Pension Costs Skyrocket In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Pension costs in San Francisco continue to rise, with the city controller's office saying the costs in the next fiscal year will be $100 million more than this year.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors President David Chiu said residents will likely be asked to weigh in on pension reform in November.
"We have to tackle this pension issue," he said.
KCBS' Margie Shafer Reports:
The controller's office said the total bill will hit $375 million next fiscal year and the city of San Francisco could be looking at a $532 million the year after.
"Over the past few years, we have passed several ballot initiatives to start to rain in our looming health care and pension costs," Chiu said. "We're going to continue that conversation this year."
He said a colleague on the board is in fact now drafting legislation for November regarding pension reform.
Chiu said he's hopeful for a better outcome than Public Defender Jeff Adachi, who floated an unsuccessful ballot measure that would have required city workers to pay more into their pension and health care plans.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Adachi's approach did not involve conversations with the stakeholders, such as labor, business leaders, elected officials and city staff," Chiu said.
He said labor has to be part of the solution, at the table working with the city.
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