Benefits
The attacks on public employee pensions in California have not let up, but recent events reflect a goal of our own regarding retirement benefits. Recently, the City of San Diego was moving forward with a plan to have city employee pensions and benefits go before the citizens in a citywide vote this November.

Since it is a presidential election, there will be a high voter turnout. The city planned to paint its employee unions as having lavish pensions and benefits, so voters would vote against increased benefits. In effect, the city would blame the unions for all of the financial woes of the city. Never mind the fact that these same pensions and benefits were negotiated in good faith by people in the same city government seats as the people who now oppose them—it was just one mayor and few city councils ago.

Everyone seems to forget that the whole underfunded mess in San Diego occurred because those previous office holders chose to use the money from the pension funds for other city projects. An agreement has been reached between the employee unions and the city, which prevents the final decision from going to the voters.

I bring this matter before you, because buried in the agreement is the phrase that the city will allow the unions to start a medical trust. That’s right, the conservative City of San Diego is going to allow the unions to start up a medical trust. We have stated before that we are working towards being allowed by the county to initiate and implement our own trust to help fund retiree medical health care.

Please understand that I know the difference between what we desire to have and what the city is allowing their employees to start up. I simply wish to make reference to the concept that having and implementing the use of a trust is a viable and financially sound concept that can and will work for us if we are given the opportunity.

Deferred Comp
Nationwide Retirement Services has been chosen as the new service provider of record for the County’s Deferred Compensation plan. Plan Administrator Dan McAllister and members of his staff spoke to the DSA board regarding this proposed change. He provided us with a FAQ sheet, along with insight as to the how the bid process and final recommendation to the board of supervisors was decided on.

Some of the benefits of this change include lower administrative costs, financial planning services by a certified financial planner, and the ability to conduct online transactions. We will do our best to keep you informed as to the actual start up date for Nationwide. Do yourself a favor and be prepared to make time for an appointment with the CFP as soon as this benefit becomes available. You may feel that now is not the time (financially), but take it from me, it’s better to start now with a few dollars than trying to play catch up later in your career.

Taking Time Off
When the department had nearly 200 positions to fill, trying to get time off was somewhat difficult. According to the department, we are almost even or at least very close to what may be considered full staffing. However, we are now receiving word that trying to take vacation time when you’ve reached, or are coming close to, your high water mark is still a challenge. I’m not crying wolf at this point, nor is it something that is of dire concern. However, we all need to work together, so that the process is fair and not a challenge. Asking someone to take off Wednesdays when he or she works Monday through Friday is not exactly what I had in mind as fair. Nor is denying vacations for July, August, and September. So take a few moments to work with your supervisors, but if that doesn’t work, bring in the denied slips, and we’ll talk.

By the way, for those of you who lost comp time, because you didn’t use it before the cut off date, I must advise you that we warned you two years ago that this would happen. We then advised you again last year when we received an extension that accommodated those of you who had high comp time totals. Basically, we let you know that you would lose the time if you did not use it. If you lost time, we are sorry that we cannot help you.

Our summer event is just around the corner, and I hope to see many of you there. Director Steve Purvis and the DSA staff have worked hard to get this event off the ground, so take advantage of their hard work and join us on August 16. We’ve reserved the pier at Knott’s Soak City for DSA members only, so come out and enjoy some great food and games with your family.

Take care, stay healthy, and be safe this summer. 