{"id":2770,"date":"2011-04-11T03:39:48","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T11:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/?p=2770"},"modified":"2022-06-28T06:07:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T14:07:06","slug":"fcj-interview-with-jeff-adachi-on-pension-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2770\/fcj-interview-with-jeff-adachi-on-pension-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"FCJ Interview with Jeff Adachi on Pension Reform"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi. File photo by Luke Thomas.<\/p><\/div>\n

By Luke Thomas<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Editor’s Note:<\/strong> There’s no denying something has to be done to rein in unsustainable city employee pension and healthcare benefit costs in San Francisco. Last year, Mr. Adachi attempted to address pension and healthcare reform via the ballot and failed. After listening to those who support pension and healthcare cost reforms but who did not support Prop B last year, Mr. Adachi has crafted a new and improved ballot proposal.\u00a0 The new proposal, dubbed “The Sustainable City Employee Pension & Benefits Reform Act,” does not address spiraling healthcare costs, but it is considerably more progressive and equitable than its predecessor. FCJ was availed an opportunity to discuss with Mr. Adachi his latest proposal which is expected to be considered, among other competing pension and healthcare reform proposals, by voters in November.<\/em><\/p>\n

Update, 4\/13\/11:<\/strong> City Attorney Dennis Herrera spokesperson Matt Dorsey has taken issue with comments made by Mr. Adachi in this interview. Mr. Dorsey’s response, sent as a letter to Mr. Adachi today, has been posted in the comments section below<\/a>, timestamped 4\/13\/11, 10:25 am.<\/p>\n

April 11, 2011<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Prop B lost last November. Why are you still pushing for pension reform?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> Because the problem of escalating pension costs is still here and it\u2019s getting worse.\u00a0 Pension costs are going up nearly $100 million between this year and next year.\u00a0 In four years, pension costs are projected to climb another $243 million.\u00a0 We will experience cuts in services like we\u2019ve never seen before, and job layoffs of city workers.\u00a0 That\u2019s not something that anyone would want.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Can you explain why pension reform is needed?\u00a0 Are there other ways, such as targeted revenue measures, that could help to solve this problem?<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em>JA:<\/strong> Sure. If you assume that the voters will approve massive tax increases every year to support paying city employees\u2019 pension, then that\u2019s one way it can be addressed.\u00a0 Last November, San Francisco passed a new tax on property transfers that is projected to raise $30 million.\u00a0 You would need two tax measures that raised an average of $60 million a year, every year, for the next four years in order to keep up with pension costs.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> How did these pension costs get so out of control?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> Here\u2019s the problem: City employees pay a fixed rate into the pension fund from their paychecks, but the City\u2019s costs are not fixed and has been increasing every year.\u00a0 That\u2019s because pensions are guaranteed and the taxpayers, under law, have to make up the difference when the pension fund isn\u2019t adequately funded. The City\u2019s pension bill is now twice what its employees\u2019 pay, and in four years will be four times what the employees pay.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> What will happen if nothing is done?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> We will continue to see the disintegration of City services and programs that serve the most vulnerable.\u00a0 We\u2019re already seeing AIDS, mental health services, after school programs for kids, senior programs, health services for the poor being slashed, but next year we\u2019ll see even deeper cuts to basic city services, from street repair to education to parks.\u00a0 And we\u2019ll see more city workers will lose their jobs.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Why did last year\u2019s pension reform measure fail?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> Prop B failed because voters were bombarded with campaign flyers over how increasing contributions might affect lower paid city employees.\u00a0 The opponents argued that workers who earned less than $35 thousand would be harmed by paying more for their pensions and benefits.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Have you revised your new measure to address these concerns?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> Yes. The new measure completely exempts workers who earn less than $50 thousand from any increases in pension costs and provides a graduated scale of employee pension contributions to match the increases expected in the City\u2019s costs, based on income level.\u00a0 In other words, better paid City employees will pay more while employees who earn less will pay less.\u00a0 This is a progressive approach to pension reform.<\/p>\n

Also, increased health care costs were a non-starter with voters, so the new measure will focus on solving the pension crisis and not cloud it with health care, which is much more complex problem.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> How does your measure compare to the proposal put forth by Mayor Ed Lee?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> The proposals are similar, in the sense that they both address escalating pension costs and try to find a way to reduce the cost to the City.\u00a0 Both reduce benefits for future workers.\u00a0 But the proposals are significantly different in several ways.<\/p>\n

As I said earlier, our proposal exempts all workers who earn less than $50 thousand from pension increases.\u00a0 It also provides a progressive, graduated increase in contributions rate based on a person\u2019s income.<\/p>\n

