Do you trust SF politicians? (San Diego, San Francisco: 2015, how much, salary)

[jazznblues]

Very interesting new article by the SF Weekly, posted on another thread on C-D.

Let It Bleed - Page 1 - News - San Francisco - SF Weekly

SF's leaders seem to be burying their heads in the sand considering the coming explosion in expenses to cover the pensions of city employees.

It appears only one supervisor, or other person of similar stature, is willing to address the issue. 1 of 7 dollars in SF's budget goes to benefits and pensions right now, and it will grow dramatically in the near future.

I cannot believe that in most years, public employees in San Francisco don't have to contribute to their pension plans. And the voters approve propositions that contain huge loopholes (2004's Proposition H for example).

[The Land]

San Francisco? Why would anybody trust any Politician?

[hoffdano]

I guess the San Francisco residents here don't care that their city leaders are doing almost nothing to plan for a major financial event. The unions and the mayor, supervisors (except one?) are working together to prevent any changes to the almost ridiculous pension benefits (90%).

The budget pressure will cause pain in other programs that people in the City love.

Or they will find something to tax? What?

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by jazznblues

Very interesting new article by the SF Weekly, posted on another thread on C-D.

Let It Bleed - Page 1 - News - San Francisco - SF Weekly

SF's leaders seem to be burying their heads in the sand considering the coming explosion in expenses to cover the pensions of city employees.

It appears only one supervisor, or other person of similar stature, is willing to address the issue. 1 of 7 dollars in SF's budget goes to benefits and pensions right now, and it will grow dramatically in the near future.

I cannot believe that in most years, public employees in San Francisco don't have to contribute to their pension plans. And the voters approve propositions that contain huge loopholes (2004's Proposition H for example).

You're in Austin Texas, how much of the city budget goes to pensions there.

[Twinkle Toes]

I don't trust ANY politician.

[sav858]

I trust them to constantly provide entertainment with their whacky proposals.

As far as city pension costs, this is hardly a SF-only problem. Go look at San Diego's pension mess, it's been a hot topic for years yet nothing significant has happened to address the problem. SF politicians are mostly bad but that is hardly unique and pretty common among large American cities it seems.

[jazznblues]

Originally Posted by Boompa

You're in Austin Texas, how much of the city budget goes to pensions there.

A recent article in the Austin newspaper says about $27M. Not $324M. Twenty seven million. San Francisco spends three hundred twenty four million NOW. And the costs will skyrocket to half a billion by 2015. That's if the pension spiking is no worse than it is today.

The average pension earned by an Austin employee is $34,200 per year. Austin employees contribute 8% of their pay into the pension plan. They have been paying in at that rate since 1999. Workers retire at an average age of 57 with 20 years of service. San Francisco has almost 2400 retirees who earn over $75K per year. The Austin pension board apparently decided to act now to address the funding shortfall before it gets worse. It seems San Francisco hasn't woken up to it yet.

Austin looks to alter pension rules

I like the line in the SF Weekly article that says "San Francisco is a vending machine for salary and benefits."

[californio sur]

What is all this Texan interest in San Francisco? Is life so boring in Texas that you are compelled to worry about San Francisco's fiscal shape or is there another reason Texans seem preoccupied with California?

[Curmudgeon]

Is this a trick question?

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by californio sur

What is all this Texan interest in San Francisco? Is life so boring in Texas that you are compelled to worry about San Francisco's fiscal shape or is there another reason Texans seem preoccupied with California?

Answered your own question