Pension Fund

COSTA MESA — Like so much of the debate in the city to date, a public discussion on the costs of Costa Mesa employees' benefits was a mix of optimism and pessimism, some focused on worst-case scenarios and others confident the costs will be minimal. The dichotomy extended beyond city officials and the public Tuesday night. Even the two experts the city brought in to discuss how much the city contributes to public pensions — Richard Santos from the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)

Weak investment returns will cost the city of Newport Beach around $1.73 million in additional annual pension costs starting next year, officials have calculated. The California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, revised its earnings forecast last month following a dismal 2011, when it had returns of 1.1% in the calendar year. The board cut its projected annual rate of return from 7.75% to 7.5%, due to pessimism about market prospects. The immediate effect of the decision — in pension terms, immediate means July 1, 2013 — is to increase the city's pension liabilities by about 3.8%.

A software glitch that caused Orange County to underfund its employee retirement system for nearly a decade will require it to increase pension contributions by $6 million to $7 million annually beginning in 2011 to make up the shortfall, officials said this week. The software error caused the county government and other agencies to under contribute to the pension fund by $228 million since 2001, when faulty coding was put in place; it did not account for special pay some employees receive in addition to their base salaries.

The Orange County Employees Retirement System, or OCERS, has discovered a software error that caused county agencies to under-contribute to the employee pension fund for employees receiving special pay, creating an unfunded liability of $228 million. That’s on top of the county’s existing unfunded pension liability of about $3.1 billion. The Board of Supervisors was notified of the error April 12. The error has been in place since a software update in 2003, according to OCERS, but it has now been corrected.

COSTA MESA — The City Council on Tuesday approved contracting with one law firm to see the city through its workforce outsourcing effort, and a second law firm to defend those contentious outsourcing plans in court. In a 3-1 vote, the council approved continuing to consult with Northern California-based HansonBridgett law firm at $295 to $325 an hour as Costa Mesa puts city services out for bids. Councilwoman Wendy Leece dissented. Councilman Eric Bever was absent. Costa Mesa also tapped the Jones Day law firm at $495 an hour to defend itself against a city employee group's lawsuit that challenges the proposed outsourcing.

I read Jeff Arthur's Feb. 21 letter, "Mailbag: Commentary overlooked C.M. pension obligations," which contained complaints about my previous letter, "Commentary: I have doubts about Costa Mesa's outsourcing. " I would like to respond to his complaints and point out a few other facts. Arthur complained that I offered no real alternatives to addressing the underfunded pension obligation. I will comment on that statement below. However, I would like to point out that there were no alternatives suggested in his letter, unless you consider his non-specific suggestion that we send our ideas to the City Council and that we support the council's efforts to be fiscally responsible.

For the city of Newport Beach, the economic situation seems on par with the country as a whole: small yet steady steps toward a slow recovery. City Finance Director Dan Matusiewicz shared that summation at the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce's monthly breakfast meeting Thursday morning at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. Representatives for Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, state Sen. Mimi Walters and U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher — all Republicans who serve districts that include Costa Mesa and Newport — and Newport's Deputy Public Works Director Pat Thomas were among the attendees.

Editor's note: This adds the attribution in the third paragraph. COSTA MESA — Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, who never shied away from a policy battle as mayor of Costa Mesa, now is proposing state legislation that would remove collective bargaining for public employee pensions in California. Mansoor's office announced Tuesday that he's proposing Assembly Bill 961, which would end collective bargaining for pension benefits for state employees. "As a former deputy sheriff and union member, I know how the process works," he said in a phone interview from Sacramento.

While civil service pay and pensions are frequent targets for criticism by political candidates in and outside of Costa Mesa, that's not all local police are focusing on when considering who to endorse, according to a questionnaire from the Costa Mesa Police Assn. In a 13-question survey from the Costa Mesa Police Assn. that was presented to local City Council candidates and candidates for statewide office and obtained by the Daily Pilot, only two questions pertained to police retirements and more than half were general policy questions.

For the city of Newport Beach, the economic situation seems on par with the country as a whole: small yet steady steps toward a slow recovery. City Finance Director Dan Matusiewicz shared that summation at the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce's monthly breakfast meeting Thursday morning at the Bahia Corinthian Yacht Club. Representatives for Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, state Sen. Mimi Walters and U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher — all Republicans who serve districts that include Costa Mesa and Newport — and Newport's Deputy Public Works Director Pat Thomas were among the attendees.