Mayor Lee\u2019s proposal is a flat percentage charge for all workers.\u00a0 Under the Mayor\u2019s proposal, if a person earned $45 thousand per year and then pension costs went up 10 percent, that person would have to pay $4,500 more a year.\u00a0 Under our proposal, an employee person who earned $45 thousand would contribute what they are already contributing now, but nothing more.<\/p>\n

The other big difference is that Mayor Lee\u2019s proposal treats public safety employees the same as other city employees.<\/p>\n

I think this is unfair.\u00a0 Remember that public safety employees get much richer benefits because they can retire earlier and collect a pension of up to 90 percent of their annual pay when they retire.\u00a0 It should come as no surprise that their pensions are much, much more expensive than other city employees.<\/p>\n

Police pensions are twice as expensive as other city workers, and firefighters are three times as costly.\u00a0\u00a0 That\u2019s why they call them \u201cPlatinum Pensions.\u201d But because all employees now contribute at the same rate, other city workers essentially subsidize the cost of the police and fire pensions.<\/p>\n

And most police and firefighters earn much more than non-safety workers.\u00a0 Last year, the 100 top public safety officers earned $247 thousand apiece. Is it fair for the city worker that earns $45 thousand a year to help subsidize the pension of a police officer who retires with a $200 thousand pension?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think it\u2019s fair that a city worker who works until he\/she\u2019s 62, not 55, and doesn\u2019t receive a Platinum pension benefit has to pay into the pension fund the same amount as a public safety officer.\u00a0 It\u2019s basically making the other city employees pay for the costly benefits of a particular class of employees.<\/p>\n

Our new measure will change that by requiring that police and fire employees pay 2.5 percent more than other employees.\u00a0 The Mayor\u2019s proposal would continue to charge the same rate for all City employees.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Several SEIU leaders criticized your new proposal in a Bay Guardian op-ed<\/a> last week.\u00a0 If it is true that your new measure is more equitable, why would they not support it?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> That\u2019s a good question. Maybe they haven\u2019t read our proposed measure.\u00a0 Because if they had, they would have seen that their members are much better off with a progressive, graduated approach, since it is based on income, and many of their members are among the employees that would be exempted from pension increases or would only pay minimal increases, depending on their level of income.<\/p>\n

Also, I can\u2019t imagine that they think it\u2019s fair that their members are subsidizing the richer benefits of public safety officers, which, as I mentioned earlier, costs two to three times more than a non-safety employee\u2019s pension.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Does your new measure affect collective bargaining in any way?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> Absolutely not. In San Francisco, pension obligations have always been decided by the voters in the City Charter. This doesn\u2019t change that.\u00a0 All City employees have the right to collectively bargain for wages, and this measure ensures that the pension contributions by City employees are set in the Charter, as they always have been.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Do you think that progressives will support your new initiative?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> Yes. Last year, some progressive leaders criticized Prop B because it charged all workers the same, regardless of income.\u00a0 So, if they are honest with themselves, they should step up and support this ballot initiative because it provides a progressive way in which to balance increasing pension costs and save essential services that progressives care about.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> What about City employees? Many were livid at your proposal last time. Do you expect their support this time?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> I spoke to a representative from the organization that represents city employee retirees, and she told me they were supportive of my proposal to increase pension contributions.\u00a0 She said that they realize if we don\u2019t fix the problem, retirees won\u2019t get their benefits in the future.\u00a0 I\u2019ve spoken to many city employees who are supportive of pension reform.\u00a0 A high ranking police officer recently told me he agreed with charging police more for their pensions. Why? Because the system is not sustainable as it is.\u00a0 I understand that no one wants to pay more.\u00a0 But if we don\u2019t begin sharing the cost of the pensions, we will see more city workers losing their jobs and fewer people will be contributing towards the pension fund, which will make matters worse.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> You work for the City. Does the new proposal require that you contribute more to your pension?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> Yes.\u00a0 I will have to contribute towards my pension if my measure passes, whereas I do not now.\u00a0 But the way I see it, if you expect a pension, you have to contribute towards it to make sure that the system is sustainable and doesn\u2019t bankrupt the City.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Do you think the Mayor will be successful in passing his pension reform proposal?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> The Mayor is trying to reach a consensus proposal, which is only possible if he gets six votes at the Board of Supervisors to put it on the ballot.\u00a0 This will be no easy task.\u00a0 If the Mayor\u2019s proposal gets watered down to the point that it is not worth passing or ends up costing the voters more in givebacks, it won\u2019t be much of a reform.<\/p>\n

