To think I was going to attend a council meeting last night, I was so excited about the agendized conversation about our CalPERS costs. I’m so glad I decided to watch it on the box instead – fast forward to Item 4.4
http://chico-ca.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=705
The report itself was a barn burner. Right now we pay almost 50 percent, and within the next couple of years, the taxpayers will be on the hook for over 55 percent of the pensions, while the employees still pay their pathetic 4 – 12 percent. For pensions of 70 – 90 percent of their highest year’s earnings. Within a few more years, we’ll essentially be paying these people twice.
So Reanette Fillmer, who needs to be put out on the street in November, says there’s nothing “we” can do about it, short of suing CalPERS. And that, she says, costs a LOT of money. That, and a couple of cheap cracks from Mark Sorasssen and Randy Stone were the end of the conversation. Wow, some discussion!
Well, I don’t know who Fillmer means by “we”, but there is something “we” the voters and taxpayers can do. Sorensen, Fillmer and Coolidge are up in November, and we need to turn them out. Sorensen has insinuated he is not running again. We also have a pile of turds who want to run – including Scott Huber, who lives in Forest Ranch, according to the column he writes for the Forest Ranch newsletter. We’ve got to start vetting some real creeps, and most of all, see where they stand on the pensions issue.
Fillmer is a waster of time, with absolutely no game whatsoever.
Chico Taxpayers Association 
Fillmer is a waster of time, with absolutely no game whatsoever.
So are the rest of them and all their predecessors. They are all tools of the special interests, mainly the public employees, particularly the police and fire unions.
There never has been anyone in at least a couple of decades who represented the taxpayers. That is why this corrupt little city is in this mess. Everyone needs to remember that as they are dodging potholes.
When I was young I heard a lot of old people say that anybody who would run for public office was not to be trusted.
Oh shit – Catch 22.
“California state payroll increased by $1 billion in 2017, twice as fast as previous year”
http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/the-state-worker/article195655949.html“
“The 6 percent growth rate was not unexpected. More than half of the state’s workforce voted on labor agreements early last year that included substantial pay raises. Money for the raises was included in the 2017-18 state budget.
The largest contract, for Service Employees Union Local 1000, included one-time bonuses of $2,500 for more than 95,000 state workers. That’s worth more than $235 million in total compensation for employees the union represents.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation saw payroll increase by $452 million, or 9 percent. The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection logged an $87 million, or 13 percent, increase in payroll as the state experienced a horrible wildfire season.”
And the shyster running CalPers got a huge raise. Guess when you’re in gooberment and you run a ponzi scheme that under performs the market that qualifies you for huge raises.
And remember that 1 billion increase in state employee compensation didn’t include the state university system.
This spending on gooberment employee compensation is totally out of control. No wonder they had to ram through all those tax increases on gas, diesel and the vehicle registration tax. They had to pilfer the existing money for roads so they had to get new road money to make up for it. And the insane thing is they earmarked a chunk of that new tax increase money for things other than roads.
And this is just the beginning. I guarantee they will press for more tax increases. They have to in order to maintain all the raises they just handed out like candy. And remember, all those raises make the pension burden worse as the raises increase the salaries the pensions are based on.
And just wait until the next recession and stock market draw down. This is going to be a huge mess that the taxpayers are going to be stuck with.
It looks like the Bee’s database in that article doesn’t include benefits like the pensions. It just includes salaries plus overtime.
I know someone who is a CHP officer and he’s making nearly $200,000 a year not counting benefits. When those are factored in it’s over $280,000 and he didn’t have much overtime.
The moral of the story is that old Willie Nelson song with a twist…Mothers don’t let your babies grow up to be anything but gooberment employees…especially gooberment employess with a strong union.
You can bet that the county and city government employees will demand even more now that the state employees go big increases.
You can bet that the county and city government employees will demand even more now that the state employees got big increases.
Given the situation we’re in – that the entire country is in – I was just floored at the stupid discussion we got out of council.
What I do believe is they wouldn’t have had the discussion at all if they don’t sense a lot of criticism from the voters. That’s hopeful.
After reading that Bee article it’s clear to me they will always put government employee compensation and other special interest issues ahead, and I mean far ahead, of everything else. When a career as a California Highway Patrol man makes you a millionaire several times over just considering the pension you know the public employee unions are completely out of control.
