After SB 400 was passed in 1999, Calpers went around to local governments in California with a sales pitch that ended up being a complete scam.The Encinitas City Council fell for the CalPERS fraud in 2005, after Pacific Grove and other cities had already realized they'd been duped and after CalPERS was already deeply underfunded. Not the brightest leaders here in Mayberry.
Bill Kampe, Mayor of the City of Pacific Grove (Monterey County), says his city is one of the many public agencies that was scammed by Calpers and continues to pay a huge price. Pension costs now make up 25% of the city’s General Fund spending, and continue to grow, while the city is having a tough time paying for basic city services and infrastructure needs, such as road maintenance, Kampe says.
Kampe said the problems started in 2001 when city officials made a big mistake and accepted a “raw deal” from the Calpers. At the time, Calpers officials urged the city to adopt a series of major benefit expansions for public employees, particularly public safety employees, that they said would help with recruiting and improving public safety services in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Furthermore, Calpers said the benefit enhancements would not cost much money and benefit the city in the long-run.
But by 2004 Pacific Grove city officials soon realized they had been “duped” by the union-run Calpers, when a few years later Calpers jacked up its rates and the City of Pacific Grove realized that it was having a harder time recruiting and paying for public safety officials because the changes allowed for retirement at age 50 with very generous pension benefits. As a consequence, the city had to layoff 1/3 of its staff, eliminate road maintenance for five years, and enact deep cuts to public services–all issues that the city continues to struggle with more than a decade later.
Encinitas now spends more money on government worker pensions than it does on road maintenance, and pension costs will continue rising significantly each year.
UPDATE from the Inbox: Pension costs are more than doubling for the school districts too.
Encinitas sure does have some ignorant people running the city.
ReplyDeleteAny one can balance a budget by moving money around to make it appear that all is well.
Fixing our roads should be top priority.
Pension costs should be looked at and adjusted downward.
Thank the previous City Councils - $tock$ being one of the worst. Ga$par is a clone of $tock$ - she needs to be run out of politics for the good of the County.
ReplyDeleteMost local city governments exist to shovel taxpayer money to municipal employee unions. Check the source of campaign contributions to city council members and see which one are the buttboys and girls. CalPERS is a face of the endemic corruption of California government.
ReplyDeleteNo matter how often Shaffer and Blakespear say in their newsletters that the city is in fine financial shape, don't believe it. When Jerome Stocks pushed the 35% pension increase in 2005, it locked the city into paying ever increasing pension costs as more and more older city employees retire.
ReplyDeleteWonder why the city is attempting to scare us into voting for the Housing Element Update? It's the need for more revenue that upzoning will being. Vote NO in November on the HEU.
Muir kissed up to $tock$ so he would get his 105% of his highest paid year... now Muir is the biggest tick on Encinitas tax payers pulling in near $200k for as long is he and Ms. Muir survive.
ReplyDeleteAnd then look at the long list of "Fire Chiefs and Captains" that have retired. Its a scam this is bankrupting our City.
The City needs to cut staff costs, and cut them 40%. Downsize the fire department. They might actually need to work instead of workout, BBQ, and watch movies.
The Fire substation is Vons.
Delete7:39 is right - the HEU is needed to pay increasing pension costs. The "It's the law" mantra designed to scare residents into passing it is a smokescreen for the real reason for unbridled development: money for failing financial health.
ReplyDeleteThe entire system will collapse. I pity the fool that's not prepared. But it's no real surprise to anyone that pays attention to what's happening, now if you are watching dancing with the stars every night well then... you deserve all the calamity that comes your way.
ReplyDeleteYea, the "American Dream" may turn into a nightmare. People in public service rip the system off, as they realize nobody will do anything about it. In the Fire Department, they promote themselves to higher positions in order to pillage the retirement system. The entire city government is a bloated parasite on the taxpayer. Greed and self-interest have rotted the governmental infrastructure to its core - Encinitas needs to de-incorporate.
DeleteThese parasites are laughing all the way to the bank.
Delete11:50 I don't think de-incorporating is the answer, as the County would be worse. I just think we need better leaders. And, if people don't step up to lead, we deserve what we get.
DeleteSlash salaries and benefits - if they don't like it, move on.
DeleteSorry to say that our only out may be bankruptcy.
ReplyDeleteAppropriately, our Planning Dept. has been bankrupted for years, or corrupted, choose whichever is the right term for their lying and manipulating an all too easy and obliging city council. "Gee thanks for all your hard work Planning Dept." is so misplaced when most of them deserve to be fired, starting at the top. Every time I hear council thanking them, I want to scream out, enough already. harrumph
In Stockton, a court ruling held that pensions cannot be modified by a bankruptcy. This town will become a fiscal mechanism to keep a minority of ex-workers wealthy
DeleteBefore the system collapses in it's entirety, the banks in collusion with the govt will-
ReplyDeleteA- Sieze banks accounts withdrawing all funds above a given amount, say $50,000. When that doesn't work they will go after the remaining amounts.
B- Go to negative interest rates.
C- Raise taxes.
D- Add new taxes, a value added tax on all local, state and federal purchases of ALL types. No exemptions.
Just a few things you can look for regardless of the president or congress.
This government can't do much of anything, they can't even pass a budget on time or vote on judges. More likely they will start another war while not finishing the old ones.
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ReplyDeleteSell crazy someplace else. We're all stocked up here.
DeleteOh, and we love teh gays.