7thriv

The SF budget has bee released, and they are actually cutting jobs and services: SF Budget Cuts 1,600 Jobs, Trims Services

San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom unveiled a $6.6 billion budget Monday for the 2009-10 fiscal year that he said "does a lot of extraordinary things" including bridging a half-billion-dollar deficit without raising taxes or laying off police officers, firefighters or teachers.

"It's not perfect, but it's as close to perfect, under the circumstances, as we could make it," he said. "We did this without the devastation some had predicted."

But many at City Hall weren't buying the mayor's glass-half-full emphasis, saying any budget that slashes 1,600 jobs, includes a plan to contract out hundreds more, and cuts millions in substance abuse and mental health services is nowhere close to perfect.

I'm not going to minimize the pain of losing your job. I know it's no fun. But, there's no such thing as a moral or constitutional right to a government job (yet). Also, the "cuts" are not really cuts at all. Overall, the City's budget has increased 1.1% from last year due to an infusion of stimulus $$.

In a completely unrelated note that has nothing to do with City budget problems and job losses, and which displays absolutely no correlation between these budget cuts and other expenditures, an investigatation has revealed that there are 480 City retirees earning over $100,000 in annual pensions: SF Retirees Solid Golden Years

There was a time when the "$100,000 club" referred to San Francisco city workers making six figures. These days, it refers to the 480 retired city workers or their survivors who are knocking back $100,000 or more a year in pension money.

At the top of the heap is former Police Chief Earl Sanders who, after serving 40 years in the Police Department, gets an annual pension of $222,768.

Sanders' predecessor, former Chief Fred Lau, who retired after 31 years on the force, pulls down a $154,241 pension - even as he earns another six figures as head of security at Oakland International Airport.

Lau and Sanders are among 146 former city cops or their survivors in the $100,000 pension club. Both are also members of a more rarefied club - the 15 ex-cops pulling down pensions of $150,000 or more.

Over at the Fire Department, 246 former employees or their survivors are receiving pensions of $100,000 a year or more - with 15 topping $150,000.

The remaining 88 members of the $100,000 club are former department heads or career executives.

Soon, a new name will be atop the list of highest-paid police pensioners. When she leaves the Hall of Justice sometime this year, Police Chief Heather Fong, 53, will have 32 years under her belt - and will be pulling down about $229,500 a year for life.

Pardon me, but isn't $250,000 what the president (of the entire United States!) used to make? Now, we have dozens of of people making nearly as much, and all they have to do is sit by the mailbox. I don't begrudge the police their pensions, but come on! This is beyond a gold-plated retirement! It's not like any of these guys did anything stupendously exemplary to earnsuch a large monthly nut. Fred Lau never rescued a schoolbus full of kidnapped orphans, that I can recall. To be fair, I guess I will mention that the voters approved the formulas that resulted in these outsize pay-outs, but the campaign to approve these pensions emphasized the rank-and-file, not Croesus-esque benefits to the Brass.

The City is not unique in this, however:

Statewide, the CalPERS system - which handles retirement for local and state employees - has 4,818 members earning annual pensions of $100,000 or more.

The highest-paid is Bruce Malkenhorst, who, as the former city manager of the tiny industrial town of Vernon (Los Angeles County), earned $600,000 a year.

His retirement pay: $499,674. Which he continues to collect, even as he's under indictment for allegedly stealing city money.

By the way, Malkenhorst's son, Bruce Jr., now has his dad's old job.

That is CA's budget problems in a nutshell. A $500,000 pension to the city manager of Vernon is not absurd; it's criminal. While CA's political loudly castigates voters for their fiscal irresponsibility, Bruce Malkenhorst keeps getting his tens of thousands in monthly pay-outs (while under indictment!). Able bodied adults are losing their jobs while these pay-outs go out like clockwork. You can't spell "unsustainable" without "unsustainable."