Pension Reform Measure Officially on June Ballot

The San Diego City Council on Monday officially called a primary election for June 5 and placed proposed initiatives on the ballot to reform the pension system and ban the city from imposing agreements with organized labor on municipal construction projects.

The actions came on a series of mostly unanimous votes. Councilwoman Marti Emerald dissented a couple of times, preferring that the issues go before voters in the November general election.

The votes also authorized the city auditor and independent budget analyst to conduct fiscal analyses of the measures, and for the city attorney to prepare ballot titles and summaries. In the case of the pension reform initiative, the council directed the City Attorney's Office to retain outside counsel because City Attorney Jan Goldsmith is perceived to be a supporter.

"The appearance here is what matters, and the appearance is the city attorney is not impartial," said Michael Zucchet, the head of the Municipal Employees Association.

Goldsmith said he accepted the need for "another set of eyes" to look at the summary that will be presented to voters.

Supporters say the initiative would save the city money in the future by giving new employees—other than police officers—401(k) plans instead of enrolling them in the debt-ridden pension system, and by placing a five-year cap on compensation that can later be calculated into a worker's retirement pay. The employee would still be eligible for raises and bonuses, but the extra money wouldn't be eligible for figuring out a pension amount.

Councilman David Alvarez proposed having the City Council place a competing measure on the ballot, which would include the five-year freeze on "pensionable pay" but not the 401(k) component, which he said would cost the city $95 million in the first six years. His suggestion was not acted upon immediately.

The initiative on construction projects would bar the city from placing project labor agreements (PLAs) on municipal construction projects.

Opponents contend that PLAs are unfair to non-union shops that try to bid for contracts, and raise the costs of projects.

Supporters say PLAs ensure labor peace, meaning the projects will get done on time, and provide reasonable pay and benefits for local workers.

PLAs are illegal in the county of San Diego and the cities of Chula Vista and Oceanside. The state recently passed legislation that puts charter cities at risk of losing state funding assistance for municipal projects if they ban the agreements.

-City News Service