San Diego's "Financial Free Fall" (Mesa: cheap apartment, power lines)

[Sassberto]

San Diego's politicians are B-players. Most of the people who remain in San Diego and accept the 80k a year to work a city job are people who don't really need the job or just want to stay in the sunshine. The expectation that electing a moderate republican to replace a moderate democrat was going to have some sort of radical change in the governance of this city is naive. San Diego would rather just ignore the issues and let our leaders deal with it.

The reality is that San Diego is a city where the major voting block consists of aging, retired military and city workers, people who are highly conservative and have repeatedly voted against infrastructure and the taxes to pay for them. The business community consists mostly of real estate developers and tourist interests who are more concerned with the 1% of San Diego that the tourists see and have little to no interest in the rest of the city. Even the community councils are so focused on NIMBY-ism and the anti-growth stance that they don't have the knowledge or energy to fight for their slice of city tax revenues.

I've been to the community council meetings and I've worked with the city departments on neighborhood issues. The reality is that this city is run on a skeleton crew and is massively underfunded in terms of public safety and works. Thats across the board from Police and Fire to traffic, graffitti, roads. Basic city services are already just barely being maintained. There is no way the city is going to make up that money without increased revenue from somewhere.

Cutting services will happen either way - the question is: what kind of city do you want to live in? Many people will say "I don't care what happens to your neighborhood, 'thats your fault for not living in my neighborhood". That anti-community spirit will only doom us all to sub-standard city services in the long term.

I'm ready to volunteer for a neighborhood street cleanup or a graffitti paint out or a neighborhood watch. Not a single one of those basic, ground-level items is coordinated by our city at all. Our city doesn't provide the service and they don't facilitate volunteers providing it either. Instead there's a bunch paper-pushing beaurocratic jobs that were probably once paid-for city jobs... retail clerk at a golf course... office assistant at a cemetary?

http://www.sandiego.gov/volunteer-pr...es/index.shtml

[Mira-Mesa-Resident]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

"Grandiose"? In what world is $1600 per month (before taxes) a grandiose income? Certainly not the one I live in and certainly not for someone who gave the city 30-40 years of service. Did you know government servants don't get Social Security and that much of their pension income is in leu of SS? This is exactly what I've been talking about. Completely retarded and cheap people in San Diego who are totally disconnected from reality.

If you're upset that you chose a career which you can't live on then change careers. But don't play the envy game and try to keep other people down when what they're getting isn't even enough to live on after they've earned every damn penny of it.

$1600 per month???? Where are you looking? Anyone would work for the city any day with the salaries below. See https://apps.sandiego.gov/pjaol/currjob/open.jsp --

See https://apps.sandiego.gov/pjaol/curr...egory_cd=Admin

Below are a sample of the CURRENT JOB OPENINGS!


Job Title Salary Range

Accountant I OPEN $3,719 - 4,520 /mo

Accountant II OPEN $4,520 - 5,463 /mo

Airport Property Agent OPEN $4,964 - 6,001 /mo

Assistant Engineer-Civil OPEN $4,839 - 5,830 /mo

Assistant Engineer-Traffic OPEN $4,839 - 5,830 /mo

Assistant Planner OPEN $4,009 - 4,851 /mo

Associate Engineer-Civil OPEN $5,571 - 6,728 /mo

Associate Engineer-Traffic OPEN $5,571 - 6,728 /mo

Associate Planner OPEN $4,743 - 5,731 /mo

Benefits Representative I OPEN $2,633 - 3,171 /mo

Benefits Representative II OPEN $2,757 - 3,329 /mo

Claims Representative I (Workers' Compensation) OPEN $3,658 - 4,426 /mo

Claims Representative II (Liability) OPEN $4,426 - 5,354 /mo

Claims Representative II (Workers' Compensation) OPEN $4,426 - 5,354 /mo

Contract Specialist OPEN $4,839 - 5,830 /mo

Criminalist I 02/11/09 $4,693 - 5,687 /mo

Criminalist I (DNA) 02/11/09 $4,693 - 5,687 /mo

Criminalist II 02/11/09 $6,267 - 7,571 /mo

Criminalist II (DNA) 02/11/09 $6,267 - 7,571 /mo

Debt Coordinator (Unclassified) 01/30/09 $70,000 - 90,000 /yr

Deputy Director Environ Monitor &Tech Serv (Unclassified) OPEN $105,000 - 120,000 /yr

