Here’s the candid situation: if you talk to local business leaders, they will tell you they’re concerned that the scandals will hurt the city’s ability to attract business. Many civic leaders wonder how quickly the city’s once outstanding national reputation for good government will be regained, if at all. Everyone it seems is counting on a new mayor to put the city on the road to recovery.
San Diego is a city on the brink. They have serious financial troubles, primarily from a decision to underfund pension obligations that may lead the municipal bankruptcy. Within the last few months, a mayor resigned. Then, an acting mayor and councilman were indicted and forced from office. If I were in San Diego City Hall, I would not count on a good grade in Governing Magazines’ evaluation of best governed cities. (link)
But equally important, San Diego seems to suffer from civic malaise. Strangely, many people’s confidence in the city’s future has been shaken. That’s the impression I get from recent visits.
Last month for example, I was with Controller Steve Westly when he endorsed Donna Frye, a great candidate for mayor (link). Most of the questions from local reporters at the press conference concerned San Diego’s dire financial circumstances. But there were numerous questions about the city’s tarnished reputation. How odd that the State Controller was reassuring San Diegans that they would somehow work their way out of their municipal troubles.
San Diego calls itself America’s Finest City. It can certainly make a great claim to the title with its great weather, beaches and bay, diversified industry, and a vibrant, growing downtown.
But clearly there’s a lack of civic confidence because of the current city hall scandals. City Hall leadership and decisions matter, even outside the building.
Note to San Jose City Hall: can someone who is not being investigated, please check the pension fund?
I’ve always thought we should compare ourselves to San Diego rather than San Francisco.
It’s good to know that in the scandal department, we actually look pretty good in comparison.
Unfunded public employee pension plans are the biggest scandal yet to hit government.
Here is the scam. Administrators, to placate the work force, offer large pensions and deferred benefits. Since these don’t hit the bottomline until after most of them leave, they don’t care. Employees, believing they can turn down today’s “pay raise” for “peace of mind” in the future—readily agree.
But here is the problem, there are no funds.
This is not relegated to the public sector alone. United Airline pilots were the first to become victims of this scam.
The top folks who make these deals are long gone before the real crisis occurs. The folks who perpetrate this fraud are lauded as good stewards of the public trust and rewarded with fat raises for “holding the line” on employee spending during their tenure.
401Ks are another scam. What happens to the market when the bulk of the work force begins to withdraw their money for retirement?
Crash.
It will make 2000 look like a good year. What fueled the ‘90s market rise—in addition to dot.com? It was 401Ks and pension funds. Who has the biggest stake in the stock market today, even without private accounts for social security? Retirees and potential retirees.
There is only one way to get security in your old age, become a City Manager or Assistant City Manager—everybody else is going to get screwed.
Rich Robinson: you are 100 percent right. Finally someone gets it.
Jude: Thought you were talking about San Jose in your first paragraph. Maybe you were. If you want someone smart and honest to check the pension fund, call Les White.
Have you ever noticed that most local governments tend to always have financial, and or budget problems? That’s because a lot of city and county jobs, in my opinon, pay too much money. If the city of San Jose can pay a “puppet theater corridinator” more than $20 an hour, something is wrong. I know cities have to offer competitive wages but some positions just pay too much. If the city trimmed just 2 to 5 percent of wages for positions paying more than $40K a year, there would be no budget problems. The same could be said for some large corporations, but the smart companies know how trim the fat when they need to, and I don’t think most city governments know how to do that. Although the San Jose city council did suceed in shooting down a proposed pay raise this year. That’s a good sign I guess.
Well, San Jose may not be not on the brink yet, but you can see it from here.
I have heard recently that Ron actually believes he can ride this storm out, and that a year from now no-one will care or even remember clearly his ethical lapses.
Having an ethics commission is not enough. It actually has to do something. Better still: not needing one.
The Council may have stalled their pay raise for the moment, but just wait until the battle rages over the public safety pensions. Our good buddy, Gonzo, is in deep on this one as well. He just loves to give away public money.
Gonzo probably does believe he can ride this out, but he’s wrong. All of his baggage is finally catching up to him, and even those who have ignored his transgressions for years are finally paying attention. Just let him try to run for statewide office. Many of us will dog him every place he goes to make sure everyone statewide knows the truth about this guy.He is not fit to be mayor let alone to serve state wide. He has embarrassed San Jose and it will take years to reestablish our reputation that he has sullied. The full extent of the damage he wrought is not even known yet and he wants the voters to unleash him on the rest of an unsuspecting state?? Not gonna happen.
