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By BRETT WILKISON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Having lost a prolonged legal fight, officials overseeing the pension system for Sonoma County government have agreed to release a wider set of records showing how individual retirement benefits are calculated, including the extra pay and perks that can boost retirees’ pensions.
County officials also have agreed to pay legal fees that amounted to $93,516 for The Press Democrat, which prevailed this summer in a 2010 lawsuit seeking access to individual pension records for county retirees. The pension fund paid an additional $106,000 in outside legal costs to defend its case.
A settlement finalized Tuesday wraps up a lingering point of contention between the newspaper and pension officials over the extent of individual records subject to disclosure under a court order in the case.
In its lawsuit, the newspaper sought to force the release of retirees’ names and pension payments.
After a Sonoma County judge ordered those records released in November 2010, and an appellate court upheld that order in August, the Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement Association disclosed records showing the names and payments to 3,916 retirees, including 98 former workers who receive more than $100,000 a year.
The records, however, did not show information about retirees’ years of employment and final compensation — both of which are used to calculate pensions — or give details about retirees’ former department or job class.
Also withheld was information about extra pay and benefits county employees get on top of their salaries that can boost final compensation and increase pensions.
Thomas R. Burke, attorney for The Press Democrat, argued that data has been commonly released by other public pension systems complying with court orders and that it should have been released in the Sonoma County case.
Rather than face additional court action, the county retirement board elected recently to meet the newspaper’s expanded request for data, which also included the original amounts of retirees’ pensions, cost of living adjustments and effective dates of retirement.
SCERA officials told retirees of the decision in a letter mailed last week.
SCERA Administrator Gary Bei declined to be interviewed Wednesday. In an email he defended the pension fund’s decision to withhold the individual records and press its legal case.
SCERA officials have consistently cited a state law governing county pension funds, claiming it prohibited them from releasing individual pension records.
In the past several years, superior court judges throughout the state have ruled otherwise, and some municipal pension systems have turned over records voluntarily as a result.
But Bei and other SCERA officials said the legal landscape was not clear until a recent series of state appellate court rulings, all of which found pension records, with little exception, were not confidential.
“Under the circumstances, SCERA’s response was compelled by its fiduciary duty to its members and beneficiaries,” Bei wrote Wednesday in an email.
Sonoma County Supervisor David Rabbitt, who joined the retirement board in January after the legal fight was under way, said he could not fault the board for pressing the case.
But after the appellate court rulings involving Sonoma, Sacramento and San Diego counties showed strong favor for “more disclosure, not less,” it was clear that further wrangling was not warranted, Rabbitt said.
At that point, “the discussion was to cut (our) losses,” he said.
The retirement association is charging The Press Democrat up to about $8,000 for staff time and computer programming to collect the data.
Other newspapers have balked at the cost of expanded records requests. The Sacramento Bee, which won its legal battle to force disclosure of Sacramento County pension records, did not pursue an expanded request due to additional out-of-pocket expenses, said Pam Dinsmore, the newspaper’s community affairs director.
“The significant charges imposed by the retirement board gave us pause,” said Catherine Barnett, executive editor of The Press Democrat. “But we felt we had to get the data needed for an independent analysis as the county confronts pension reform. Too much money has already been spent all around for information we always believed should be public. It should produce something.”
SCERA officials said they expect to release the additional information at the end of January.
It will come at a time of increasing public debate over the pay and benefits earned by government employees.
Although the average pension for all Sonoma County retirees is $29,761, the average for new retirees has risen sharply in the past 10years, to $48,814 for retirees in 2011, records show.
County leaders have called the system “unsustainable” and in urgent need of overhaul. Annual county pension contributions, including debt service, have risen 360 percent since 2000, reaching $97 million for the most recent fiscal year, and are set to double in the next decade without action. The county has long-term unfunded pension promises of $249 million, and $515 million in pension bond debt.
Employees and retirees remain wary of any changes. Some also continue to protest the data disclosures, saying they skew debate about any overhaul and leave retirees open to harassment, identity theft and other offenses.
“When you start putting people’s names and faces in the paper — as you did with the people receiving the largest pensions — it makes them a target,” said Carol Bauer, a retired child protective services director for Sonoma County and president of the 1,500-member Sonoma County Association of Retired Employees.
“It just creates a whole hostility that we don’t believe will ever help pension reform,” Bauer said.
