Did not expect a resolution.
Hey, check out what I found (man is this on the MONEY!!!!!)!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
http://stephaniegomes.com/2008/06/truth-is-hate-s…
According to my friends who read our local newspaper's blogs (I tell them to stay away from them -- the nastiness can't be good for them), anyone who opposes unsustainably high public safety salaries and benefits in Vallejo is called a "hater." We are called "haters" because apparently the, "if you're not with us, you're against us" mentailty reigns. The alleged "haters" are accused of hating all police officers and firefighters.
We don't hate police officers and firefighters. We hate the tactics their unions are using against our city and our community. We hate the fact that nearly nearly 80 percent of our general fund goes to public safety and unsustainably high salaries and benefits, leaving only approximately 20 percent for other necessary city services. We hate the fact that our streets are riddled with potholes, our trees are overgrown, our libraries are closing and our senior centers are reducing programs and services to seniors in need. We hate the fact that we want our city back, and we can’t do that until we regain control of our own city checkbook again.
We are not haters. We are Vallejo citizens who have a right to demand services for the taxes we are paying. We have a right to decide if our taxes are being spent wisely and if not, to demand a change that will do so. We have a right to complain about gross inequities. And we have a right to complain about any abuse of the public trust. — January 27, 2009 6:28 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Johnny, DeMaio says that benefits cost 61% of salary. You say they cost 100%. You can't both be right. Which one of you is lying? ================================ I think I am correct because I have seen the 3%50 pension payments for Contra Costa County, where they are posted online as a FOIA request from the CC Times. The CCC sheriffs are receiving 60% of base pay in pension contributions. Add in the 14 paid holidays, the 12 paid sick leave days, the 5 weeks (25 days) average of paid vacation and the medical and dental benefits (I won't even count education pay, longevity pay, language pay, vehicle use and all the other freebies) and you have some major $$$$ to account for full compensation. BTW-this did not include any OT either-which have copious amounts built-in to these jobs.— January 28, 2009 11:15 a.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
The Vallejo City Council voted 5 to 2 late Tuesday night for a controversial and heavily debated deal that will mean fewer cops on the streets, but also could save millions for the bankrupt city. ================================ A SMALL victory for Vallejo with 25% of it's union work force (PD only). Vallejo had had the PD on the ropes and could have delivered a knock out punch, but instead gave the PD a standing 10 count. The POA came out OK, much better than what I would have allowed as a member on their council. I feel sorry for the other 3 unions-especially the FF union-they are going to take it in the shorts.— January 28, 2009 11:08 a.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Never did I write that the multiplier was 2.9999 at 50. I very clearly wrote, "At the age of 55 the pension multiplier increased from 2.9999% to 3.0% for an increase of .0001%. At the age of 50, the pension increased from 2.5% to 3.0%, or 17%." ========================== JF, you have stated here, and on multiple other occassions, that the OLD system paid 2.99% with NO cap. That is not true. And under the old system if you worked to age 55 you would get LESS (88%+) than you get today at age 50 (90%), and if you did work to age 58 you would still get LESS than 100%, after losing 8 years of pension payments and putting in 8 extra years of work. Your entire claim that the old system paid more than the current one is pure baloney. The 3%@50 is light years ahead of the old system from a financial point of view. Old system paid 2.5%, and you had to work to age 55 if you wanted the 2.99%, and only AFTER age 55 did you earn 2.99%. BTW, the the pension did NOT; "At the age of 50, the pension increased from 2.5% to 3.0%, or 17%". At age 50 the pension was 2.5%, at 51 it went to 2.6%, 52 to 2.6%, AND SO FORTH. The old system is far inferior to the 3%@50 pension of today.— January 27, 2009 10 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Don't forget, we also took a "real" 5% pay cut in 1993. ====================================== Wow JF, a 5% cut over 16 years ago- how did you survive???? ...(not counting the huge increases in both pay and benefits since)..................— January 27, 2009 7:36 p.m.