Emergency Medical Serv. Medical Educ. Mgr. (Unclassified) 01/23/09 $71,208 - 86,196 /yr

Hazardous Materials/Pretreatment Inspector Trainee OPEN $3,564 - 4,289 /mo

Homeland Security Coordinator OPEN $4,964 - 6,001 /mo

Junior Engineer-Civil OPEN $4,181 - 5,063 /mo

Junior Engineer-Civil (Student) OPEN $24.04 - 29.11 /hr

Junior Planner OPEN $3,486 - 4,202 /mo

Latent Print Examiner II OPEN $4,987 - 6,027 /mo

Lead Safe Neighborhoods Inspector OPEN $4,606 - 5,583 /mo

Librarian I OPEN $3,626 - 4,369 /mo

Librarian II OPEN $4,173 - 5,025 /mo

Librarian III OPEN $4,621 - 5,611 /mo

Librarian IV OPEN $5,079 - 6,167 /mo

Motive Equipment Engineer 01/28/09 $4,839 - 5,830 /mo

Principal Contract Specialist OPEN $6,421 - 7,764 /mo

Retirement Assistant OPEN $3,164 - 3,828 /mo

Senior Contract Specialist OPEN $5,571 - 6,728 /mo

Senior Planner OPEN $5,465 - 6,608 /mo

Solid Waste Inspector Trainee OPEN $3,564 - 4,289 /mo

Student Engineer OPEN $12.84 - 15.39 /hr

Supervising Airport Property Agent OPEN $5,583 - 6,764 /mo

Workers' Compensation Claims and Insurance Manager OPEN $6,141 - 7,428 /mo




911 Emergency Bilingual Dispatcher (Dispatcher I-Bilingual) OPEN $2,968 - 3,552 /mo

911 Emergency Dispatcher (Dispatcher I) OPEN $2,845 - 3,430 /mo

Legal Secretary I OPEN $3,016 - 3,639 /mo

Legal Secretary II OPEN $3,642 - 4,404 /mo

Police Clerk OPEN $2,503 - 3,016 /mo

Police Dispatcher OPEN $3,972 - 4,789 /mo



Senior Water Operations Supervisor OPEN $6,463 - 7,820 /mo

Water Plant Operator OPEN $4,945 - 5,912 /mo

Water Systems Technician I OPEN $2,553 - 3,035 /mo

Water Systems Technician II OPEN $3,159 - 3,783 /mo

Water Systems Technician III OPEN $3,466 - 4,139 /mo

[AnUnidentifiedMale]

I haven't read this book, but I think it would support the argument that some here are making.

Amazon.com: Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See: Mike Davis, Kelly Mayhew, Jim Miller: Books

[Oerdin]

Mira Mesa, I took your own $20k per year pension figure you quoted and then divided it by 12 for the 12 months of the year. That comes out to $1667 (rounding up to the nearest whole dollar) per month before taxes. You called that a grandiose pension. Don't get mad when I just throw your own stat back at you.

Originally Posted by Mira-Mesa-Resident

Like what I said before.....
Yeah, it would be nice to retire with $20,000 a year of pension from age 65 as a retired city or county worker. I know a couple who gets $20K a year per individual for retirement. We are talking about LIFETIME pension plans supported by taxpayers. While I see the retirement equity funds of non-government employees going on a free-fall for the past quarter.

I will not pay anymore taxes to fund someone else's grandiose LIFETIME retirement. Fix that first, then get back to us again on taxes.

