More bad news for public employees
By Lisa Vorderbrueggen
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 2:42 pm in Contra Costa Board of Supervisors, Contra Costa County.
Contra Costa County Administrator David Twa delivered frank and sobering financial news to his board today: The next two years will be brutal, in part, due to a projected 77 percent increase the amount the county must pay for pensions.
If the county cannot cut its pension obligations, it must cut tens of millions of dollars from elsewhere in its budget in the next several years in order to cover the retirement program costs.
“Yes, the market will come back, but we will be dead in the water long before we get there,” Twa said of the current pension payment trajectory. “… There is no way to sugarcoat this.”
Based on the board members’ comments, it’s clear they intend to seek further concessions from county workers including an increase in the employees’ share of pension costs. Depending on the job, employees generally pay from a quarter to half of their annual pension payments. It’s simple math: If employees contribute more, the county’s costs go down.
It’s a tough political situation for the board, whose members have delivered little in the way of good news for either the public or their employees. The recession has hit counties hard and no one expects to see improvements soon.
Local One spokesman Rollie Katz delivered one of his classic, passionate speeches on the subject. See it below.
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December 1st, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Rollie’s speech didn’t make the jump. I want to read it because Rollie’s funnier than a hemorrhoid.
December 1st, 2009 at 4:58 pm
I read the Rollie quote in the paper, saying that requiring employees to pick up a bigger share of the pension cost would amount to a pay cut. He’s right, of course. However, the flip side of that is that doing nothing about the problem amounts to a haircut for the taxpayers — i.e., cuts in the the services that taxpayers fund for the collective health and well-being of the citizens. Less policing, less prosecution, less fire protection, less public health, less social services etc. Of course, all that means fewer county employees too. Ever think about that, Rollie?
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:08 am
Ironically, at the Walnut Creek City Council Meeting last evening, Dick Rainey, along with Sue’s son, daughter, and three grandchildren took the “Rollie Katz” seats while Sue was sworn in as Mayor. The seats don’t squeak either. That says volumes about the difference between County and Central CCC City Government.
December 3rd, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Looks like another fascinating session of the BOS.
Do they fire off a cannon from time to time to try to wake up the three or four people attending the meeting?