A new report from the controller's office shows the city has an unfunded health care liability of $4.36 billion. That means it'll cost that much to pay the promised health care benefits for every current employee and retiree - and that number will keep growing as health care costs rise. By 2033, the tab will be a whopping $9.7 billion.
Guess how much the city has saved to pay down the costs so far? You guessed it. Nuthin'.
Controller Ben Rosenfield pointed out that cities up and down the state are in the same quandary and that there is a solution. Rather than just paying current-year health care costs, the city could set up a system similar to the way it pays pensions, paying into a trust fund that accumulates interest.
But to solve the problem, the city would have to start paying 15.4 percent of its salary costs toward health care every year. With a salary base of $2.4 billion annually, that would mean contributing $370 million a year. Remember, the city already has a deficit of nearly $400 million for next year.
And actually, this bleak scenario could have been a lot worse if voters hadn't passed Proposition B in 2008, which raised the vesting schedule for new employees to 20 years rather than five and required them to contribute 2 percent of their salaries into a health care fund.
Guess it's time for the mayor and supervisors to write some really nice, pleading letters to Santa.
- Heather Knight
Power plays: San Franciscans don't know who their next mayor or district attorney will be, but it's becoming clear who won't be taking the helm at City Hall and the Hall of Justice.
State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano politely declined to become interim mayor last week. Now we've learned that Judge Katherine Feinstein may not be eligible to be appointed district attorney - even if she wanted the position.
A confidential memo from the city attorney's office, obtained by The Chronicle, cites a part of the state Constitution, which states: "A judge of a court of record may not practice law and during the term for which the judge was selected is ineligible for public employment or public office." The section makes an exception for part-time teaching and goes on to say that a judge, "may, however, become eligible for election to other public office by taking a leave of absence without pay prior to filing a declaration of candidacy." We also got a peek at another opinion from a private attorney that says basically the same thing.
From what we hear, the memos are being interpreted by city leaders as saying that Feinstein could resign and run for district attorney next fall but cannot be appointed to the position.
- Marisa Lagos
Closing time: Any 2:30 a.m. park joggers out there might want to get ready to switch to midnight.
Mayor Gavin Newsom has introduced legislation that would set hours of operation for Golden Gate Park and McLaren Park, restricting access to the two largest city-owned parks after 1 a.m.
The mayor's administration says the effort targets crime and vandalism in city parks and is not a move to crack down on homeless campers.
"Camping is already illegal. This actually aims to address those people who are not camping but are up to no good," Newsom spokesman Tony Winnicker said. "If you're lurking in a park at 3 a.m., the chances are you're up to no good."
If passed by the Board of Supervisors, the proposed ordinance would close those two city parks from 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. and authorize the Recreation and Park Commission to set hours for other properties it oversees.
- John CotŠ¹
On a roll: Vendors who operate bike-share programs will make their equipment available for test rides in San Francisco today and Saturday. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is hosting the demonstration project at Civic Center Plaza on both days between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
The city is preparing to participate in a regional bike-share program with San Mateo and Santa Clara counties that will launch late next year or early 2012 in which members pay a fee to check out the communal bikes.
- Rachel Gordon
E-mail the City Insider team at cityinsider@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Read more: News
No comments:
Post a Comment