The Fullerton City Council has been trying to secretly negotiate a 25 percent pension spike for government employees in closed session, violating the spirit if not the letter of the state’s open meetings law, the Brown Act, by trying to conceal the discussions on the public agenda,” according to an O.C. Register editorial.
Say it ain’t so Fullerton Councilwoman Pam Keller! This is so disappointing.
Even worse, the Register also stated that “Vallejo did “exactly the same thing” as what Fullerton is now trying to do: negotiate eye-popping benefit hikes without leveling with taxpayers.
And the City of Vallejo is now bankrupt.
The Santa Ana City Council is also voting on a pension spike proposal tonight.
It must be election season as so many local politicians are trying to curry the favor of their local public employees by spiking their pensions and offering earlier and earlier retirements.
Something has to give – and in Vallejo it did. Will Santa Ana and Fullerton be far behind?
To be doing this during the current recession is just a smack-down to the rest of the people of Orange County, who are not getting sweetheart deals at work and who are lucky to have a job in the first place. Times are tough right now – don’t these local politicians get it?
I have a feeling that the voters will make these City Councils pay in November for their fiscal ridiculousness and irresponsibility…
I wonder how they plan to “spike” the pensions. I’ve read enough of Art’s blogs to know that if the accusation is inflamatory enough there needs only the merest grain of truth to justify the spin.
Of course pension spiking is horrible and the effect on a small private pension plan can be devastating. By the way do you know why all these cities and counties are in financial trouble over their pensions? Well, I mean aside from vote grubbing politicians?
The reason is that these entities didnt want to place these funds beyond their reach. They wanted to be able to ‘borrow’ from these funds as they wished. The public employees pension system in California wont let them do that so they all created their own pension funds and now one by one they are in trouble and short of cash, in some cases the entity went bankrupt (when a government entity goes bankrupt the debt is passed along to the taxpayers who usually get less control since they blew it by electing these spendthrifts in the first place.
The PERS public employee pension is doing just fine by the way, They were even able to “forgive” the employer contribution for many public entities who are in the retirement system for several years before the current recession. Of course the entities never saw that money – the state raided it before they saw a dime.
If you want to solve your pension problems go into the PERS system, of course since you’ve been borrowing from your pension plans – like Enron – you wont be able to afford to do so.
Art,
If you are successful and win a seat on SA Council you will learn that there are two items that are “closed”. First are contractual negotiations such as price for real property (land) and personnel matters, including labor contracts. The second is pending litigation.
A member is precluded from discussing terms or conditions discussed during closed sessions. This would/could negatively impair the City’s bargining position. All votes cast in closed session are “straw” votes only. Agendized item and opportunity for discussion must take place on a properly noticed agenda.
Whether you like it or not, thats the law! Nelson broke the law by discussing bargining positions. This is one of the few area’s that an elected official is personally liable for their action as a councilmember. Also, the City would/should not legally defend a councilmember that has “knowingly” broken the law. Nelson and all councilmembers receive AB1234 training and are aware of these responsibilities.
If Nelson wanted to fight the labor contract, he and others have the opportunity to do so in public when the item is agendized.
just…asking,
The O.C. Register was hung up over the communications issue. My issue has to do with the pension spike itself. To do this now, during the Bush depression, is simply unbelievable.
It is very difficult though to head off such moves since so many council members are compromised by their public employee unions.
The city council sealed the city’s fate last night when they approved the monster increase to employees PERS benefits. Look to the city to file bankruptcy soon. They’re almost $30 million in the hole. That’s is too big a deficit to close without cutting ALL city services.
Just askin
Having just taken the AB 1234 training course let me expand the list of items that fall within the scope of Closed Sessions beyond Real Property negotiations.
License/permit determination
Conference with legal counsel–existing litigation
Conference with legal counsel-anticipated litigation
Liability claims
Threat to public services or facilites
Public employment
Public employee performance evaluation
Public employee discipline/dismissal/release
Conference with labor negotiators
Case review/planning
Report involving trade secret
Hearings
Charge or complaint involving information protected by federal law
Conference involving JPA
Audit by bureau of state audits
Larry,
Note that you list falls into two categories:
Contract negotiations and litigations, that makes it real simple.
BTW, recent decisions have removed anticipated litigation, a memo received or an actual filing of legal action must have occured to discuss in closed session.
Just askin Real simple?
Haven’t you heard that when asked to prepare a Brief attorney’s submit a 100 page document?
The detailed list I provided came directly from an ethics training course presented in a city council chamber two weeks ago by an attorney.