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Rob Dole gets 21K a MONTH. Our county CFO who was on the pension board and worked hard for PACE now has the top retirement package and is now with YGENE who stands to make a fortune off PACE (2nd mortgage slight of hand).
Why does he get away when those in Bell did not? Dole complains that his comp is right up there with any CFO of a 3 billion revenue company. No, it is NOT! I know the CFO of a 8 billion dollar company and he works for equity with the risk of his company going broke. Dole you were a public servant and don’t get a piece of Sonoma just be cause the blanace sheet was larger than other counties. Wonder how the package in Marin compares…
The ugly truth of the matter is that we can’t just screw people who are already retired or about to retire. That’s just wrong.
Maybe these people didn’t deserve the amount they’ll be getting but it was the VOTERS who elected the people that agreed too it.
I would have far more sympathy for the plight of the “voters” if they didn’t keep re-electing these fools but they do.
Spilled milk, clean it up & move on.
Ban all Public Employee Unions, tear up the contracts in the drawer waiting for the next round of new employees and return the occupation of “Civil Servant” to what it once was.
Suck it up & pay the benefits your elected officials agreed on your behalf too pay. If we have to close parks, lay off staff, sell some public land, etc… so be it!
@Money – yes, I read that article before responding to you. That’s why I said it was because of their salaries and not pensions, since pensions were not mentioned in the article.
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“Bell, one of the poorest cities in Los Angeles County, pays its top officials some of the highest salaries in the nation, including nearly $800,000 annually for its city manager, according to documents reviewed by The Times.”
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“Top officials have routinely received hefty annual raises in recent years. Rizzo’s contract calls for 12% raises each July, the same as his top deputy, according to documents obtained under the California Public Records Act.”
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The LA Times did its job in this case, but all of the salary info was public info. Bell is similar to the County in that their council colluded with the City Managers and other top level managers to raise both their salaries. In the County, our BOS has been raising their own salaries along with some top department heads beyond what is reasonable. The PD is now also doing their job, but it is more like “Hey, the barn door is open!” as opposed to “Hey, they are opening the barn door!” Sure, this was mentioned in articles when they happened, but there was not a lot of questioning at the time. Likewise, not much complaint from the public either.
Lets be Reasonable:
The criminals in Bell, California were not discovered due to their salaries.
You are mistaken.
The criminals in the Bell, California public sector had buried their criminal acts deep inside multiple accounts.
I might add that it was not the Office of State Attorney General who discovered the public employee crime and fraud in Bell, California as was that office’s job. They failed to do their job.
It was the private sector media that rooted out the criminals in Bell, California starting with the Los Angles Times who did the work that the State Attorney General had failed to do.
As for the cop in Lake County who just got arrested for sexual intercourse with a mere 14 year old girl and the cop in Alameda County who just got arrested for forced rape of an adult female, those two are perfect examples of public employees who forfeit their public pensions.
New York City has a law that prohibits retired cops from getting their public pensions if they are arrested as retirees or before for felony crimes such as rape. California needs such a law.
The real question is: what will the PD do with the additional details?
Sensationalize a few names for public lynching so they can sell a few more papers?
Or will they do some honest research and show which group(s) of retirees are responsible for the majority of the pension cost escalation?
Money Grubber-your comparison of CRIMINAL COPS to ordinary public workers is just plain ignorant. NOT ONE OF US in the public sector believes that what they did was ok. If proven guilty they need to spend time in prison. But you have to remember those crooked cops contributed out of their paychecks into those pension accounts and the money is theirs. If they haven’t enough years they won’t get a pension. They do have the right to withdraw that money is their contract says so. That’s law too.
I resent you and others on this post insinuating that public employees are crooks. Most of us go to our job, put in a very good effort at serving the public, then go home JUST LIKE THE REST OF THE WORKING PUBLIC. It’s OUR TAXES TOO that pay into the government coffers so some of OUR TAXES end up in our paychecks. I pay the SAME TAXES as you do including property taxes.
If fact, I think those cops you mentioned need to spend a SIGNIFICANT TIME IN PRISON if convicted and I hope they receive the SAME treatment they gave to their victims and lots of it. And I’m a progressive if you haven’t noticed. Being progressive does not mean being soft on crime. I want some of those CEOs who caused all this economic chaos to spend SIGNIFICANT time in prison too. There the reason WE ALL ARE SUFFERING.
