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Home My WebLink About05/14/04 B A K E R S F I E L D CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE MEMORANDUM May 14, 2004 TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council FROM: Alan Tandy, City Manager /~TD.~//-~_~-. SUBJECT: General Information 1. The panel interviews with the two candidates for Chief of Police took place today. We hope to be able to announce the final selection to you before the end of next week. 2. Per the Council's directive at the Wednesday meeting, we cast our vote in opposition to the Governor's budget deal at the League meeting in Sacramento on Thursday. Discussion on the issue was cut off early, and we were one of only a few other cities to cast a symbolic "no" in the voice vote. You have received, separately, our strongly worded letter to the president of the League describing our extreme displeasure as to the acceptance of the Governor's deal over the LOCAL initiative. As a result of those actions, we now face a "take" of $3.2 million in each of the next two fiscal years. The Governor's original proposal was to take $1.3 million in FY 2004/05. We are worse off than before, and we have no reasonable: basis to count on being reimbursed for the money we are "loaning" to the State. The State has found many creative ways around paying us back for the money they have taken from us in the past, and it is doubtful that will change. With the Governor's revised budget issued Thursday, he has indicated he does not want any delay in getting it adopted by June 30th. However, the Legislature is now to review his proposal and is supposed to submit their version to him by June 15th. As mentioned numerous times before, very rarely is the State budget ever adopted by the so-called deadline. We will continue to do what is necessary to prepare our FY 2004-05 budget for Council approval. However, we remain in a "wait and see" mode as to how the State's decisions will affect our ability to provide services and maintain operations. The latest articles from the Los Angeles Times and the Sacramento Bee on the Governor's revised budget are enclosed. It is noted that many budget analysts predict the Governor's plan will still result in a deficit of approximately $7 billion by next year, with doubt that the shortfall will be gone by the following year. Honorable Mayor and City Council May 14, 2004 Page 2 2. Councilmember Maggard requested a history of the City and Redevelopment Agency revenues that have been shifted by the State to cover their expenses. A table is enclosed showing the amounts they have taken through ERAF tax shifts, booking fees, sales taxes, and property taxes since 1990-91. It also shows the projection for FY 2004-05, based on the Governor's proposal. The State's practice has been to increase the amount every year, from creating a $600,000 loss for us in 1990-91 to a $9.5 million loss projected in FY 2004-05. 3. Councilmember Maggard asked for clarification on why Bakersfield's allocation to be paid to the State, under the Governor's plan, is larger than Stockton's, as both our cities are similar in size. It is a result of our larger revenueS from sales tax. An explanatory memo is attached. 4. Since the Wednesday Council meeting, we have done a lot of work to keep the Assistance League sale and California Avenue development moving forward. Certain of the conditions imposed by the Council on the amendment to the development agreement may be problematic for the lender. We believe those issues can be resolved, but the time frame of closing on the State owned building that is to be the new location for the Assistance League is an issue. Rest assured, however, that we are striving to meet the Council's desires and get the deal done! My catching the flu was, unfortunately, untimely, in that I wasn't able to participate in the discussion during the Council meeting. 5. Chief Matlock received the attached communication from the California Chief Police Association with regard to the Governor's budget revisions. There was initial concern that the COPS funding might be jeopardized, but the Governor's staff has assured law enforcement advocates that it will continue to be fully funded. 6. An article from the May 10th Sacramento Bee is attached regarding medical disability pensions for public safety personnel. It provides a good overview of the topic and some of the concerns we deal with locally, as well. 7. Thanks and best wishes to Building Director Dennis Fidler, who retired this week after many years of dedicated service to the City. His customer service orientation has been second to none, and he will be missed! 