Commentary by Herbert Molano in the
FIREFIGHTERS FOR A
BETTER (AND RICHER)
About seven years ago I got one of my
first experiences on the real nature of
During a short period when I was serving
as the president of the
I had briefly approached Councilman
Weaver and city manager Starbird about any suggestions on how the city could
accommodate some support for the city’s most prominent
representative – the GHS band. The
answer was quick and firm, “We’ve got no money to spend on that.”
About three days later the city council
approved in closed session a bonus to city manager Starbird for nearly $20,000
dollars for ruffling his feathers when the city council challenged his
selection of police chief Randy Adams.
Clearly Weaver and Starbird had been
dismissive of my request while almost simultaneously dropping nearly $20,000 of
taxpayer’s money without public
scrutiny. The usual denial of funds for
such public social projects is often couched on the slippery-slope argument
that once you approve funds for any special project, other similar projects
would come up for similar attention.
But the slippery-slope of program funding
somehow does not apply to the compensation and benefits of city employees with
a special status. In 2001 the city
council, still wet-behind-the ears on city compensation issues, approved an
outstanding and unimaginable change in the pension system.
Fresh from high returns in the stock market
the previous years, CALPERS was practically self-funded. The city council was persuaded by the city
management that with very little cost to the city they could approve a 3% 30
year plan. Each year the pension of
safety employees would accumulate so that at the end of 30 years they would get
90% of their last highest pay.
The cost of that pension obligation would
not become obvious until each subsequent year the obligation began to grow. The ups and downs of the stock market would
change the city’s cash obligation to
guarantee a 7.75% return on the fund into an unsustainable cost.
That obligation required 24 million
dollars of the city’s funds last fiscal year
and is expected to grow to millions more in the coming years. Such a burden puts a tremendous squeeze on
money desperately needed for capital improvement and other general fund
objectives.
What I did not know until recently is the
gamesmanship that occurs during the last couple of years of fire and police
compensation. Special assignments and
other gimmicks to boost compensation that impacts the highest pay computation
are now common. The end result is a
pension calculation that at 90% often equals the highest gross pay of the
employee.
But even that egregious gamesmanship is
not enough for our men in uniform. For
the past several years nearly 50% of them retire on a disability claim. That allows them to avoid paying their fair
share of taxes on a pension that will be in the millions of dollars to each of
them should they live to their expected life span.
So when I look at the
recent campaign mailer by both of these employees' independent campaign
committees, such as the Firefighters for Better Government, I see the real
meaning and cost of that endorsement to the taxpayer.
The hundreds of millions
of dollars that such practices will cost taxpayers, leads directly to the
untold opportunities missed to improve the city’s
infrastructure or the effectiveness of policies that could improve the quality
of life of our youth and families. Taxpayers
are now funding the unjust enrichment of the very same men who are charged with
upholding the law or look out for our safety.
Such is the nature of
When
shall these three meet again?
"When
the hurly-burly's is done?"
"Fair
is foul and foul is fair, Hover through the fog and filthy air."
Herbert Molano