It is crystal clear they will let the infrastructure and everything else deteriorate while at the same time bleeding taxpayers white. I hope I am wrong.
Regarding the city council you may be right about that discussion. Maybe they do feel some of the criticism, especially after that garbage tax increase and giving people no choice about what company they will do business with. I get the sense that may have something to do with the possibility Sorensen won’t run again. I also think maybe he realizes the you know what will hit the fan in the next few years and he doesn’t want to be around for that. If the you know what hits the fan the criticism the council took recently will look like praise.
I agree, and I’m disgusted with Sorensen. He talked a lot of crap when he was running, but then hired Nakamura. The first thing that caught me was Sorensen agreed to Nakamura’s demand for a clause that said he’d get a full year’s pay if he was fired. Hemet wouldn’t agree to that clause, and Nakamura immediately withdrew that demand, but here we go along with it? That was Sorensen’s doing. The rest is history.
so now he jumps ship like the rat he always was – a friend of mine was telling me it’s because he got that city manager job in Biggs, that changed his whole perspective, he made an incredible about-face from private citizen and taxpayer advocate to public employee and self-advocate.
Sorensen sure turned out to be a disappointment. I remember the blog he used to have where he talked about the city’s financial system and the pensions. It really sounded like he would be a person to do something about all this nonsense.
Instead he became a trough feeder and part of the problem. I guess he figured if you can’t beat them you might as well join them. And he sure did that.
I agree. When he was running, he really tried to present himself as a working class Joe, telling me about the years he and the wife lived in a single wide trailer on their property while they saved money to build a house. You know where he lives, don’t you? Behind that stucco wall on Manzanita, right across from the Taj Majal fire station, automatic gate, giant swimming pool, huuuuge house. Yeah Mark, you’re a real blue collar type of guy!
I got this reply from a woman named Heather Minton, who says she is running for Chico City Council:
I take a bit of offense to this:
We also have a pile of turds who want to run – including Scott Huber, who lives in Forest Ranch, according to the column he writes for the Forest Ranch newsletter. We’ve got to start vetting some real creeps, and most of all, see where they stand on the pensions issue.
I am currently running for Chico city council and I believe after reading many of your blogs, we share a lot of the same concerns. I am sure there are many places we would disagree but I am someone who is willing to see all sides and listen. I am an average chico citizen who has grown up here my entire life. I don’t own a business and my husband and I work for a living and raise our daughter. We own a home near the Lindo channel and see first hand the homeless/transient problem every day. I have a gigantic pothole literally in front of my driveway (its huge) and I want it fixed but the ridiculous backroom deal of a garbage contract that raised my rates and took away my choice is not it. I don’t want my kid in 10 years to also be paying for the pensions that are bankrupting our city either. I think the short-sightedness of the council in not allowing the sale of recreational marijuana is RIDICULOUS. Even if you are not a user or disagree with prop 64, it’s here and we might as well reap the benefits of the revenue it can generate. This is money the city needs that isn’t on the back of the taxpayers. It’s a no-brainer. I am frankly sick and tired of people who have no idea whats going on in the life of an “average” citizen making decisions for myself and my family. I have friends who own small businesses like auto shops and daycares who feel the city only cares about downtown and Sierra Nevada. They don’t feel that they are heard as a business owner in town. I consider myself a common sense progressive. I believe that most people want a government that is fiscally responsible and socially liberal. I think we desperately need new, younger, progressive voices now more than ever. I want change and it sounds like you do to.
Well, excuse me for speaking my mind!
You’re allowed to speak your mind too. You know what I’d like to hear – what you plan to do about any of that stuff. What’s your game?
I’d suggest attending meetings too. Today there is a weird new ad hoc committee meeting at 9:30 – the Intercity Transit Ad hoc committee. On Thursday at 9am there’s the Oversight Board – repayment of the millions spent in RDA money. These are issues you should know about, and if you don’t have time for the morning meetings, you better throw in the towel.
Looks like Fillmer isn’t running again anyway.
http://www.chicoer.com/general-news/20180123/vice-mayor-reanette-fillmer-not-seeking-re-election
Thanks Jim, that’s good news. I assume she fulfilled her mission of promoting taxpayer responsibility for paying the pension obligation.