See Also: Index of all Measures

Meaning of Voting Yes/No

A YES vote of this measure means:

You want to amend the Charter to allow the City to provide a voluntary program for eligible police officers and firefighters to continue to work for the City while having their pension benefits held in a special account payable upon retirement.

A NO vote of this measure means:

You do not want to amend the Charter to allow the City to provide a voluntary program for eligible police officers and firefighters to continue to work for the City while having their pension benefits held in a special account payable upon retirement.

The proposal is a Charter amendment that would:

• allow the City to adopt a Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) for members of the Police and Fire Departments to provide an incentive to retain experienced police officers and firefighters and attract new officers.

• specify adoption of an ordinance describing the DROP program using the same procedures that are currently specified in the Charter, i.e., with approval by two-thirds of the membership of the Council, following a thirty-day period after first presentation and public hearing and a report by an enrolled actuary.

• specify the basic parameters of the DROP program and require that no ordinance could be so adopted, unless the program is cost neutral (as defined by an actuary) and has a five-year window period, after which the program would be reviewed and could be continued by ordinance.

For each year that police officers and firefighters work for the City, they earn a percentage of their annual salary that is paid to them when they decide to retire. As long as they work, the percentage continues to increase up to a maximum of 70%. At the time that police officers and firefighters decide to join this program, the percentage of their annual income that they earn is fixed and not increased, and they will be paid that percentage of their annual salary once they retire.

For instance, an officer who worked for 25 years will earn 55% of her/his annual pay in retirement. If such an officer earned $50,000 per year, then her/his annual retirement benefit would be $27,500 for the rest of her/his life. For each additional year worked, she/he would earn 3% more of her/his annual pay up to a maximum of 70%. So if such an officer worked 29 years, then she/he would earn 67% of her/his annual pay, or in this case $33,500.

If an officer decided to join the alternative plan after having worked 25 years, then her/his annual pension benefits would be $27,500 for the rest of her/his life after retiring from the Department. During the 4 additional years that she/he works for the force, they City would deposit as much as $27,500 per year, or in this case, a total of $110,000, into an account. When she/he retires, such an officer would collect her/his pension benefit of $27,500 per year and would also have $110,000 for her/his retirement that she/he could take in a lump sum or in an annuity.

We are not the only city to face this problem. San Diego, San Jose, Houston, Dallas and Baltimore have faced similar problems and come up with a common solution - a deferred retirement option plan. Charter Amendment 2 will allow the City to develop a system to retain experienced officers and firefighters instead of losing them to other employment. Charter Amendment 2 requires that the plan must be cost neutral to the City and reviewed in five years to evaluate its impact.

In other jurisdictions where similar plans have been implemented, there has been improvement in morale and the police force has become more mature and experienced. This program will help us reduce the number of retirements for the next few years while we work to improve our recruitment results.

This deferred compensation is cost neutral to the City and promises to increase the experience and maturity of our police and fire departments. We have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Support public safety and VOTE YES ON CHARTER AMENDMENT 2.

Richard J. Riordan, Mayor, City of Los Angeles

Bernard C. Parks, Chief of Police, Los Angeles Police Department

Mike Feuer, Councilmember, 5th District

Rocky Delgadillo, Deputy Mayor, City of Los Angeles

Cindy Miscikowski, Councilmember, 11th District; Chair, Public Safety Committee

Mitzie Grasso, President, Los Angeles Police Protective League

Joel Wachs, Councilmember, 2nd District; Member, Public Safety Committee