Malaise is a fancy word but I looked it up and its the right word to describe whats happening right here in San Jose.
“a general sense of depression or unease” (Dictionary.com)
No one I know thinks Gonzales can keep the Earthquakes in town or get the A’s. There’s no new company or major stores coming downtown. What exactly does he do all day?
After reading this a group of us decided that we would make and sell stickers for employees to wear on our badges:
NOT BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE GRAND JURY
If we charge a buck we could help out a local charity and maybe lighten the mood around here.
What you do you mean San Diego has a growing vibrant downtown? Downtown San Diego is a dump with no vibrancy during the day, and it’s only vibrant in the Gaslamp district at night. That’s it. Although they have 21 highrise housing and hondos(hotel/condo) under construction or recently completed, they have nothing else but some respected retail centers and Petco Park. They got almost no cultural amenities; they’re way behind! Just walk on Broadway and C Street. Check it out, and you’ll find out that’s It’s run down. So, don’t go clamouring for San Diego situation. It’s a disaster, and San Jose is in much, much better situation than our neighbor to the south. San Jose has much better financial situation and way better downtown than San Diego. By the way, grass is not always greener on the other side. I was just in San Diego, so enjoy your own predicatement; it’s alot better than San Diego’s: believe you, me
#6 Thomas:
It’s not just San Jose, which has a director of public art on the payroll at a time when we can’t fix the potholes in the roads. It’s the entire public sector.
There is a school district that has an assistant vice principal for student success! What the hell is that? Does that mean she reports to a principal for student success?
There is CalTrans. Does anyone not believe that at any given moment in the work day 75% of the “workers” are just standing around watching one poor schmuck digging with a hand shovel?
I had a friend whose son was developmentally disabled and who also lost partial use of one hand in an accident. He got a job in the CalTRans maintenance division. His job was to sweep up the jobsites and keep them clean and to trim roadside plantings. Less than a week after he started, several fellow workers told him that he should slack off becasue he was making them look bad. A veiled threat of a “blanket party” accompanied the admonition.
Forty years ago my father—a fifty year union guy in the private sector—became completely disillusioned with Civil Service. He was sure that if you fired 50% of all civil service employees and told the remaining half they had to put in thirty hours of actual work per week or they’d be next, all the work would get done.
About a year ago I was at the records counter of the Superior Court Clerk looking for a court file. I filled out the request form and waited…and waited…and waited, with a few other taxpayers. When one woman finally got off her duff to help me, another woman admonished her that it was time for her (the woman who was helping me) to take a break. She repeated this three times. Woman #1 was not only not doing her job, she was urging woman #2 to take a break…while we all waited to be helped.
If someone had the time, and the city would release the records (they always use the personnel exception to The Brown Act) I am confident that 25% of the people on payroll have job descriptions for jobs that are completely unnecessary, in good times or bad. They are just someone’s feel good position that we could all do without.
The backup to fix roads in San Jose is decades, maintenance of all parks has been cut,but the mayor and council found $110k to keep the Arena Carousel under subsidy.
And all these Ensteins in government wring their hands about budget cuts for police, fire, roads. GET A CLUE before we all go broke.
Rich: it isn’t “administrators” who give away unfunded benefits in an attempt to placate the workforce. It’s the elected politicians who have historically given away the ship in an effort to buy union votes. As someone who once spent part of his professional life representing management in public sector labor negotiations, I can tell you how difficult if not impossible it is to craft reasonable and fiscally responsible collective bargaining agreements in the face of the political inclination to please at virtually any cost. Both parties, Republican and Democratic, have been guilty of playing the pension and benefit giveaway game.
Below –
Good idea! it would remind people that there are dedicated and ethical staff in the city and that not all of them subscribe to the Gonzo school of unethical behavior.
JMO,
For a fun experience, you should try and stand in the doorway exit of the new city hall at 5pm on any weekday. You will actually get run over as the masses of civil servant literally run out the door.
Looks like a bunch of overaged gramer school children running out the recess.
#9 AOL:
What does Ron do all day, you ask? Well, we know he’s not doing two-a-days at the SJ Athletic Club.
#15 J Walker:
I don’t think I could get out of the way fast enough.
HHmmm, ya think they run in that fast in the a.m.?
There is nothing wrong with strong unions and I do believe Police and Fire personnel deserve high pay. Retirement benefits are the issue, and they should be high, however, as anyone taken a look at what these payments do to overall reserves of San Jose and other cities.
