CalPERS officials knew about high salaries in the city of Bell, but did nothing to stop them.
"Officials at California’s state pension fund became aware four years ago of the exorbitant pay raises being given to administrators in the city of Bell and did nothing to stop them, according to an internal memo obtained by The Times.
"The memo, which pension staff sent to board members today, shows that the California Public Employees’ Retirement System granted an exemption to its rules in 2006 so the Bell city manager could get a 47% pay hike and still receive a full pension on his salary.
"The pension system learned of the salary hike during the course of an audit and informed Bell officials that the exemption would be needed."
The state controller is now requiring all cities disclose pay to top officials in financial disclosure reports.
In the continuing fallout from the Bell salary scandal, State Controller John Chiang announced Tuesday that he would overhaul city financial reporting requirements to require that salary information for elected officials and other employees be clearly stated. The information would be posted on his office’s website beginning in November, he said.
"The action comes as a Times analysis found that Bell’s reports to the state in recent years have shown that costs for its legislative activities, including City Council salaries, declined sharply since 2005, at a time when overall council compensation rose to nearly $100,000 for part-time work.
“The absence of transparency is a breeding ground for waste, fraud, and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” said Chiang, who is running for re-election. “A single website with accessible information will make sure that excessive pay is no longer able to escape public scrutiny and accountability.”
Shane Goldmacher reports two measures on the November ballot could blow a new, billion-dollar hole in the state budget.
"Two propositions on the November ballot could create
a $1-billion hole
in California's already beleaguered budget by undoing
one of the few
agreements that lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
have struck
this year to shrink the deficit.
"Tucked into both measures, written before the budget
agreement, are
provisions that apply retroactively to all of 2010. Opponents are now
accusing the special interests behind the initiatives
of pressing their
agendas at the expense of the state.
"These two initiatives are Exhibits A and B as to why
the initiative
process needs to be reformed," said Senate President
Pro Tem Darrell
Steinberg (D-Sacramento).
Proposition 22 would put local government and transportation funds
off-limits to Sacramento, and Proposition 26 would make it harder for
state lawmakers and local governments to raise fees.
Either initiative,
if approved by voters, could repeal a $1-billion budget patch signed
into law earlier this year that gave lawmakers flexibility
in the use of
certain gasoline tax money without changing what drivers
pay at the
pump.
Los Angeles city pensions could consume one-third of the city's general fund by 2015, reports David Zahniser.
"The cost of retirement benefits for Los Angeles city
employees will grow
by $800 million over the next five years, dramatically eroding
the
amount of money available for public services to taxpayers,
according to
a report issued Tuesday.
In a bleak assessment delivered to members of the City
Council, City
Administrative Officer Miguel Santana said pensions
and health benefits
for current and future retirees would jump from $1.4 billion next year
to at least $2.2 billion in 2015.
Those costs remain a fraction of the city's overall
annual budget, which
is currently $18.8 billion. But more troubling is the fact that
retirement costs are consuming an increasingly large
portion of the
general fund, which pays for basic services such as
parks and public
safety.
A judge has changed the official ballot description of a measure that would suspend the state's greenhouse gas law.
"A Sacramento Superior Court judge Tuesday amended the ballot description of Proposition 23, the November initiative that seeks to delay the state's global warming law.
"Judge Timothy Frawley agreed with backers that parts of the original language were misleading and would prejudice voters. The new language changes the description of the law's intended target from "major polluters," a term Frawley criticized as having "an obvious negative connotation," to "major sources of emissions."
"Frawley also ordered removed a reference that Proposition 23 would cause the state to "abandon" its law to control greenhouse gases. The new language will say the initiative would "suspend" the law.
And finally, looks like the parasailing donkey is calling it a career. "The female donkey Anapka arrived in Moscow on Wednesday after her brays of terror over a southern Russian beach last month prompted a British newspaper to step in and buy her.
"A recreation company had sent Anapka up into the sky for about 30 minutes for a promotional stunt and the YouTube video of her trip made headlines around the world. Upset readers of the The Sun had urged the newspaper to rescue her."