[Marin County] Marin IJ Editorial: Pension promises need to be vetted in public

The Marin County Civil Grand Jury, in its latest report, has made a strong case for including taxpayers in the decision-making process regarding public employees’ pay and benefits.

Its report details how, for years, the public has been left out of the process of decisions about the short- and long-term enhancements of public pension benefits. Taxpayers are paying for those decisions in the form of reduced public services and increased taxes and fees.

The report focuses on decisions made between 2001 and 2006, a period when state and local government readily enhanced pay and pension benefits. At the time, those increased costs were easily covered with the double-digit returns pension funds were reaping from their investments.

The recession soured those supposedly risk-free equations, slashing investment returns and requiring governmental agencies to dig deeper into their budgets to cover the cost for pensions.

The grand jury makes a strong case that those who are paying for those mistakes — taxpayers — were intentionally left out of the loop.

The grand jury says the county Board of Supervisors, the San Rafael City Council and the Novato Fire District board failed to comply with state law that requires agencies to publicly release details, prepare up-to-date actuarial projections and give the public a chance to review and comment.

The report states: “The grand jury found that the public employers appear to have violated these requirements in a variety of ways providing little, if any, notice to the citizens of Marin County that they would be responsible in the future for hundreds of millions of dollars of pension costs.”

That responsibility is significant. Since 2000, the county pension fund’s liability has gone from a $26.5 million surplus to a deficit of $536.8 million in 2013.

These are well-meaning promises that were made. Employers, not workers and retirees, are responsible for those promises that in recent years have taken a dear toll on public budgets, causing workers to be laid off, services cut and taxes and fees increased.

The grand jury stops short of demanding these pension decisions should be voided, but it does recommend the county, city and the Novato fire board adopt clear procedures for complying with state law, ending days where pension changes were put on consent agendas for quick approval and little public review. It also recommends formation of citizens’ pension oversight committees to expand and facilitate open public review.

Given past practice of not following state code, the grand jury is offering recommendations to make sure those mistakes are not repeated. The hope is costly mistakes made virtually behind closed doors also won’t be repeated if the public is not bypassed again.

April 22, 2015

Marin Independent Journal

Editorial