City Workers Urged to Forgo Pension Perk That Cost $800,000 This Year

A retirement perk that city workers have enjoyed for a decade took an $800,000 bite from the budget this year, and Councilman Dave Sullivan said the workers should give it up for the good of the city.

“With this million or so going out the door every year, it really makes it difficult,” Sullivan said this week.

But an official for one union said city workers gave up a pay raise when the perks started, and they won’t give up benefits without something in exchange.

When city workers retire, instead of taking a full pension they can choose to take only a portion. That way the checks continue going to their survivors when they die.

In Huntington Beach, the city makes up the difference between the full and partial payments, often 4% to 10% of the whole, Deputy City Administrator Bob Franz said.

Furthermore, a routine audit two years ago showed that the pension account had a $14-million deficit. If all city workers retired today, the city would need that much for the pensions, in addition to what it already has saved, Franz said.

To eliminate the supplements, all seven city unions would have to approve the move. Board member Tom Hasty of the Municipal Employees Assn., which represents 525 city workers, said the MEA is willing to do so but would not give up benefits unilaterally.

“Had they been funding it since ’84 or ‘85, since they negotiated it, it wouldn’t be a problem,” he said of the city. “Now that falls on the shoulders of the employee because it wasn’t budgeted, right?”