8. Public Works reports that the Brundage Lane improvement project is moving along. The Streets Division has been working on the curb, gutter, and sidewalk improvements. This week, concrete work was done on the south side of Brundage between Chester Avenue and P Street. They have also placed electrica! conduit and street light foundations in those areas where new street light work is occurring. New curb, gutter, and sidewalk will follow from P Street to Union Avenue on the south side of the street. Following that, work will begin on the north side of Brundage from west of P Street, and east of P Street to Union Avenue. This project 'is part of the $2.0 million allocated for projects in southeast Bakersfield. Honorable Mayor and City Council May 14, 2004 Page 3 9. Public Works reports that the City's landfill closure plan has been successfully reviewed by the Kern County Environmental Health Services Department, as the local enforcement agency for the California Integrated Waste Management Board (ClWMB). While reviews by other State agencies are underway, the County approval is one checkpoint in the process that is now complete. 10. The latest interesting statistical information about Bakersfield lists us in an annual survey of the least costly top 100 U.S. travel destinations. According to the Business Travel News, Bakersfield ranked at 93, which indicates that visitors to our community get a very good economic value for the money they spend here. AT:rs cc: Department Heads Pam McCarthy, City Clerk Trudy Slater, Administrative Analyst MEMORANDUM TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: Nelson K. Smith, Assistant Finance Director DATE: May 14, 2004 SUBJECT: State Revenue Expenditure Shifts The attached spreadsheet summarizes various shifts related to actions taken by the State over the past several years. The spreadsheet has been updated to include the May revisions to the Governors Proposed Budget for 2004-05, including the proposed $3,116,340 take fi:om the City and the $250,000 take fi:om the Agency. Attachment cc: Gregory J. Klimko John W. Stinson S:kNelsonkMemo - eraf cover May 2004.doc CITY OF BAKERSFIELD ~,.) STATE REVENUE / EXPENDITURE SHIFT ,, PROPERTY TAX - DECREASES (ERAF) BOOKING FEES / PROPERTY TAX ADMIN. FEES - INCREASES ERAF Booking Properly Tax Fund Tax Shift Booking 1/2 Cent Fees Admin. Fees Net Revenue Year City RDA Fees Sales Tax (A) Reimbursed (C) CityRDA Loss 1990-91 239,400 362,269 601,669 1991-92 255,528 386,474 29,393 671,395 1992-93 1,713,423 208,314 304,095 379,709 27,030 2,632,571 1993-94 3,488,186 74,873 300,076 (419,532) 302,15.5 21,566 3,767,324 1994-95 3,638,680 74,891 511,385 (548,368) 354,707 25,269 4,056,564 1995-96 3,787,493 669,857 (620,489) 349,063 26,704 4,212,628 1996-97 3,826,067 694,972 (654,585) 388,914 30,028 4,285,396 1997-98 4,022,590 714,431 (683,153) 377,296 27,545 4,458,709 1998-99 4,138,921 729,434 (717,737) 454,085 31,285 4,635,988 1999-00 4,310,019 781,109 (795,865) (714,431) 373,065 27,951 3,981,848 2000-01 4,512,392 812,353 (847,259) (714,431) 509,533 38,416 4,311,004 2001-02 4,684,445 844,847 (806,142) (714,431) 512,813 58,889 4,580,421 2002-03 4,949,881 75,460 878,641 (908,090) (714,431) 567,376 56,873 4,905,710 2003-04 (B) 5,360,752 132,543 913,800 (955,000) (714,431) 600,000 63,000 5,400,664 2004-05 (E) 8,642,625 * 250,000 950,000 (1,000,000) 600,000 63,000 9,505,625 (A) Prop 172 Commencing 1993-94 (11 months) ERAF = Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund (B) Budget ERAF XXX-9010-911.70-18 (C) AB 1662 Commencing 1999-00 BOOKING FEES 011-2021-502.70-12 (E) Estimate Tax Admin XXX-9010-911.30-20 · Includes $3,116,340 take in Governor's Proposal 2004-05 Budget (May revision) S:\KimG\Gregory\Wksht- ERAF.XLSSTATE REVENUE EXPENDITURE SHIFT 5/14/200411:59 AM 'B A K .E.' R ~S F I' E L. D OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER ......... MEMORANDUM May 14, 2004 TO: Alan Tandy, City Manager FROM: John W. Stinson,~s'ssistant City Manager SUBJECT: Request by Councilmember Maggard for clarification of State capture allocation Councilmember Maggard called and asked for a clarification regarding why the allocation of the State Capture was more for the City of Bakersfield (3.2 Million) than the City of Stockton ($2.7 Million) since they are similar in size. The formula used by the League to allocate the $350 million in state budget capture of property taxes between cities is based on 1/3 of the VLF revenues, 1/3 of Property Tax revenues, and 1/3 of Sales Tax Revenues. There is also a cap of no more than 4% and a floor of at least 2% for each city. When comparing the City of Bakersfield and Stockton we have very similar amounts allocated for vehicle license fees and property taxes since those revenues are very similar. However, for sales taxes we have a much larger allocation since our sales tax revenues are close to $50 Million compared to $34 Million for Stockton. That is the reason for the difference. The League studied various formulas for allocating the capture and because cities have a wide variety of different levels of funding depending on which revenue you select, they felt it was most fair to use a blended allocation formula instead of just relying on one revenue basis for the allocation. Document2 ~os Ar/tgeles Times: Budget Puts OffTough Choices Page 1 of 4 