Pension reform detailed at Gov Affairs

CalPERS Division Chief of the Office of Stakeholder Relations External Affairs Branch Laura Enderton says the state Legislature hopes to propose pension reform by August that, over the next 30 years, could save the state somewhere between the $13 billion under the current plan and the $20 bil. as proposed by Governor Brown’s 12-point plan.
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Enderton was in from Sacramento to summarize the proposals during the Chamber’s monthly Government Affairs Forum this morning (Thursday, July 5) before heading out after the meeting to catch a plane back to Sacramento.
Enderton was invited by Forum co-chairperson and today’s moderator Mary Dougherty. The monthly Forums are free and open to the public.
Mayor Bob Harbicht pointed out that the City of Arcadia had already been pro-active in taking steps to reduce the overburdened retirement system and cost to the City of Arcadia by a.) dropping medical benefits for retirees, b.) requiring employees to pay the full contribution instead of the City, and c.) raising the retirement age. New City manager Dominick Lazzaretto is one of the first City employees who will fall under the new City retirement plan rules.
Assemblymember Anthony Portantino’s field representative, Hovanes Gasparian, provided a web site link that offers details of the complicated proposed legislation and updates during the process: www.aper.assembly.ca.gov.

Lazzaretto noted that construction was underway on improvements to Huntington Drive from the split at Santa Clara (improvement to intersection, extra right turn lane cut out of the County’s Arcadia Park, and adding median to eliminate left turns to and from San Rafael) to the intersection at Santa Anita Avenue (second left turn lanes north and south, and adding median to eliminate left turns in and out of alley behind shops on south side of Huntington). Construction will take several months with hopes of being complete by September and a hard deadline of late October (prior to Breeders’ Cup Nov. 2 and 3). Further construction details can be found here.

Among the others in attendance were Economic Development Manager Jerry Schwartz and Arcadian Jack Orswell, Republican Congressional candidate for the 27th District. Orswell is scheduled to be the guest speaker at next month’s Forum on Aug. 2. Please RSVP by calling the Chamber office at 626-447-2159.