Let me give you an example from past history.<\/p>\n

In 2008, voters were told that they were reforming the law that allowed city workers to get free retiree health care after five years of service. That\u2019s one of the reasons we have a $4.3 billion unfunded healthcare liability.\u00a0 Well, tucked away in that \u201creform\u201d was a provision that allowed the pension fund to pay out a \u201cbonus\u201d cost of living increase to retirees even though the fund itself was underfunded.\u00a0 This year, the Retirement Board approved a $170 million dollar \u201cbonus\u201d payment to retirees.\u00a0 By the way, this is one of the things our measure would change.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Nathan Ballard, the spokesperson for the labor unions, recently said that your pension reform measure is a front for Republicans. What do you say about that?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> I think it is very ironic that he said that especially since Ballard\u2019s public relations company, Burston-Marsteller, is run by President George W. Bush\u2019s former senior aide, Karen Hughes, and former Bush White House Press Secretary Dana Perino.\u00a0\u00a0 And, actually, most of the major financial supporters of our pension reform measure are Democrats.\u00a0 Ballard is a hired mouthpiece and he\u2019s got to earn the $100 thousand Burston-Marsteller was paid in union dues to spin the issue, so that\u2019s his job.<\/p>\n

Politics aside, the most disappointing thing is that the city employee union leaders promised voters that they would have a solution within two weeks of the November election if Prop B didn\u2019t\u2019 pass.\u00a0 Here we are six months later, and they don\u2019t have a single proposal.\u00a0 It\u2019s revealing that they criticize us for having three proposals, but they don\u2019t even have one.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> How much of an issue do you think pension reform will be in this year\u2019s mayor\u2019s race?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> I think that pensions will be the litmus test in the Mayor\u2019s race in terms of fiscal accountability and independence.\u00a0 All the elected and former elected officials running opposed Prop B and campaigned against it, which is ironic, given that Prop B would have increased pensions by 9-10 percent, which labor leaders now concede has to happen.<\/p>\n

(Senator) Leland Yee is labor\u2019s chosen candidate so he won\u2019t do anything that labor doesn\u2019t approve of. Dennis Herrera, as City Attorney, is in a precarious position because he is the City Attorney and is in charge of reviewing ballot measures. For the last pension reform measure, the City Attorney\u2019s office drafted a convoluted ballot question which was written in a way that sounded as if the City was going to pay more for pensions. His office also left out any mention of the word \u2018pension\u2019 in his official description of the measure, which has happened this time as well, even though it appears 59 times in the measure.\u00a0 The other candidates, to my knowledge, haven\u2019t come forward to support the new ballot initiative even though it addresses all of the concerns raised in the last campaign.<\/p>\n

FCJ:<\/strong> Do you think you\u2019ll be successful this time around?<\/em><\/p>\n

JA:<\/strong> Yes, but of course the voters will have the ultimate say.\u00a0 Whose proposal will they support and trust?\u00a0 I think in the end, the proposal that solves the problem without causing harm to the lowest paid workers and their families will have the best chance. Our polling has showed that San Franciscans will support pension reform, but that more liberal voters want to make sure that it doesn\u2019t hurt lower paid workers.\u00a0 And they also want a proposal that actually solves the problem, and not one that makes it worse or doesn\u2019t really solve it.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why we changed our proposal and that\u2019s why pension reform will be successful this time.\u00a0\u00a0 Progressives will have a hard time arguing that pension reform isn\u2019t \u201cprogressive\u201d enough since contributions are based on a graduated scale based on income and protects the lowest paid workers.\u00a0 Moderate and conservative voters, who were among the 120,000 who voted yes for our last measure, will presumably vote yes on pension reform again.\u00a0\u00a0 And the mayoral candidates and other elected officials will have a harder time opposing or side-stepping pension reform since it is probably now the biggest problem facing our City.<\/p>\n

Jeff Adachi is the San Francisco Public Defender and the proponent of the \u201cSan Francisco Pension Reform Act.\u201d\u00a0 To read the measure, please visit <\/em>www.sfpensionreform.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last year, Mr. Adachi attempted to address pension and healthcare reform via the ballot and failed. After listening to those who support pension and healthcare reform but who did not support Prop B last year, Mr. Adachi has a new ballot proposal that is considerably more progressive and equitable than it’s predecessor. FCJ was availed an opportunity to discuss with Mr. Adachi’s his latest proposal which is expected to be considered by voters in November.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nFCJ Interview with Jeff Adachi on Pension Reform - Fog City Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fogcityjournal.com\/wordpress\/2770\/fcj-interview-with-jeff-adachi-on-pension-reform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"FCJ Interview with Jeff Adachi on Pension Reform - Fog City Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last year, Mr. Adachi attempted to address pension and healthcare reform via the ballot and failed. After listening to those who support pension and healthcare reform but who did not support Prop B last year, Mr. Adachi has a new ballot proposal that is considerably more progressive and equitable than it's predecessor. 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