Citizens of Bell, Calif., outraged at high pay for city officials also must pay them tens of millions of dollars more for the rest of their lives in retirement benefit promises that apparently are not funded. Officials claim 15 years of "balanced" budgets that may have used accounting tricks. Public finance experts say the situation in Bell is just a symptom of what is happening across that state and the nation.
By Jonathan Miltimore
Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity
A small California city that claims it balanced budgets while paying three employees more than $1.62 million a year may be flooded in red ink from unfunded pension promises, experts say.
And the problem in Bell — population 37,332, median household income $29,946 — is symptomatic of what is happening throughout California and many states and municipalities.
The city annually paid City Manager Robert Rizzo $787,637, Police Chief Randy Adams $464,000 and Assistant City Manager Angela Spaccia $376,288.
Even though they resigned, taxpayers remain on the hook for their pensions, which in Rizzo’s case may cost $31 million on top of lifetime retirement health-care costs.
According to Marcia Fritz, President of California for Pension Reform, “The conditions allowed this to happen; it is happening all across the state to a lesser degree.”
But according to a study by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the CalPERS pension system has $59.5 billion in unfunded retirement promises. The Government Accountability Office put the Other Post Employment Benefits debt at $62.5 billion. A recently published
Mayor Oscar Hernandez defended Rizzo’s salary in a statement last week, claiming an L.A. Times story exposing the pay presented a “skewed view of the facts.”
“Rizzo leaves Bell in a far better position than he found it 17 years ago,” Hernandez said in a statement. “A full, fair reporting of the facts would also have demonstrated that [he] delivered
On Monday, Hernandez reversed course, apologizing in a public statement and calling the salaries “indefensible.”
Rizzo, Adams and Spaccia resigned last week, but the city and other
“It depends on how his plan was structured, what benefits he took advantage of,” Fritz, a CPA said. She estimated the plan’s lifetime value at about $31 million.
“Nobody knows,” Fritz said. “Neither does CalPERS (California Public Employees' Retirement System). They probably won’t know for years.”
But experts agree a “balanced budget” offers no real indication of a city’s true financial health.
Katherine Barrett, a senior advisor for the Pew study, The Trillion Dollar Gap: Underfunded State Retirement Systems and the Road to Reform, said a majority of cities and states are “balancing budgets” by deferring employee pensions and other post employment benefits, an untenable long-term strategy.
“The vast majority of cities, counties and states have funded very little of what they owe,” Barrett said “Most are dealing with post employment benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis.”
These funding gaps, which the Pew study calculated as of June 2008, will have to be accounted for in future spending, Barrett said.
A report issued last year by the U.S. Government Accountability Office also based on data that predate the market downturn confirms Barrett’s claim. The GAO account, based on the comprehensive annual reports of the states and 39 local governments, reported a funding gap of at least $560 billion in these governments for Other Post Employment Benefits alone.
Latest estimate from The Franklin Center calculated pension fund investment shortfalls nationally of at least $1.3 trillion as of March 31 of this year based on fund earnings data reported last week by the U.S. Census Bureau. Unfunded benefits promises will compound that shortfall.
Barrett said governments deferring retirement fund contributions forces taxpayers and current government employees to make up the difference.
“If governments don’t pay their contributions, over time it’s a serious threat,” Barrett said.
Fritz said a lack of transparency and an affinity for closed “public” meetings have made backroom deal-making routine, resulting in deficits governments cannot maintain.
Johnathan Miltimore is a national reporter for The Franklin Center on Government and Public Integrity focusing on state and municipal fiscal matters.
[...] of the positions and salaries of its three highest paid employees, can mitigate pay scandals like those in Bell, California, experts say, and keep citizens appraised on spending. [...]
A matter that needs investigated
On case#VA107160
People Vs buddy lee George
Norwalk superior court norwalk California division S
Judge the Honorable Roger Ito
Los Angeles county district attorney Kang.
A case that can be proved as unconstitutional due to the following
1.) I was denied my due process rights.
2.) the district attorney had me charged with prison priors and strikes that I did not have and it was not until after the verdict did she admit her mistakes.
3.) I was denied to confront witnesses I supoened 5 officers and only one showed up.
