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County employees and unions press supervisors to end Tier D retirement; board places study on consent and approves consent agenda
Summary
Dozens of county employees, unions and law-enforcement representatives urged the Board of Supervisors to eliminate the Tier D retirement benefit and move affected employees to Tier C, citing a Foster & Foster cost study and retention harms; the related study and consent items were adopted as part of the consent agenda.
A sustained block of public comment at the June 9 San Diego County Board of Supervisors meeting pressed the board to eliminate the county’s Tier D retirement formula, calling the tier inequitable and harmful to recruitment and retention.
Union leaders and county employees from SEIU Local 221, deputy public defenders, deputy district attorneys and other staff described Tier D as a two-tier system that discourages long-term public service. “The study shows what we already knew. It is a tiny percentage of the overall county budget compared to the impact it will have on workers and the services they provide,” Crystal Irving, president of SEIU Local 221, told the board during consent-agenda public comment.
Speakers cited a Foster & Foster cost study presented to the board showing that moving Tier D employees to Tier C would represent a small share of the county budget while improving recruitment and retention across multiple departments, including law enforcement, public defenders and public health nurses. Deputy public defenders said Tier D reduces the county’s ability to hold on to experienced staff and undermines public-service careers.
The board included the Tier D cost study and related staffing items on the consent agenda. After hearing dozens of in-person and phone comments, the board approved the consent agenda items (1–17) by unanimous vote among the supervisors present.
What came next: Staff will move forward with the next steps described in the consent items, including study follow-ups and any administrative processes outlined in the agenda letters. Advocates said they would continue to press the board to adopt a formal plan to eliminate Tier D in a future session.
Quotes from the meeting included multiple frontline staffers telling personal stories of how Tier D affects their retirement outlook and urging the county to act quickly to retain experienced employees.
Next steps: The consent action advances the study and makes related administrative items effective; any policy change eliminating Tier D would require a separate vote or future board action.
