Agency
faces scathing grand jury report on pensions
After being targeted in a Marin County civil
grand jury report of pension abuses, the Southern Marin Fire Protection
District is getting ready to state its case.
The report, titled “Pension Enhancements: A
Case of Government Code Violations and A Lack of Transparency,” called to task
some agencies for questionable pension enhancements. It called for responses.
“Upon receipt of the report, the district’s
board of directors and interim fire chief immediately set in motion the
required legal analysis in preparation for responding to the grand jury report
as prescribed by law,” the Southern Marin Fire Protection District stated in a
press release.
“This analysis is underway but until a
thorough investigation is complete, the board of directors and interim fire
chief felt it was imperative to communicate with the local media outlets in
regards to the grand jury report and the actions the fire district is taking.”
The grand jury was investigating expensive
pension payouts and took a hard look at the SMFPD, suggesting the agency
violated at least one state code, which called for public transparency.
“The grand jury’s investigation included an
audit of district records, and ultimately the district was one of four agencies
identified in the report as having violated government regulations with respect
to pension reform. Specifically, the Report alleges that, between 2001 and
2006, the district violated California Government Code 7507, “noted a SMFPD
statement.”
The fire district reported that California
Government Code 7507 requires cities and county entities, including fire
protection agencies, to, “...secure the services of an enrolled actuary to
provide a statement of the actuarial impact upon future annual costs before
authorizing increases in public retirement plan benefits. The future annual
costs as determined by the actuary shall be made public at a public meeting at
least two weeks prior to the adoption of any increases in public retirement
plan benefits.”
The district states that the report “provides
no specificity with respect to the district’s alleged violations. Rather, the
Report merely alleges that there are four incidents of regulatory violation(s)
of California Government Code 7507. As such, the Board has authorized
independent outside legal counsel to conduct a full audit of the Report and
provide the Board with a detailed assessment of the alleged violations.”
The grand jury report, which investigated the
County of Marin, City of San Rafael, Novato Fire Protection District and the
Southern Marin Fire Protection District, found that these employers granted no
less than 38 pension enhancements from 2001 to 2006, each of which appears to
have violated various elements of the California Government Code.
The SMFPD press report addresses Brown Act
questions but not the pension enhancements.
“The board of directors and Chris Tubbs,
interim fire chief appreciate the hard work that the members of the grand jury
voluntarily undertook to investigate these matters and issue the report, and we
want to assure the community that we take the report very seriously,” stated a
SMFPD press release. “We continually strive to ensure that the district is in
full compliance with all applicable regulations.”
The Citizens for Sustainable Pension Plans
responded strongly to the grand jury report.
“The findings of this 2015 Grand Jury further
emphasize the need for meaningful pension reform in 2016,” said CSPP member
Jody Morales. “Previous grand jury reports have been routinely dismissed by
Marin County supervisors, while officials continued to run up the tab for
Marin’s taxpayers from a surplus of $26.5 million in 2000 to a deficit of $537
million in 2013. This was done without public notice and in violation of
government codes. This should not go unaddressed.”
June
3, 2015
Mill
Valley Herald
Chris
Rooney, Marinscope contributor
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