Moorlach seeks voter approval on pension limits
July 15th, 2008, 9:44 am · 8 Comments · posted by PEGGY LOWE
Supervisor John Moorlach, a critic of what he says are generous public employee pensions, dropped another initiative today aimed at limiting county workers retirement benefits.
Moorlach’s chief of staff, Mario Mainero, has written a proposed ordinance that would require voter approval on any pension improvements. It wouldn’t change any of the current formulas used to set public employee retirement benefits, but rather it bars the Board of Supervisors from increasing them any further. It’s much like Proposition B, passed by voters in San Diego County in 2006.
The plan needs the board’s approval and it’s set for next Tuesday’s the July 29 agenda.
Click below for union reaction, Mainero’s explanation, and a draft of the ordinance.
Nick Berardino, head of the largest public workers union in the county, called it “just another attack on working families.”
“The whole idea caters to peoples worst instincts,” said Berardino, chief of the Orange County Employees Association. “Many hard working citizens don’t have these benefits so they don’t want others to have them. We should be encouraging all workers to fight for decent retirement benefits and a secure future.”
Mainero said the retirement benefits are often approved during flush economic times by representatives unconcerned about how local governments will fare during tough financial patches.
“When there are flush times, quite frankly, the unions statewide convince the legislature to rachet up the benefits more,” Mainero said. “This is a defense against that.”
Mainero said this effort isn’t tied to the curent lawsuit the board filed against the deputy’s union, hoping to cut the retroactive pension benefits. That case is still pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Here’s a draft of the ordinance:
ORDINANCE NO. ______
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNTY OF ORANGE, CALIFORNIA, PROVIDING FOR VOTER APPROVAL OF INCREASES IN RETIREMENT SYSTEM BENEFITS AND ADDING ARTICLE III, SECTION 301 TO THE CHARTER OF ORANGE COUNTY
The People of the County of Orange, California, hereby ordain as follows:
SECTION 1: Article III, Section 301 is added to the Charter of Orange County to read:
ARTICLE III. VOTER approval of RETIREMENT SYSTEM BENEFIT INCREASES Sec. 301:
Approval of Retirement System Benefit Increases
(a) The Board of Supervisors shall not take any action, by ordinance, resolution, or otherwise, which increases the retirement benefits of any employee, legislative officer or elected official of the County of Orange in the Orange County Employees Retirement System or any successor retirement system (“retirement system”), with the exception of statutorily-established cost of living adjustments, without first obtaining the approval of a majority of those qualified electors voting on the matter.
(b) Prior to placement of any proposed increased benefits on the ballot, the retirement system shall prepare, or have prepared on its behalf, an actuarial study of the cost and the funded and unfunded actuarial accrued liability attributable to the benefit changes proposed by the amendment. Such actuarial study shall be available to the public and a summary of the actuarial study shall be published in the ballot pamphlet.
(c) Nothing in subsection (a) of this section shall prevent the County from negotiating tentative agreements with employee organizations for benefit increases permitted by state law provided, however, that no tentative agreement for an increase in benefits, with the exception of statutorily-established cost of living adjustments, of any employee, legislative officer or elected official under such retirement system, shall become binding or effective until approved by a majority of those qualified electors voting on the matter. The Board of Supervisors shall have no authority to enter into final or binding agreements with any bargaining unit regarding retirement system benefit increases until and unless those increases to retirement system benefits are approved by a majority of those qualified electors voting on the matter.
(d) The provisions of this section shall become operative on January 1, 2009.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Funny that Moorlach has proposed this AFTER spiking his own pension.
July 15th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I’m not sure which is worse, this proposition or Mainero’s singing.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
More political grandstanding by dumb & dumber aka: moorlach & mainero!
July 16th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Great idea, but it’s “closing the barn door after the horse has escaped.” The measure definitely should be supported, but don’t expect it to solve our existing problems.
Voters in the city of San Diego approved this same measure a couple of years ago — but again, too late.
I doubt we will be seeing further expansion of the government pension packages — the jig is up. Too late, voters know they’ve been hoodwinked. But we won’t be fooled again.
Now’s the time to look at every Orange County function that possibly can be put out to competitive bid. San Diego County has made modest but quite successful efforts in their “managed competition” efforts. All governments should get MUCH more aggressive about this.
For instance, cities and counties should be looking to put their library operations out to competitive bid, as did Riverside County years ago.
With current bloated government salaries and pensions, the savings to taxpayers from contracting out, privatization, competitive bidding and managed competition should start at 40%.
July 16th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
We just need to cut the pay scales-and this is expecially true of the GED educated cops and FF’s pulling down $200K per year in compensation. Cut cop and FF pay in half-and they would still be making 5 times more than what they would get in the private sector with that GED.
That would solve 99% of the financial problems
July 16th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Tired of the “private” sector employees always whining! If you think us public employees have it so well then apply for a government job! Oh wait, you may have to pass a background check.
Let’s outsource every single american job oversees, let’s outsource our military. You people are a joke. You know, outsourcing breeds it’s own slew of problems (corruption, money pits, bribery).
I pay taxes too, and I’d rather my taxes go to competent public employees who fight crime, fight fires, process my building permit or do any other public service for me.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Get over it people Says:
July 16th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Tired of the “private” sector employees always whining! If you think us public employees have it so well then apply for a government job! Oh wait, you may have to pass a background check.
===============
Oh wait, a gov welfare queen trying to make the case that their GED is worth $200K per year.
Fail!
July 16th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
So the voters will make the decisions for the supervisors. We might as well get rid of the board of supervsiors and let the voters decide all issues if they can decide one as dificult as this. Safety possesions in the county can’t even fill all their vacancies with the cureent pensions Moorjach is whining about. This corrupt idiot needs to be recalled!