I thought Ron goes to Muni Stadium everyday, and not the Athletic Club.
Indeed there are cities with dwindling reserves, but as the meeting tonight, there will be few earnest discussions, lots of time when Councilman “Happy Talk” will talk without being recognized, and then we will hear Council Member “I was Chair of everything” do the 1/2 hour bio, and ten minute praise of everyone, before speaking
Arturo,
It has been my experience that it is just the opposite. Elected Officials sit in closed door session and Administrators tell them why they can’t give their workers more money.
The elected officials don’t want to be caught interfering with “the process”. More than once Union officials have called on their “friends” to help them with negotiations.
But these friends offer a sympathetic ear and not much more. . .when push comes to shove they are with their administrators.
Even police and fire unions, most of whom have binding arbitration, have to fight for their contracts. The fact that we do have labor peace with our public safety folks is a credit to the binding arbitration model—which is despised by most “administrators”.
If the Unions really had clout they would get more than 2% and the Administrators would walk away with less than the 10% they regularly get. . .
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out who has the power in these negotiations. If it were not for Unions, imagine how tough things would be. . .
It is great we are finally looking at San Diego’s plight up here, and it could happen here. San Jose is a great city in a cluster of cities in Silicon Valley which have received many awards. As San Jose goes, so does the valley. San Jose has an ethics committee and a also a committee of the city council on ethics. Everyone, thanks to Ken Yeager and others know when these groups meet. Of course, at San Jose City Hall, we have a council member of the place next door, the counsellor of happy talk that works to keep his ethics meetings as non citizen involved as possible.
At least San Diego has beautiful DOWNTOWN Petco Park and a vibrant Gas Lamp District!! I’ll take that any day over my hometown that isn’t on the “brink.”
“Note to San Jose City Hall: can someone who is not being investigated, please check the pension fund?”
Anyone remember one of the very first actions taken under the Gonzo regime was to remove a very competent City staffer (who had been elected to his position) from his role as one of those responsible overseeing the City pension funds?
That caused a certain amount of anxiety on the part of employees and retirees. The employee in question was too independent and could not be bullied, therefore he needed to be removed by the powers that be.
Shameful.
Rich, you’re out of touch with the emerging pension bomb. Check out the June 13th issue of Business Week. Your so called “labor piece” will ultimately create a fiscal crisis that taxpayers will respond to with draconian limits on public revenues. Those limits will harm critical services, including public safety services. Gonzo gave away the store to the police union before his re-election, despite no credible political opposition. San Jose, like San Diego, will pay for Gonzo’s lack of fiscal discipline.
#18 Rowen: He may go to Muni every day. He’s gotts get his hot dogs somewhere. You’ll note I said he’s NOT doing two-a-days @ SJAC.
Here’s a way to bolster our City budget… fire the City Manager and his crew. All they seem to do is wake up from a sound sleep whenever controversy lands on their doorstep. The $50M City Hall Furniture Surprise, the $8M Cisco IT Giveaway and, now, the $11M Nor-Cal “Grant”… what the devil are Del and his crew doing on the payroll?!?!
Greg # 18:
Somewhere in the late 80’s this notion sprung up that getting along with fellow councilmembers, supervisoprs, etc.was the most important criterion for elective office. The Murky News was real big on this concept when analyzing who they would endorse in a race. So, being fiscally responsible, being ehtical and intellectually honest took a back seat to just going along to get along—collegiality.
So, what has evolved from that is a city council that looks the other way and votes with a councilmember who espouses something for his/her district, irrespective of how poor a choice it may be.
They don’t care what their constituents citywide may want (the inevitable fallout of district elections versus citywide elections). They just want to get along with their colleagues on the council/board, or whatever. It’s a Marin County virus that somehow spread to the’burbs we call San Hozay.
Mole,
Read number 4.
How can San Jose have a real scandol, when the powers that be….all shop at Sears and eat out at fast food joints….
Jude,
I just saw your “Note to San Jose City Hall: can someone who is not being investigated, please check the pension fund?”
I think we all have to be worried about what happened in San Diego
That precise question will be on the agenda of the Making Government Work Better Committee on December 1 “In order to learn from San Diego’s failure and to make sure it cannot happen in San Jose.”
You might be interested in the questions I have asked to be answered. Here’s a link to a memo I wrote to the City Manager, City Attorney and City Auditor. http://www.chuckreed.com/RetireFund082305.htm