Here's something you might be interested in.
On Oct. 22 on this blog (see below), I published information from the San Diego Retired Employees' Association (SDCERS), a group of retired City employees. According to notes taken by a reliable amanuensis, the president of the organization told members at their Oct. 14 meeting that assets of the retirement system had plunged to $3.92 billion. (They had been above $5 billion at one point.) The assets were said to be down $859 million, but it wasn't clear from what date they were down that amount. City Attorney Mike Aguirre said today (Oct. 27) that three days after that Oct. 14 meeting, City officials certified the fiscal year 2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), using an outdated pension asset value of $4.32 billion. Importantly, the City hopes to sell new water municipal bonds. Under questioning from Aguirre, the City's outside bond disclosure counsel said that the matter "may be troublesome." He said that the new information should be made public at this time, particularly since the Securities and Exchange Commission has sharply criticized the City for past inaccuracies in bond filings. Revealing the new, lower figure may be prudent. Investors may need the information. I emailed the report of the retirees' Oct. 14 session to SDCERS on Oct. 21, requesting comment. That evening, SDCERS said it could not validate the $3.92 billion number because the investment staff was unavailable and SDCERS could not reach the president of the retirees' group. I then posted the $3.92 billion figure, having reason to believe that it was accurate.
On Oct. 22 on this blog (see below), I published information from the San Diego Retired Employees' Association (SDCERS), a group of retired City employees. According to notes taken by a reliable amanuensis, the president of the organization told members at their Oct. 14 meeting that assets of the retirement system had plunged to $3.92 billion. (They had been above $5 billion at one point.) The assets were said to be down $859 million, but it wasn't clear from what date they were down that amount. City Attorney Mike Aguirre said today (Oct. 27) that three days after that Oct. 14 meeting, City officials certified the fiscal year 2007 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), using an outdated pension asset value of $4.32 billion. Importantly, the City hopes to sell new water municipal bonds. Under questioning from Aguirre, the City's outside bond disclosure counsel said that the matter "may be troublesome." He said that the new information should be made public at this time, particularly since the Securities and Exchange Commission has sharply criticized the City for past inaccuracies in bond filings. Revealing the new, lower figure may be prudent. Investors may need the information. I emailed the report of the retirees' Oct. 14 session to SDCERS on Oct. 21, requesting comment. That evening, SDCERS said it could not validate the $3.92 billion number because the investment staff was unavailable and SDCERS could not reach the president of the retirees' group. I then posted the $3.92 billion figure, having reason to believe that it was accurate.