[Mira-Mesa-Resident]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

And now you're upset that Sander's didn't fix the $1 billion pension under funding. Of course he didn't! Where do you think he would have gotten $1 billion without raising taxes? Do you think a city with a $240 million annual standing budget can can cut services enough to come up with $1 billion? Short of firing all the city workers there really isn't a way to do it. Sooner or later the city will have to make good on its IOUs and actually fund obligations it has ignored; often criminally ignored according to the SEC who previously striped the city of its ability to borrow due to lying on previous disclosure forms.

Sorry but this won't sort itself out and the only solution is to raise taxes to pay for our past underfunding. We're living in a fantasy world where we think we can make $1 and spend $5 but we've cut everything to the bone and we're still spending $5. They've literally taken a second mortgage on city hall to get a short term cash fix and sold off virtually all the property. The well is dry and unless we disband the police department we have to come up with cash.

By the way I worked for the government funded employer and was a member of a union.



The Union takes VERY GOOD care of its members

See
SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Metro -- City employees union offers its own pension plan

"San Diego's largest city employee union made its case Monday for lowering its own pension benefits – a pre-emptive effort to forestall a plan by Mayor Jerry Sanders. ...."

[sav858]

Originally Posted by AnUnidentifiedMale

I haven't read this book, but I think it would support the argument that some here are making.

Amazon.com: Under the Perfect Sun: The San Diego Tourists Never See: Mike Davis, Kelly Mayhew, Jim Miller: Books

I read that book probably about 4 or 5 years ago for a college class and I actually still have it, it's a good and INTERESTING read. San Diego has a long history of shady, corrupt politics its kind of sad. I can't really remember everything in it but I'll probably browse through it again since you mentioned it.

And I agree with everything Sassberto said above, this city is so damn cheap and could be something much better than it is if many residents stopped opposing everything from taxes to development. But at the same time I can understand how some don't trust the city, especially with the current pension mess. But they voted out the one man trying to fix it so imo the residents in a way deserve what they get, inept do nothing politicians that don't have the balls to make tough decisions and call out all the BS in city hall; Aguirre did imo and look what that got him, a big slap in the face.

[Mira-Mesa-Resident]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

Mira Mesa, I took your own $20k per year pension figure you quoted and then divided it by 12 for the 12 months of the year. That comes out to $1667 (rounding up to the nearest whole dollar) per month before taxes. You called that a grandiose pension. Don't get mad when I just throw your own stat back at you.

That's very good for LIFETIME retirement benefits considering that many privately employed individuals are getting retirement from their OWN SAVINGS alone and SS. Once the savings is gone, that's it. Not everyone is as lucky as the unionized employees. I lived in both worlds and I would rather be a member of a union anyday and a goverment employee. So consider yourselves lucky that the taxpayers are funding your retirement. And that you have the union to negotiate high salaries and the best benefits for you. Believe me, a lot of people would want to be in your shoes. And frankly, I've seen some of these employees work in slow motion as if they have all the time in the day with people standing in long lines.

In fact, when I was employed by the government, all the union and the employees did was complain about the salaries and benefits. The union sucked out as much as they can to benefit the employees. I would say that being a unionized government-funded employee is the best job in the world. You are taken care of for the rest of your life.

[Sassberto]

Many of those city positions do not pay highly and are necessary positions like civil engineers.... are you suggesting we eliminate the city services and let the city rot?

[Oerdin]

I definitely voted for Aguirre. He was the only one trying to stand up to the corrupt good old boy network who has run this town since the 1970's. Ran it right into the ground.

[loveautumn]

My friend has worked for the UC college system for over 30 years and will retire soon...at almost 95% of salary for life, plus health benefits at the cost this person is currently paying (about $40 per month). This person makes about $55k per year. Never paid SS but has 401(3)b...sounds like a SWEET deal to me...nobody in private sector gets anything close to this.