Headlines sell; but in politics, headlines sometimes sell voters a bill of goods that sounds like the solution to their problems, until the fix makes things even worse.
Such may be the case with 2012’s Proposition B, championed back then as the cure for San Diego’s fiscal problems. Prop B was a City Charter amendment that eliminated pensions for all employees except police officers, a carve-out to get cops from opposing the measure.
The new law was the calling-card of then Councilman Carl DeMaio, a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative that was gearing up to run for SD Mayor. DeMaio had promoting the elimination of pensions as a way for the City to fix its budget problems in the long-term, creating savings by only contributing to employees’ 401K plans instead of costly city funded pensions for life. In reality, the fight was more about eliminating a political tool of labor unions, a major opponent of DeMaio.
At the time, San Diego, like just about every city in the country, was recovering from the Great Recession of 2008 by cutting expenses. San Diego was facing tens of millions of dollars in budget cuts, and proponents of Prop B claimed the measure would save nearly $1 billion over 30 years. Critics argued the savings were exaggerated and inaccurate.
Never one to let the facts get in the way of a good political argument, DeMaio pushed forward with Prop B and raised over $1 million to fund the campaign. At the same time, DeMaio was also raising money for his own mayoral campaign, and riding the wave of taxpayer discontent with city government.
On Election Day in June 2012, Proposition B passed with over 66 percent support, and was hailed by its supporters as the cure to the City’s problems.
Easier said than done.
Fast forward three years and let’s see where the City stands.
First, DeMaio rode high on the success of the Prop B campaign in June 2012. But, just a few months later in November of that year, voters instead chose Congressman Bob Filner as their Mayor. Filner’s time as Mayor was short lived when, just 15 months into his term, he was embroiled in a sexual harassment case that forced him to resign from office. Kevin Faulconer was then elected to replace him in a special election. Faulconer has maintained the position that the pension reform measure was a good thing.
Then, in December of 2015, the California Public Employees Retirement Board (PERB) ruled that then-Mayor Jerry Sanders had violated the law by campaigning for Prop B while Mayor. The ruling sought to undo Prop B but, because Prop B was passed by voters and can only be removed by voters, the Court left the measure in place. Instead, the PERB ordered the City to reimburse employees for losses sustained since the passage of Prop B until such time as the law is changed. That ruling could cost the City millions even if Prop B is never repealed.
Both sides, the City and labor unions opposed to Prop B, have filed appeals to the California Supreme Court for a final ruling. That decision will either invalid all of Prop B and return pensions for all employees, or it will uphold the measure.
In the meantime, though, the real damage to the City may come from the unintended consequences of Prop B.
Since the passage of the pension reform, for example, the City has experienced a massive understaffing of emergency dispatchers, a critical piece of our public safety network. San Diego is 20 dispatchers short of the 130 needed, thereby extended emergency response times to unacceptable levels. The job is stressful and the requirements, including a physical test, a background check, and a polygraph test, reduce the number of qualified applicants.
But, the major hurdle to finding good applicants is that San Diego is the only city in the county that does not offer pensions for city emergency dispatchers. Applicants are taking dispatcher positions with the Sheriff’s Department and other cities, including Chula Vista, for better pay and a pension.
Forced to find other solutions, the City is now paying existing dispatchers overtime to fill in the gaps. The City is also allowing former dispatchers that now work in other departments the option to work overtime as dispatchers. Even off-duty police officers are working overtime hours on the phones. And in his new budget, Mayor Faulconer added money to help recruit, train, and retain dispatchers, including offering a $1,000 merit bonus to existing dispatchers.
Now the City is spending more money in overtime and stretching the staff thin just to meet its minimum staffing demands.
So, one can assume that the same disincentive to working for the City of San Diego also applies to other positions, including fire fighters, life guards, attorneys, engineers, planners, and other City jobs, which slowly eats away at the City’s functions. Over time, the City will lose more in lost productivity, hiring and training, and overtime than the estimates of savings from Prop B.
The City Council and Mayor must carefully analyze the true impacts from Prop B and find a solution that leads to better delivery of services for the long run, for the good of the residents of San Diego, regardless of political philosophies.
Lives are at stake. San Diegans don’t have time for political games anymore. Or headlines.