L.A. Times Says Chargers Closer to Moving North. Fabiani Suggests It's True
You nailed Golding to the T. She colluded with Spanos. He funded her political ambitions and she gave away the taxpayer store. Im begining to think this is/has been going on at every level of government since time began.— January 27, 2009 7:33 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Did not expect a resolution. Hey, check out what I found (man is this on the MONEY!!!!!)! Saturday, June 28, 2008 http://stephaniegomes.com/2008/06/truth-is-hate-s… According to my friends who read our local newspaper's blogs (I tell them to stay away from them -- the nastiness can't be good for them), anyone who opposes unsustainably high public safety salaries and benefits in Vallejo is called a "hater." We are called "haters" because apparently the, "if you're not with us, you're against us" mentailty reigns. The alleged "haters" are accused of hating all police officers and firefighters. We don't hate police officers and firefighters. We hate the tactics their unions are using against our city and our community. We hate the fact that nearly nearly 80 percent of our general fund goes to public safety and unsustainably high salaries and benefits, leaving only approximately 20 percent for other necessary city services. We hate the fact that our streets are riddled with potholes, our trees are overgrown, our libraries are closing and our senior centers are reducing programs and services to seniors in need. We hate the fact that we want our city back, and we can’t do that until we regain control of our own city checkbook again. We are not haters. We are Vallejo citizens who have a right to demand services for the taxes we are paying. We have a right to decide if our taxes are being spent wisely and if not, to demand a change that will do so. We have a right to complain about gross inequities. And we have a right to complain about any abuse of the public trust.— January 27, 2009 6:28 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
"Capped" refers to the 2.99%...NOT the number of years multiplier. In the new system the most you can earn under the non-Corbett adjusted formula is 90% no more. Under the old system you could conceivably have 40 years of service at 2.99% per year or 119.6%. For such an educated fellow you sure are dense. By JustWondering ==================================== Oh brother-I do have to spoon feed this to you. Here we go- “capped” does NOT refer to the 2.99%, it refers to the highest accrual rate under the 2.5% multiplier ( 2.99% at age 55) as of March 31, 1997; (g) “If the Unmodified Service Retirement Allowance of a Safety Member exceeds 90% of Final Compensation using the Retirement Calculation Factors in effect on January 1, 1997, as shown in Table 1 of Section 24.0403 on a date after January 1, 1997, but before April 1, 1997,**** that Safety Member may elect to accrue benefits in excess of the 90% limitation stated in Section 24.0403(e), provided, however, that such *****accrual shall cease at the level attained on March 31, 1997.***” OK JW, there it is verbatim (with my *** added in), the member may go with the OLD formula, BUT if they do their accrual of years shall CEASE on 3-31-1997. The cap does NOT refer to the 2.50 multiplier, but the number of years/amount of time you can accrue such credits-once you hit 3-31-97 you could not add in anymore years-not at 2.5, not at 2.9, not at any other multiplier.— January 27, 2009 4:37 p.m.
L.A. Times Says Chargers Closer to Moving North. Fabiani Suggests It's True
They can't move because there is no capital for the funding of a billion dollar football stadium- even in the good times it would require a major financing miracle. Just a Spanos bluff to con more money out of San Diego. I hope the sheep here don't fall for another Spanos scam.— January 27, 2009 4:23 p.m.
San Diego Home Prices Down 38 Percent from Peak Three Years Ago
It will be up to the National Bureau of Economic Research to declare if a depression started in September (the month in which Lehman Bros. went under, among many calamities). ============================ I can tell you this, I was in real estate the last big downturn, which was 90-96, and the commercial real estate market was wiped out. Many people were referring to it as a depression (even though it was not a depression-it felt that way in commercial real estate). Donald Trump lost his a$$ during those years and he referred to that downturn as a depression. 90% of apartment complexe sales and at least 50%+ of ALL retail, office and industrial real estate sales in that period were REO (bank owned) properties. Bank owned selling drove prices to rock bottom. Class A office lease space in UTC, Downtown, anywhere, was fetching just $1.50 a square foot full service-peanuts. Sam Zell bought a UTC office tower for $114 a sq sqaure foot in 1994, which was valued at $400 per square foot in 1989 . That's how bad it got. Today is worse, much worse because of the job loss. Jobs are the key. Jobs make the economy go round. Without jobs everything falls apart. We have lost close to a million Fortune 500 jobs within the last 4 months alone. I could not even guess how many small business jobs were lost-and small business accounts for over 80% of all jobs in America. This makes 90-96 look like a day at he beach. This is much worse than that, it is much broader, the job loss has been much more severe and I predict it will get much worse before it gets better. 2010 MAY be the turning point, but it may go past 2010. It is certainly not going to turn within the 2009 calander year.— January 27, 2009 3:14 p.m.
San Diego City Employees pension fund ailing
Don, can you please go to the muni benefit page JW linked to, go to code 24.0403, sections (e) and (g), and also review the % received in Table 1, and then tell JW who is correct.— January 27, 2009 3 p.m.