http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget 14mayl 4,1,5923542.story?coil=la-home-headlines STATE BUDGET Budget Puts Off Tough Choices Governor's revised plan avoids deep cuts in spending and includes no new taxes. Many analysts see another deficit looming. By Evan Halper and Robert Salladay Times Staff Writers May 14, 2004 SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger offered a $102-billion revised state budget Thursday that largely spares the state deep spending cuts that many had feared but pushes tough choices off for another year. The proposal includes no new taxes. By contrast to the budget he presented in January, the revision lightens cuts to health and welfare programs and includes more money for roads. But.the proposal still confronts the Legislature with a number of hard decisions, such as whether to eliminate promised raises to government workers, cut public college funding and transform how the state helps local governments pay for police, fire and other services. Schwarzenegger described his plan as a "compassionate budget" but said it would also require sacrifices. "We have to be honest about our budget crisis," he said. "We have a lot of work to do .... Everyone has to tighten their belts. Everyone has to give some." The revision drops the idea of limiting the number of poor children and AIDS patients who could enroll in state healthcare programs. And it proposes to restart transportation projects with money from a deal the governor is negotiating with'casino-owning Indian tribes. Many budget analysts project that a deficit of about $7 billion will appear by next year under the governor's proposal, and they are skeptical of his claim that a shortfall will be erased altogether by the year after. The revised budget also relies on assumptions that may be overly optimistic. For example, it calls for the state's influential prison guards union to give up $300 million in raises due under its contract. The governor was able to abandon cuts in some areas as a result of the improving economy, which has boosted tax revenues about $1 billion. An additional windfall of $1.2 billion came from an amnesty program that let taxpayers avoid penalties if they paid taxes owed because they used illegal shelters. But the administration's own cautious economic projections suggest that Califomia will not be able to grow its way out of the red. Officials assume that the growth rate in total personal income will rise from 5.4% this year to 5.6% next year, and that job growth will jump from an anemic 0.8% to 2.1%. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la_me_budget 14may 14,1,5567352,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines 5/14/2004 ,~Los Aggeles Times: Budget Puts OffTough Choices ~ Page 2 of 4 State economists said the governor's predictions appeared reasonable. CriticS suggested that he was using the same budgeting schemes he campaigned against. "The old way of doing things is what we are doing now, pushing it off into the future," said Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco). "The new way would be stepping up to the plate." Democrats also criticized the plan as still cutting too deeply into services for the poor and middle class. They say those cuts should be offset with new taxes on the wealthy. Schwarzenegger said that would only add to the state's problems. The governor, however, appears headed toward an agreement with lawmakers that would get a budget passed without any new taxes by his June 30 deadline, the day before the start of the next fiscal year. That's thanks largely to deals he privately reached with local governments, teachers unions and public universities, traditionally allies of the Legislature's majority Democrats. The groups have agreed to accept billions of dollars in budget cuts now in return for assurances from the governor that they will not be cut again in the coming years. Local' governments, for example, would accept $1.3 billion in cuts over each of the next two years in return for the governor's support of a constitutional amendment that would protect their share of state revenues from ever again being reduced. Cuts 'Never Easy' "It's never easy to take budget cuts," said Los Angeles City Council President Alex Padilla. "But in the long term, this is a big win for local governments across the state. To achieve a constitutional protection of our revenues is a huge deal." Under the agreement, the city of Los Angeles would give up $49 million and the county would lose $103 million for each of the next two years. Advocates for the poor and disabled say that although they have been largely spared this round, they fear that the deals with Other groups mean the burden will fall on them when the state has to settle up next year. The governor said he planned to unveil on Aug. 2 a proposal to reduce the amount the state spends on Medi-Cal services to the poor by $400 million beginning next year. "Healthcare is getting the anti-deal," said Anthony