Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Pensions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Supervisor Ellsbourne seeks charter changes to curb employer retirement costs; committee continues for actuarial review
Summary
Supervisor Ellsbourne presented a charter amendment seeking to reduce employer retirement contribution costs for the city, citing projections that employer contributions could rise to 27% and hundreds of millions in additional annual costs; the committee continued the item to allow actuarial analysis and further meet-and-confer with unions.
Supervisor Ellsbourne introduced a charter amendment aimed at reducing employer retirement benefit costs, emphasizing the city’s projected long‑term pension liabilities and the need to restrain future employer contributions.
Ellsbourne outlined the fiscal case, saying that "next year's employer contribution is gonna be 13.6%" and that "roughly speaking, 1% equals $25,000,000," adding the projection that the employer contribution could reach 27% ("That's $675,000,000") within a multi‑year horizon. He framed the measure as primarily affecting new hires and described changes including raising public‑safety employee contributions for new hires.
Committee members and labor representatives pressed for additional actuarial numbers and for more negotiation with employee bargaining units. Deputy City Attorney Andrew Shen advised the committee that charter amendment deadlines allow some schedule flexibility, and Ellsbourne said the retirement system’s actuarial analysis would be available for the next meeting. After public comment from union representatives and the chamber, the committee agreed to continue the item to allow additional actuarial work and bargaining‑unit discussions.