Pension reform is not exactly a hot topic at my dinner table. In fact, I can assure you that the words have never been mentioned at any family meal. Tuesday evening's Cost Mesa City Council study session about the city's unfunded public pension liabilities revealed that it's not an easy subject to swallow, let alone fully digest. Hired by the city to shed some light on what we're really facing, Stanford economics professor and former state legislator Joe Nation painted a bleak picture for the four council members and dozen or so community members in attendance.

I read Jeff Arthur's Feb. 21 letter, "Mailbag: Commentary overlooked C.M. pension obligations," which contained complaints about my previous letter, "Commentary: I have doubts about Costa Mesa's outsourcing. " I would like to respond to his complaints and point out a few other facts. Arthur complained that I offered no real alternatives to addressing the underfunded pension obligation. I will comment on that statement below. However, I would like to point out that there were no alternatives suggested in his letter, unless you consider his non-specific suggestion that we send our ideas to the City Council and that we support the council's efforts to be fiscally responsible.

Weak investment returns will cost the city of Newport Beach around $1.73 million in additional annual pension costs starting next year, officials have calculated. The California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, revised its earnings forecast last month following a dismal 2011, when it had returns of 1.1% in the calendar year. The board cut its projected annual rate of return from 7.75% to 7.5%, due to pessimism about market prospects. The immediate effect of the decision — in pension terms, immediate means July 1, 2013 — is to increase the city's pension liabilities by about 3.8%.

Two weeks ago, as I was riding back to the firehouse from an emergency response call, a man pulled up on the passenger side of the truck, signaling me to roll down my window. When I did, he delivered the international symbol of ultimate displeasure, shouted "Greedy union firefighters!" and sped off. It's probably worth noting that all of this occurred across from City Hall, a source these days of misinformation that creates the sort of hostility that has otherwise decent people outraged by the appearance of firefighters.

COSTA MESA — The City Council on Tuesday approved contracting with one law firm to see the city through its workforce outsourcing effort, and a second law firm to defend those contentious outsourcing plans in court. In a 3-1 vote, the council approved continuing to consult with Northern California-based HansonBridgett law firm at $295 to $325 an hour as Costa Mesa puts city services out for bids. Councilwoman Wendy Leece dissented. Councilman Eric Bever was absent. Costa Mesa also tapped the Jones Day law firm at $495 an hour to defend itself against a city employee group's lawsuit that challenges the proposed outsourcing.

COSTA MESA — Like so much of the debate in the city to date, a public discussion on the costs of Costa Mesa employees' benefits was a mix of optimism and pessimism, some focused on worst-case scenarios and others confident the costs will be minimal. The dichotomy extended beyond city officials and the public Tuesday night. Even the two experts the city brought in to discuss how much the city contributes to public pensions — Richard Santos from the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)

Editor's note: This adds the attribution in the third paragraph. COSTA MESA — Assemblyman Allan Mansoor, who never shied away from a policy battle as mayor of Costa Mesa, now is proposing state legislation that would remove collective bargaining for public employee pensions in California. Mansoor's office announced Tuesday that he's proposing Assembly Bill 961, which would end collective bargaining for pension benefits for state employees. "As a former deputy sheriff and union member, I know how the process works," he said in a phone interview from Sacramento.

Running for public office is invigorating and rewarding, even when you lose. Last September I offered some ideas to put the city of Newport Beach on a fiscal glide slope for our future economic stability. I did so out of the belief that a fiscally sustainable government enterprise is critical to ensuring that the unique, beautiful and special Newport Beach of our past continues for generations to come. At $150 million, I suggested that the new cost of the new City Hall was ridiculously expensive and the project needed to be drastically scaled back.

NEWPORT BEACH — About 35 years and 17 reports later, a solution to the Orange County Sheriff's Department Harbor Patrol funding issues could be taking shape. With critics of the department's current model arguing that the its biggest funding source — Orange County's parks fund — uses too much countywide money that services too few people, county supervisors are considering whether to require the Sheriff's Department to share the burden. In a report submitted to the board of supervisors Tuesday, county auditors took a detailed look at the funding for the Harbor Patrol, which services Newport Beach, Dana Point and Huntington Harbour.