So yes, we’re still opposing the measure.
Today, June 8’s issue of USA Today talks of public pensions and their risk of shortfall. Only 13% of private employers have pensions, while 73% of public employers have them. Why does California consider these perks contractually unalterable while private employers can do whatever? Query the California Rule on the internet.
I worked 45 years and retired nine years ago with only Social Security — at that time $1,957 per month. That was based on 40 quarters plus of work, factored in for those 45 years — not based on my last highest earned year like so many public pensions. My last employer waited after my 10th anniversary before starting an EMPLOYEE PAID 401(K), only to disband it completely after about five or six years, having previously dropped a minimal match before that. Why wasn’t my plan a contractual obligated plan like government?
All of government loves to raise taxes because they pay their salaries. The upcoming sales tax proposal is morally as well as financially wrong. We are told it will be for roads, public safety etc. It will not so long as it goes into the General Fund on a simple majority vote. Demand that all salaries and benefits be voted on by those that pay – Chicoans and not council and DO the right thing – disregard the California Rule making pensions in perpetuity before bankruptcy forces changes.
Tell public employees to pay their own way through life not borne by the likes of me.
Joe Azzarito, Chico CA
Chico Taxpayers Association 
Most of the electorate is ignorant. They vote for the promises and fail to see the truth. This is a PENSION TAX. You could jack the sales tax to 15% and within a few years the roads would be ruined again. NOT ONE TAX INCREASE OF ANY KIND SHOULD BE EVEN TALKED ABOUT UNTIL FULL PENSION REFORM. PERIOD.
thanks Jon, I think the electorate is being willfully misled by $taff.
Orme says we’re broke, first blames the Camp Fire, then later we find out – “the Camp Fire was good for us” – those were his exact words. Now, admitting we’re ahead of budget, he and his toadies Constantin and Dowell claim COVID is going to put us back in the red – sounds familiar, that’s just what he said in December 2018 about the Camp Fire evacuees.
The budget report they gave at the June 9 meeting was good, they’ve said again and again, we’re ahead of last year. But they still want a tax increase, threatening services AGAIN. They won’t talk about the real hole in our boat – the pension stabilization payments. Dowell mentioned that very briefly in an April report – despite the uncertain future, he will make the scheduled $9 million payment toward the UAL. $7 million in 2018, $8 million in 2019, now $9 million. You’re right – their pensions will eat any tax increase. These pensions are simply unsustainable, for lack of a better word.
Actually, looking at comments on Chico Engaged, I think the voters are finally getting it. It’s up to us to keep spreading the truth. At least it tastes and smells better than the crap Mark Orme and his $taff are spreading.
And if anyone doubts what I told that person who indicated possible support for a tax increase, just go back to the Tuesday’s city council meeting and listen to Reynolds who wants a “dedicated” tax increase.
She said if they go for a “dedicated” tax it will “free up money” to spend elsewhere. What money exactly? Why the money that is already going to what the dedicated tax is for. And the elsewhere is to CalPERs.
The fact is all of the members of the city council want to take more of your money and they have absolutely no interest in reforming the unfunded liabilities because they are all tools of special interests.
They don’t represent you and never will.
The people pushing the 2/3rds measure are going to be very disappointed if they get what they are proposing. In comments here https://chico-ca.granicusideas.com/ideas/chico-city-tax-increase I posted this in response to a potential tax increase supporter:
“If the sales tax was designated for a specific purpose, I may support it…”
Why? They will just funnel more of the money that is currently going for that specific purpose to the pensions, other post-employment benefits, etc. Money is fungible, so they will play shell games. Don’t be fooled.
And
The unfunded liabilities, mainly pensions and OPEB, are unsustainable. No city in this state has fixed that problem with tax increases. Until the unfunded liabilities are reformed you will face ever increasing taxes, and your roads and other infrastructure will continue to be terrible.
Orme, Constantin and Dowell obviously know how the politicians and bureaucrats of many other cities conned the voters into passing tax increasesthat only kicked the pension problem down the road a few years when they demand more taxes. And they want to do the same thing to us.
Sure, they want to raise it a full percent and make it permanent but if all they get is what Ory is proposing they will run with it. Sacramento did this. Took a sales tax that was temporary, doubled it and made it permanent. That’s how Ory’s tax increase will turn out if we don’t fight it.
“Sacramento did this. Took a sales tax that was temporary, doubled it and made it permanent.”
Thanks Dave, I couldn’t remember which nearby city just did it, and yeah, it was Sacramento. And then voters got really pissed because Steinberg made all these promises about neighborhood funding and then ended up using the money to fund expensive rec facilities in richer parts of town.
I agree, I believe neither Reynolds nor Morgan has any problem with paying down the pension deficit. They’ll tell you it’s the responsible thing to do. We need to find more fiscally conservative conservatives.
All debt incurred by loans should be abolished.
Chico needs to pay off all bonds and never again get a bond.
The reason is simple.
If you have a million dollars you can live in the interest frugally.
If you owe 10,000 to a loan company like visa or a car finance company the payaff with interest is about 20,000.
My friend wanted a motorcycle and I got a loan with low interest for a year.
He did not pay enough and the loan went to 20% + . He said i already paid so much a wouldn’t pay the rest. Lesson learned.
Also i would like to mention that there is always a person who gets a kick-down for creating a loan.
Salaries are so inflated in usa because the votes are always there in house.
The worth of a good employee is a fiscal equation. Not dependant on cost of home /car/college/vacations.
Worth depends on profitability.
Worth depends on efficiency.
Worth depends on viability.
My proposal is to
1. Pay off bonds.
2. Make a fund for pensions.
3. Form a roads only division works department without any fat. No this n that person with 100k+ salaries,pensions.
Simply get 2 paving machines and 15 ish workers to dig-up the old streets that are like 6 inches deep with many crappy layers and build up new roadways that have a better life expectancy.
There are 16,000 miles of roads in chico and at a current rate of about a million dollars a mile. Adds. Up.
We have e to be able to dig-up and recycle the entire system.
If we keep kicking the can down the roadway filling potholes and waiting for a federal grant there wont be passable roads in Chico.
Thanks, good points. I’ve read that these bonds come with huge broker fees.
And this is great –
“The worth of a good employee is a fiscal equation. Not dependant on cost of home /car/college/vacations. Worth depends on profitability. Worth depends on efficiency.
Worth depends on viability.”
Our employees are like the stereotypical “Trophy Wife” – they are too high maintenance and have little practical purpose. They expect us to furnish them with lifestyles that are far our of our own reach, in fact, unsustainable at any tax rate.
I do agree we should make a determined effort to pay down existing debts – stuff a lot of Chicoans have no idea about. There is a “pension fund” – the Pension Stabilization Trust. It’s funded through allocations from each department – a percentage of the amount of that department’s total payroll. But the employees don’t put anything into it, I think that needs to change.
I remember when Chico had a road crew, it wasn’t that long ago. But no, I haven’t seen them out on the streets for years. What I’ve seen is crews that are putting new streets in new subdivisions emptying their leftover asphalt (slobbers) at the end of the day into potholes around my neighborhood. Those “patches” just get all over everybody’s cars, and then they’re gone. We need to demand the garbage franchise fee go into the street maintenance fund, as well as the franchise fees from PG&E and Comcast. We missed a chance to force developers to pay for improvements to feeder streets when they plop a new subdivision (and all those new cars) in your old hood, but that conversation is never over, it will come around again.
Thanks for commenting, please come around again!