assemblywoman Toni Atkins and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in October, would require public agencies to create an advisory fact-finding panel if mediation over labor contracts fail. The goal is to provide better transparency and recommend a reasonable settlement for both sides...
LINK - SignonSanDiego.com
November 27, 2011
Cash-strapped cities want workers to contribute more to pensions
As Gov. Jerry Brown calls for sweeping reforms in public-employee pensions, cities such as Santa Ana demand concessions from their employee unions.
It's business as usual at Santa Ana City Hall as residents trickle up to the counter to pay business fees, pick up a dog license or, in a newer wing next door, apply for a free solar permit.
But on the top floor of the eight-story concrete fortress, city officials in Orange County's most labor-friendly city are doing the once unthinkable: demanding big benefit concessions from their employee unions...
LINK - LATimes.com
November 22, 2011
San Jose leaders paint grim budget picture without pension reform
With life hanging in the balance, San Jose police and firefighters will take minutes longer to respond to emergencies. City libraries and community centers, some newly built, will sit locked and empty. There will be no more city recreation programs, and roads will continue to deteriorate.
That was the ugly picture of San Jose's future that city leaders laid out Tuesday as they unveiled their case for declaring a "fiscal and service-level emergency" to justify rolling back the soaring costs for city workers' pensions...
LINK - MercuryNews.com
November 22, 2011
RIVERSIDE COUNTY: Terms imposed on unionized county workers
Riverside County on Tuesday imposed pay and benefit changes on 5,800 employees, after months of negotiations between county officials and the union representing the workers failed to produce an agreement.
County officials announced the decision Tuesday, one day after members of the Service Employees International Union Local 721 overwhelmingly rejected the county’s latest contract offer and authorized union leaders to order a strike...
LINK - PE.com