I think we have a right to have the names an wages paid to Press Democrat employees. I want to see their retirment contributions, wages and NAMES. After all what is good for the goose…
@Money… do you blame public employees for being afraid about their pensions? As someone who is retired, I understand. It’s not selfish to feel threatened when others are attacking, especially when they cherry-pick examples to make pension packages look worse. Stephen Gale wrote an excellent Close to Home piece about this. It’s also understandable for public employees to be afraid since their pension funds’ shortfalls have nothing to do with them. Between the financial firms’ securities fraud and some fund managers risky investments (similar to Exchange Banks’ risky investments), public employees are another class of working class victims. Those of us who worked in the private se tor shouldn’t attack them and their pensions. Maybe our society no longer can think of a reliable way to manage pension funds so our workers can have reliable pensions. If not, we should say it with a sad heart without demonizing public employees and their pensions, accept our society’s limitations, and create a new pension system that is reliable. Then private sector employees should get them too. Workers deserve to retire in dignity.
@Money – “In fact, if it were not for forced public disclosure of public pensions, criminals such as those in Bell, California would be enjoying their $500,000 annual public pensions. If you think that figure is wrong, you are not aware of the massive public employee fraud that happened in that town of late.”
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Actually, disclosure of pensions had nothing to do with finding out about the Bell fraud – it was because of their salaries, which are public record. I believe that they are actually still getting their pensions. Because of this, many public agencies are considering adding language to their charters that would revoke pensions for anyone convicted of a felony related to their job duties. Even that would not cause the Lake County cop to lose his pension. You may not like it, but law in this state makes it hard to take something like pensions away from current or retired public employees. This is why it is going to be difficult to bring the escalating pension costs under control. The only way it will happen is through negotiation. I work for a public agency, and employees around me know that something needs to be done, and I believe that current employees will agree to give up some CONTRACTED benefits in order to keep their agency from falling into bankruptcy.
Grubber,
You forgot to use the $1 Trillion number. It really is much better. Once reality went out the window in the rant, none of it matters. You really had to start with criminals to help make your point? Pretty weak…
I can sympathize with the justifications given for the release of detailed data concerning public employee retirements, except the names of the individual retirees. Itemized information that an employee in a given job category making so much in salary retired on a certain date and has since received a pension of so-many dollars would satisfy all of the transparency concerns without naming the individual. Including names serves no legitimate public interest and results in the whole affair approaching lurid voyeurism.
I guess “Bear” seems to disagree with the multiple California court rulings that forced the pension boards to allow the public to see where TAX money is being used in pensions.
He also does not seem to understand the there is a difference between how TAX money is reported in public and how that is entirely different than money earned in private employment between a private employer paying wages out of private profits.
In fact, if it were not for forced public disclosure of public pensions, criminals such as those in Bell, California would be enjoying their $500,000 annual public pensions. If you think that figure is wrong, you are not aware of the massive public employee fraud that happened in that town of late.
I’m curious if “Bear” actually thinks that people like the former cop in Lake County who engaged in sexual intercourse with a 14 year old girl deserve public pensions?
How about the Alameda County cop who was in the news yesterday for rape?
You see, “Bear,” when government is allowed to hide how it uses our public tax money, there are all sorts of criminal minds at work within government that would not hesitate to abuse the public trust.
Oh, and “Bear,” nobody is “nasty” simply because they demand to know where public TAX money is being funneled. You certainly cannot be calling the various, multiple state judges “nasty” for ordering the public pension boards to open their books to taxpayer and media scrutiny. Would you?
Who are you nasty people?
I can just see you watching the TV ads that offer to get you out of tax and credit card debt.
Let’s have full release of all private sector retirements and benefits. After all, the public paid you for those benefits. We have a right to know.
And we have a right to know the sources of wealth and income of those posting here. Many of ua are honest about this, but others are not. Why?
It is not good to incite class warfare without being honest about your motives.
The term “being dragged kicking and screaming” comes to mind.
Good job PD.
Keep it up.
The most recent study, just released, of California public employee pension funds is that they are $ 500 BILLION under-funded.
Yes, thats right.
So, as you listen to the lies of government and the lies of Governor Jerry Brown over the next year in which they snivel that they need more “tax revenue” to support parks and the likes, just remember….
The truth of the matter is that they only fear the loss of their public pensions.
Everything else is secondary.