Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

SDCERS Board Member Who Spoke Up, Pressed for Full Disclosure, Jettisoned by Mayor

William J. (Bill) Sheffler, the board member of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System who pressed the staff and his colleagues for transparency and full disclosure, has been dropped from the board. He got a call from Jay Goldstone, the City's chief operating officer, five days ago and told that the mayor wanted to try different people on the board. Sheffler, who heads Sheffler Consulting Actuaries, had served four years. He regularly gave information to the Reader and at least one other publication that often didn't use his name, knowing that he might be considered a renegade. "It was an issue of independence," says Sheffler. The mayor "has a problem with independent board members." Explains Sheffler, "Pension boards are different from water boards or park boards. You don't have a duty to the people who appointed you. You have a duty to the participants in the plan. The mere fact that the mayor wants other people in there implies to me that he wants his own people in there to represent his interests, but his interests are not the same as the interests of the retirement plan and the interests of the plan participants." Sheffler notes that "a huge payment to the plan is due in 2010; I don't know if he wants to see the payment reduced so the City can afford it, or increased so he can have leverage against the unions." Sheffler was preparing information on a board member, John Thomson (whose term is expiring), who has represented the firefighters. "He never voted against allowing a disability pension for [firefighters]. I was in the initial stages of a study to prove that statistically." Sheffler notes that Mayor Sanders is the former police chief: "He still may have this attitude that whoever I appoint will do things the way I want them done." Sheffler says that during his tenure, "I said what was appropriate and necessary and didn't give a damn whose ox I was goring. I think the mayor understood that, and [such an attitude] doesn't make for a good political ally." Sheffler knew that other board members didn't like his outspokenness, but doesn't know if they communicated this to the mayor. Several years ago, the mayor had asked him to resign over a completely different issue, but Sheffler had refused.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Two poems by Marvin Bell

“To Dorothy” and “The Self and the Mulberry”
Next Article

The danger of San Diego's hoarders

The $1 million Flash Comics #1

William J. (Bill) Sheffler, the board member of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System who pressed the staff and his colleagues for transparency and full disclosure, has been dropped from the board. He got a call from Jay Goldstone, the City's chief operating officer, five days ago and told that the mayor wanted to try different people on the board. Sheffler, who heads Sheffler Consulting Actuaries, had served four years. He regularly gave information to the Reader and at least one other publication that often didn't use his name, knowing that he might be considered a renegade. "It was an issue of independence," says Sheffler. The mayor "has a problem with independent board members." Explains Sheffler, "Pension boards are different from water boards or park boards. You don't have a duty to the people who appointed you. You have a duty to the participants in the plan. The mere fact that the mayor wants other people in there implies to me that he wants his own people in there to represent his interests, but his interests are not the same as the interests of the retirement plan and the interests of the plan participants." Sheffler notes that "a huge payment to the plan is due in 2010; I don't know if he wants to see the payment reduced so the City can afford it, or increased so he can have leverage against the unions." Sheffler was preparing information on a board member, John Thomson (whose term is expiring), who has represented the firefighters. "He never voted against allowing a disability pension for [firefighters]. I was in the initial stages of a study to prove that statistically." Sheffler notes that Mayor Sanders is the former police chief: "He still may have this attitude that whoever I appoint will do things the way I want them done." Sheffler says that during his tenure, "I said what was appropriate and necessary and didn't give a damn whose ox I was goring. I think the mayor understood that, and [such an attitude] doesn't make for a good political ally." Sheffler knew that other board members didn't like his outspokenness, but doesn't know if they communicated this to the mayor. Several years ago, the mayor had asked him to resign over a completely different issue, but Sheffler had refused.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Copley Employees Likely to Get 5% to 15% Lower Lump Sum Benefits; If Company's Pension Plan Badly Underfunded, May Not Get Lump Sums at All

Next Article

Mike Aguirre speaks to redevelopment reformers

Chris Norby, chair of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, one of hosts
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader