Tag: CalPERs

CARD Still Won’t Reform Its Unfunded Liabilities

Posted on by liberty530

While the markets are nosediving and already underfunded CalPERS is taking a big hit, CARD still refuses to reform its unaffordable pension and other post employment benefit liabilities. This despite the failure of Measure A.

Here’s what CARD board member and CalPERS six figure pension recipient Tom Lando had to say in today’s ER:

Thoughts vary on Measure A’s defeat

Even though we said — truthfully — that there’s a plan to pay off unfunded liabilities, people weren’t sure. Pensions are hanging over people’s heads.

Sure there is a plan. It is to do what they’ve been doing for years: divert millions of the taxpayer’s dollars that should go to maintenance, programs and new facilities to CalPERS so the pension gravy train can keep rolling. And that’s exactly what CARD will continue to do. And Measure A supporters blamed CARD’s unfunded liabilities on the state. That’s a lie. It wasn’t the state that approved CARD’s unaffordable employee compensation packages. It was CARD’s board.

And the ER article attributes the defeat of Measure A in part to “a robust anti-Measure A campaign.”

What a laugh. Yes, a handful of people wrote letters to the two local newspaper and a couple of people blogged against Measure A and there were some No on A signs but that was it. The ER article fails to mention that special interests poured over $64,000 to push through Measure A including $50,000 from the SIEU and $6,000 from board member and six figure CalPERS pension recipient Tom Lando.

CARD’s board and bureaucracy have no intention of ever reforming their unfunded liabilities. They expect taxpayers to continue to pay for unfordable pensions and other post employment benefits at the expense of park maintenance, programs and new facilities.

Had Measure A passed CARD’s board planned to spend two-thirds of the new tax money not on the parks and programs but on debt service. Of course CARD didn’t mention this in the ballot measure. Shouldn’t taxpayers have been told that before they passed a permanent and ever increasing tax?

And in addition to the over $64,000 from special interests that was raised, CARD spent 132,500 taxpayer dollars trying to get Measure A passed. THIS, THE DIVERSION OF MONEY TO CALPERS AND THE INTENTION OF SPENDING MOST OF THE NEW TAX ON DEBT SERVICE SHOWS WHAT TERRIBLE STEWARDS CARD AND ITS BUREAUCRACY ARE OF THE TAXPAYER’S MONEY.

CARD’s board and supporters deceived the public. Measure A was a fraud. The entire CARD board needs to go and Lando should be the first out the door, and the new board should get rid of CARD’s existing bureaucracy.

Measure L(ando) Goes Down to Defeat

Posted on by liberty530

The people within CARD’s taxing authority had the good sense to vote down Measure A. It was a bad tax that would have resulted in $36 million in new debt. It was regressive, permanent and two of every three dollars they would have taken from you would have gone to Wall Street for interest and fees. What a waste of money! And of course, the special interests backed it with over $64,000.

And this tax was proposed because like the City of Chico, CARD refuses to reform its unfunded liabilities. For years CARD has sent millions to CalPERS for its crazy pensions that should have gone for maintenance, programs and new facilities. And this is happening in large part because board members such as Tom Lando receive ever increasing six figure pensions. In fact, Lando put up $6,000 to pass Measure L(ando)! TALK ABOUT A CONFLICT OF INTEREST! THIS SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!

When it comes to unfunded liabilities the City of Chico is in far worse shape than CARD. And even if the voters are stupid enough to pass their sales tax increase they will still send tax money that should go for roads and other essentials to CalPERS so bureaucrats can retire in their fifties with pensions worth multi-millions and Cadillac health plans.

VOTE NO ON THE CITY’S SALES TAX INCREASE IN NOVEMBER!