Wright, executive director of the nonprofit consumer group Health Access California. "Instead of having some cuts now but being either restored or augmented in a year or two, healthcare will get some cuts this year, but major and permanent cuts next year as part of this redesign of the Medi-Cal program." Atthe state's public universities, reaction to the governor's plan was mixed. The deal that university leaders cut with the administration will provide them with six years of modest funding increases beginning in fiscal 2005-06. But this year, the University of Califomia and Califomia State University systems would be forced to endure steep reductions and tuition hikes. In-state undergraduate tuition would rise 14% this year in both systems, and graduate fees would increase as much as 25%. The systems' governing boards are expected to improve the increases at meetings next week. The new budget also leaves in place 10% cuts in freshman enrollment this fall for both universities, along with reductions in administration, research and other programs. "Students will pay the price of this compact agreement, with fee increases and enrollment cuts," said Matt Kaczmarek, a http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-budget 14may 14,1,5567352,print:story?coll=la-home-headlines 5/14/2004 ~.Los A~geles Times: Budget Puts OffTough Choices Page 3 of 4 UCLA student and chairman of the systemwide UC Student Assn. The spending plan would give students who receive college financial aid from the Cal Grant program more money to Cover the increased tuition and fees. To get road projects back on track, the govemor proposes using at least $500 million that tribes would provide in exchange for being allowed to expand their gambling operations. And, in a reverSal from his January proposal, the governor is promising to pay back -- in 2007 -- about $1.1 billion in transportation funding he is taking to balance the budget this year. "This state has neglected infrastructure and transportation issues," Schwarzenegger said. "We have to pour more money into this." Some transportation advocates, however, suggested that the govemor's proposal did not go far enough. They"say the state should not be borrowing from gasoline sales tax revenue that is supposed to be used for road projects under Proposition 42. "This is particularly irksome to the motoring public, which is paying record high gasoline prices to drive on clogged streets and highways," said Mike Lawson, executive director of Transportation Califomia,'which helped pass Proposition 42. "To add insult to injury, we are driving on the worst roads in the country." Prison Guards' Wages The governor also hopes to achieve $300 million in savings by renegotiating a labor contract between the state and its prison guards. Under the contract, signed in 2002 by then-Gov. Gray Davis, guards stand to receive a raise of 11.3% this year. Leaders of the union said they were willing to sit down and negotiate, but they scoffed at the $300-million number. "My only comment would be, 'Next,'" said Lance Corcoran, executive vice president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. "It's an enormous number, and I have no idea how they're calculating it. It seems like they've plucked it out of the air." The governor is proposing the state save $557.8 million by not giving raises to other state workers who are entitled to them in their contracts. A proposal to borrow more than $1 billion to pay the state's contribution to the pension fund for government workers also remains in the budget -- even though the same proposal was struck down in court last year. Such a proposal would appear to violate the constitutional prohibition against more borrowing to balance the budget beyond the $15 billion in deficit bonds that voters approved in March. In an unusual move once tried by former Gov. Pete Wilson, Schwarzenegger is assuming that the state can collect an estimated $450 million by taking 75% of all punitive damages awarded by the courts in thousands of cases across the state. Punitive damages are often awarded in addition to compensatory damages, and they are designed to. "punish" companies or wrongdoers for acting maliciously. That money, the administration said, "should more appropriately be awarded to the state, where it can be used for public good purposes." The administration is hoping to follow the lead of eight other states that have such a system. Although Schwarzenegger had earlier promised to "blow up the boxes" of the bureaucracy with large-scale efficiency reforms, there wasn't much evidence of that in Thursday's proposal. There was also no sign of a much-touted audit of http:/iwww.latimes.com/news/local/la.me.budget 14mayl 4,1,5567352,print.story?coll=la.home-headlines 5/14/2004 .Los.Ax3~ geles Times: Budget Puts Off Tough Choices Page 4 of 4 state government that the governor assured would expose billions of dollars of waste. "We're still working on that; it's a long process," he said. When pressed by a reporter, who reminded the governor that he promised results in 60 days from when he tqok office in November, Schwarzenegger joked that he meant "give or take a year." 