League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Santa Clara County, CA June 5, 2012 Election
	Measure B Pension Reform City of San Jose City Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required Pass: 95,716 / 69.02% Yes votes ...... 42,964 / 30.98% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure B

Arguments Against Measure B

Annual retirement costs skyrocketed from $73 million to $245 million over the last decade, causing service cuts throughout the city. The City's share of retirement costs exceeds 50% of payroll, far more than the 6.2% of payroll private employers pay for social security. Retirement costs consume more than 20% of the general fund and are projected by independent actuaries to increase for years. This is unsustainable. Many city retirees receive more than $100,000 per year, plus healthcare benefits. Future generations of taxpayers will have to pay billions of dollars for unfunded liabilities created by the retirement plans. Measure B would protect retirement benefits already earned by current employees but would reduce the cost to the city by making changes going forward. It would not cut current payments to retirees. It would prohibit spiking of pension benefits. Current city employees will pay a larger share of the cost of retirement benefits, a step already taken by over 200 California cities. New employees and the city would share the cost of retirement benefits with a 50/50 match in a new lower-cost plan. Over 100 California cities have adopted lower-cost plans for new employees. City employees are presently paying less than 1/4 of the cost of their retirement benefits. Private sector employees usually pay 1/2 of the cost. Measure B will require current city employees to pay more than 1/3 of the cost of their retirement benefits and new city employees to pay 1/2 of the cost of their retirement benefits. The City Charter gives the voters the right to change retirement benefits. The city will seek judicial review before changes are implemented to minimize legal disputes. Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Nguyen, and Councilmembers Constant, Herrera, Liccardo, and Oliverio support Measure B. Vote yes on Measure B for pension reform. http://www.sanjosefiscalreforms.com Chuck Reed Mayor of San Jose Matthew Mahood President & CEO, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce John Roeder President, Santa Clara County Taxpayers Association Suzanne Salata San Jose Small Business Owner Fernando R. Zazueta Attorney at law Rebuttal to Arguments For City politicians distorted San Jose's budget and pension issues and now they've put a pension measure on the ballot that their own attorneys have declared "risky". Measure B won't open a single library, hire a single cop or pave a single street. San Jose can do better, Vote No on Measure B. City employees don't receive Social Security and the average federated pension is $37,885; employees rely on their pension for retirement security. How would you feel if Congress slashed your Social Security? It's just not right. Recently, city employees took pay cuts of 10% to 18%. They contribute up to 17% of pay toward retirement and Measure B could boost that to 33%. When combined, about half an employee's paycheck evaporates before paying for taxes, groceries, rent, mortgage or gas. That's not fair and that's not what was promised. City politicians tried to declare a "fiscal emergency" even though there's now a budget surplus and made up pension projections that were inflated by hundreds of millions over actual costs. Politicians continue to recklessly spend on fixing roads near a proposed sports stadium and on supporting the Downtown Association. The California State Auditor has been ordered to get to the bottom of San Jose's fiscal shenanigans in an attempt to bring sanity to local budgeting. Tell the City to negotiate legal pension reform - Vote No on B! http://www.sanjosecandobetter.com Helen Chapman Former Chair, San Jose Parks Commission Pattie Cortese San Jose Taxpayer James M. Spence President, Association of Retired San Jose Police Officers & Firefighters John S. DiQuisto Retired Captain, San Jose Fire Dept. Cay Denise MacKenzie San Jose City Analyst

Here's what Measure B backers aren't telling you: It could eliminate disability retirements for police and firefighters injured on the job and unable to perform their previous duties, it increases by thousands of dollars the amount widows and seniors pay for promised health care, and the City admitted that Measure B may not be constitutional because it violates employees' vested rights. Measure B is riddled with legal risk. Read what City Hall told Wall Street bond investors about its pension scheme: "Finally, existing law regarding vested rights and impairment of contracts may limit the City's ability to change retirement benefits for current employees and retirees...". But city officials never even tried to offer taxpayers a way to achieve any savings that would stand up in court. Legal pension reform is important, but so are facts. City workers recently took 10%-18% pay cuts and don't receive Social Security. The average federated pension is approximately $37,885. Employees proposed dozens of legal pension reforms that would have increased retirement ages, reduced benefit levels, and lowered COLA's. Police and fire even proposed to cut pensions back to 1972 levels. Putting politics above policy, politicians said "NO". Now, these same politicians want you to gamble with our City's financial future. In December, as an excuse for putting this measure on the ballot, politicians unsuccessfully tried to declare a fiscal emergency and described catastrophic cuts to city services. Now, all of a sudden, there is a $10 million budget surplus and millions to improve roads near a proposed sports stadium and to subsidize the Downtown Association. This pattern of inaccurate financial projections, meant to scare voters, helped convince the State's Joint Legislative Audit Committee to audit the City of San Jose's finances. Tell the city to negotiate legal pension reform, Vote NO on Measure B! http://www.sanjosecandobetter.com  Helen Chapman Former Chair, San Jose Parks Commission Pattie Cortese San Jose Taxpayer James Spence President, Association of Retired San Jose Police Officers & Firefighters John S. DiQuisto Retired Captain, San Jose Fire Dept Cay Denise MacKenzie, San Jose City Analyst Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure B follows California law. The California Constitution grants the City authority to change employee compensation. The City Charter gives voters the right to change retirement benefits. The Municipal Code allows the City to require employees to pay more for retirement benefits, which is an element of Governor Brown's pension reforms and was recommended by the Santa Clara County Grand Jury. Governor's Proposal: http://gov.ca.gov/docs/Twelve_Point_Pension_Reform_10.27.11.pdf Grand Jury Report: http://www.scscourt.org/court_divisions/civil/cgj/2010/CitiesMustReinInUnsustainableEmployeeCosts.pdf Measure B would also allow employees who wish to pay less for retirement benefits to choose a lower cost optional plan that saves them and the City money. Upon voter approval of Measure B, the city will immediately seek a judicial review to minimize the cost of legal disputes. See the legal opinion of outside counsel: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/mayor/goals/budget/PDF/MeyersNavePublicLegalOpinion.pdf A Stanford report found that San Jose public safety retirees' average annual pension benefit ($90,612) is the highest of any independent pension system in California. http://siepr.stanford.edu/system/files/shared/pubs/papers/pdf/Nation_More_Pension.pdf The City Auditor found that disability retirements among San Jose's sworn employees are considerably higher than other jurisdictions and 67% of fire retirees were receiving disability retirement payments. Some employees granted disability retirements were working full time in their regular job right up to when they separated from the City. The Auditor recommended the City charter be amended to reform the system. http://www.sanjoseca.gov/auditor/AuditReports/1102/1102.pdf The City engaged in hundreds of hours of negotiations with 11 employee unions, including 20 sessions with state mediators, but was unable to reach agreement on language for Measure B. Vote yes on Measure B. http://www.sanjosefiscalreforms.com Marcia Fritz President, California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility Dakin Sloss Director, California Common Sense James Duran Chair, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Silicon Valley Brian J. Blach Pension Consultant Donald P. Gagliardi Attorney at Law

Full Text of Measure B

Click Here for Full Text of Measure B