4.) the only witness that showed up was detective hakala from Whittier police department he was the lead detective and expert witness.
5.) the was bias with the processing of evidence he used his own lab.
6.) he lied under oath by saying he removed the drugs before the pre search video because he had a dog.
7.) the evidence in the case had been destroyed before the trial
Evidence was destroyed 5-29-09
The verdict was read on 8-15-09
8.) the attorney that represented me right before the trial caused a conflict of interest by violating attorney client privilege by having a meeting with the city of la mirada without my permission nor knowledge were he discussed my case were he was convinced by the city saying I should take a deal under the condition I move out of la mirada when I get out of prison.
9.) Henry salcido also told me at one point he didn’t care If I was innocent or guilty I should take a deal.
10.) he also told me at one point he was best friends with steve Cooley and if I gave him $180.000 and sign over the deed to our home he could make the case disappear.
11.) their was two retired district attorneys that were working for Henry salcidos law firm that were also over familiar with sheriffs and narcotics department that were involved in my case.
12.) through the whole case the la mirada mayor and council members had law enforcement harassing me their was about 300 or more calls made to law enforcement with the intent to have me harassed
13.) I can also prove false imprisonment.
14.) I was charged with possession for sales when no drugs were ever found to be in my possessing neither was any money ever recovered and according to the detective he found $13 dollars worth of drugs in our home all together in separate bags and only one had been tested the second one was never tested.
15.) it was unconstitutional for detective hakala to target me when their was 5 occupants living in our home at the time.
16.) the search warrant he used to get in our home the day he supposedly found the drugs was stamped denied.
17.) the second search warrant had a type -o- error and the name on the search warrant was Walter Eugene Farris a guy that I don’t know and neither did any one els that lived in our home and he had never been in our home.
18.)The attorney that represented me during the trial had not been given enough to to familiarize her self with my case the judge refused to give her time to overlook the case.
19.) after we picked the jurors one of the jurors was prejudice he said no matter what he would find me guilty because he hates drug dealers the judge still allowed juror # 19 to hang out with all the other jurors until he was replaced.
The following needs to be investigated
1.) violation of due process rights
2.) my state and federal rights were violated.
3.) false imprisonment
4.) harassment
5.) negligent
6.) malpractice
7.) wrongful conviction
8.) officer misconduct
9.) judicial misconduct
10.) cruel and unusual punishment. Email below evidence when the evidence had been destroyed a email from detective hakala to district attorney kang.
11.) the city of la mirada offered to buy our home at cost saying under the condition I couldn’t live in la mirada nor Whittier.
12.)la mirada law enforcement was raiding our home practically daily.
13.) before this case started detective jerry Reyes told me as he handed me his card with his hand writing on it that if I dident help him he would screw me.
14.) detective hakala and district attorney kang kept inflicting lies on the jury.
15.) I was not on probation or parole when this case started.
16.) our car had also been impounded 3 to 4 times every time officers said just tell us were the drugs are we won’t impound the vehicle and every time I was honest by saying I don’t have any drugs they impounded it any way.
17.) detective hakala went through my confidential legal mail violating my constitutional rights instead of using normal mail he used a 42 u.s.c 1983 to identify me as living here during The trial mentioning a law suite involving Copley
18.) during the proceedings of the case no one had any idea I studied law I even represented my self in the federal courts I studied criminal and civil for about five years including 42 u.s.c $1983″s torts writs civic codes ethics even the CCR title 15 rules and regulations.
19.) I’m hoping to resolve this with out filing in the federal courts I’m exhausting all remedies if the matter is not resolved then I’m given not much choice because I was wronged
Sorry but this is frustrating I just want this matter looked into.
20.) I can prove the following.
1.)deformation of character.
2.) false imprisonment.
3.) negligence.
4.) harassment.
5.) malpractice.
6.) wrongful conviction.
7.) constitutional violations with my civil rights.
8.) including $10.000 dollars of damage to our home.
9.)reckless disregard.
10.) coaxing
11.) including due process rights involved in a criminal court proceeding involving corruption.
