A day of reckoning is fast approaching for San Luis Obispo and the City is asking residents what they think should be done about the skyrocketing costs of public employee retirements.
In an emailed notice from Mayor Heidi Harmon, she asks residents for input on what direction the City Council should take to address the coming cost spikes in the California Public Employees Retirement System or CalPERS.
“Like 3,000 other member agencies in CalPERS,” Harmon said, “the City is facing significant financial challenges ahead due to increased pension costs. Over the next few months, the San Luis Obispo City Council will be faced with making a decision about how best to cut $8.9 million from its budget over the next three years.”
The Mayor explains that SLO’s CalPERS costs will “more than double” over the next decade, going from the current $7.8 million a year (FY 2014-15) to $19 million in 2024-25.
And there’s no avoiding the costs either. “The City is legally required to meet the CalPERS costs,” Mayor Harmon said, “and the ‘Fiscal Health Response Plan’ will detail the path forward to offset the CalPERS increases and close the gap, which is projected at $8.9 million in the General Fund and Enterprise Funds over the next three years.” That Fiscal Health Plan is under way now and the City put together a 2-question online survey intended to start gathering input from the folks who have to foot the bill for all this.
The survey results will be presented to the City Council at its Dec. 12 meeting.
“We are seeking community feedback and ideas in developing a plan to address the pension problem,” Mayor Harmon said. “Specifically, we would like your thoughts on the following components, and your ideas about additional workable solutions.
“There is no single solution to this financial challenge and City Council will consider several components in developing the Fiscal Health Response Plan.”
Among the things the council could look at, and those that the Mayor mentioned were: finding new ways of doing business; making operational reductions; revenue options; and, employee concessions.
Readers can find the survey online at: www.peakdemocracy.com/portals/189/Issue_5508.