12.) the situation that escalated
Into this case was a incident involving a parole officer mr verimontes he worked for la mirada public safety and the Santa fe springs parole department in the year 2001
He was contracted by both at the same time their was a incident involved with are daughters boy friend driving a vehicle in a irate speed going to autozone test driving a 1997 ford explorer some car was parked 3 ft out from the curb
And some kids were playing in the middle of the street they moved out of the street as he was driving up hill and swerved to miss the car when we got back a neighbor showed up cussing and yelling in a violent manner as I got out of the passenger side he was trying to provoke me I asked him to calm down he told me fuck you I said I have kids and theirs no need for this he stated bull I ignored him and went next door and eventually went to the store with our cousin next door not knowing while we were gone the neighbor had called the sheriffs by time I got home their was no law enforcement around but when I reported to parole I was giving him the heads up about possible call made to law enforcement with our address he asked did you have any police contact I stated no he said don’t worry about it then that nite shows up with law enforcement to arrest me for driving with out a license I was in jail double the normal time waiting for my bpt hearing mean while I hired a attorney for ADA issues he had no idea that the attorney representing me at board had investigated his wrong doing because he went to every neighbor showing first my whole criminal past then mug shots asking if they seen me driving the attorney caught him lying under oath at least 12 times the commissioner let me go home when I had got out mr verimontes told me pack up your shit your moving back to Sacramento in such a irate manner to were other people eventually had to get him he told me that if I appealed him he would get a petition with our neighbors so I reported to parole in Sacramento and while I was there I filed a 602 inmate appeal demanding It to be exhausted so I could file a 42 u.s.c $1983 I charged him with the following
1.) racial profiling
2.) negligence
3.) harassment
4.) deformation of character
5.) false imprisonment
6.) I filed to a copy of the bpt hearing tape only to find out it had been damaged 3 days after the hearing when it was not suppose to be damaged for 120 days were I was entitled to a copy of it only to be denied eventually the 602 complaint allowed me to come home after he was involuntarily moved from both jobs.
7.) the city mayor and council members had sheriffs going through any lengths to get me for anything just to send me to prison also to force me to move from la mirada.
8.) we had a 2002 ford explorer literally torn apart to the point it was not worth having the interior completely destroyed.
9.) our home was stalked by sheriffs to the point our kids moved out.
10.) their are witnesses to two sheriff deputies named Morris and tousey that work for the city of la mirada telling every drug addict that I am a kingpin and a drug dealer.
11.) we even called the sheriffs about some one driving a car into our garage door they showed no interest in the damage done to our home.
12.) the sheriffs also known our home had been broken into and vandalized on numerous occasions.
13.) Morris and tousey also were telling people say his name you go free Morris and tousey are Los Angeles county sheriffs.
THIS ALL ADDS UP WASTEFUL
SPENDING
Buddy George – VA107160From: joanne alberry
View Contact To: LAURIE YTARTE —————–
————————————————————-
– Laurie,here is the email from the Detective
telling the court that all the property was
destroyed. Sorry about all of it. Feel free to mail
me any payments you can at my office address
4229 Main St Suite 4 Riverside CA 92501 I will
let you know when I find an attorney who will
take on a governemtn entity. good luck to you
and Buddy,Joanne ———- Forwarded message
———-From: Date: Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 7:23
AMSubject: Fw: Buddy George – VA107160To:
joannealberry@gmail.com Hi Joanne, Per our
conversation, here is the email from Detective
Hakala confirming that the evidence was
destroyed. I will request that our matter be taken
off calendar today. Thanks. ———————-
Forwarded by Miriam Kang/DAUsers/NLADA on
09/25/2009 07:22 AM ————————— To:
cc: Subject: RE: Buddy George – VA107160 I
contacted our central property and the items
seized in the Buddy George case (408-15814-
0460-184) were dispoed on 05-29-09. Any other
questions just let me know. Eric ———————
———————————————————–
From: MKang@da.lacounty.gov
[mailto:MKang@da.lacounty.gov]Sent: Thu
9/24/2009 2:49 PMTo: Hakala, Eric J.Subject:
Buddy George – VA107160 Hi Detective Hakala,
Just as a reminder, please email me a letter
confirming that the the property booked into
evidence for this case has been disposed of and
the date of disposal. Thanks so much!
Sincerely,Miriam KangDeputy District
AttorneyTel: 562-807-7211