'i': There were various places in the budget where the governor proposed tweaking things to generate some cash. At 11 prisons,, for example, he wants to cancel lunch for inmates on weekends and holidays, and instead serve two meals a day -- brunch and dinner. The move, expected to save about $1.3 million in food costs, would require a change in state regulations, which now require that prisoners be served three meals a day, two of them hot. Donald Specter of the Prison Law Office, a nonprofit firm that often sues over conditions within penitentiaries, called the move "petty and cruel. "These are young men with big appetites," Specter said. "It's a ridiculous way to save money." Times staff writers Sharon Bernstein, Sue Fox, Jessica Garrison, Carl Ingrain, Cars Mia DiMassa, Rebecca Trounson, Jenifer Warren, Jordan Rau and Peter Y. Hong contributed to this report. If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives. SReprints Article licensing and reprint options Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times http://www~~atimes~c~m/news/~~ca~/~a-me-budget~4may~4~~~5567352~print.st~ry?c~~~=~a-h~me-head~ines 5/14/2004 Los-Angeles Times: Deal-Cutting Schwarzenegger Opts to Put Offthe Pain Page 1 of 3 http://wwwilatimes.com/news/local/la-me-analysis 14may 14,1,302491 story?coil=la-home-headlines NEWS ANALYSIS Deal-Cutting Schwarzenegger Opts to Put Off the Pain By Peter Nicholas Times Staff Writer .May 14, 2004 SACRAMENTO -- In crafting a budget at a time when the state faces whopping shortfalls, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faced a clear choice. He cOuld have tried to fix all the structural failings in the state budget now. That would have required a tax increase -- breaking a key campaign promise -- along with deep spending cuts that would have angered supporters of public schools, local government officials and recipients of social services. While he might have been able to force such a budget through, the effort would have been long, arduous and damaging to his credibility, political analysts said. The alternative was to come up with a spending plan that stood a good chance of passing on time with minimal rancor. The governor hoped that would enhance a growing public perception that the paralysis in Sacramento was lifting and bolster public confidence that state government could resolve its problems. Schwarzenegger chose the smoother road. Under his revised budget, the gap between what the state spends and what it takes in may persist in future years. In fact, the deficit may be tougher to eliminate down the road because of some of the spending commitments Schwarzenegger is making now. But he is betting that government reforms will produce savings and that the economy will pick up, boosting revenues to a level where the deficits can be wiped out with minimal pain. Moreover, the governor said that producing a budget that kept his major promises, reduced partisan acrimony and restored public confidence was a crucial first step toward confronting the state's stubborn problems. "The people are tired of the summer slam-lest in the Capitol," Schwarzenegger said in releasing his budget Thursday. "They're fired of watching the public welfare overtaken by partisan warfare." Since taking office in November, Schwarzenegger had considered dramatic moves to close the deficit. Each was dismissed as unpalatable -- risking his credibility or inviting prolonged feuds with lawmakers and interest groups that would jeopardize his goal of passing a budget by June 15, the oft-violated constitutional deadline. He weighed a tax increase, for example, something many economists said he eventually would still need to close a structural deficit estimated at $7 billion. "I don't think the math adds up now without some tax increases," said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. "After he gets everyone to cut a little to make this year's budget balance, he starts to pay it back in one or two years. I don't see where the revenue is coming from." The governor's camp quietly conducted polls to gauge whether the public would go along. And Schwarzenegger tested http://www'latimes'c°m/news/l°cal/la-me'analysis 14mayl 4,1,4295804,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines 5/14/2004 Los -Angeles Times: Deal-Cutting Schwarzenegger Opts to Put Offthe Pain Page 2 of 3 people's reactions in hints to reporters that keeping taxes level might be impossible. Not °nly would a tax increase have hurt Schwarzenegger with the public, it also would have squeezed lawmakers of both parties, compelling them to cast a polarizing vote in a year when the entire Assembly and half the Senate is up for reelection. In the end, aides said the governor needed to be seen as true to his word. ': "Go back and look at his public pronouncements [on taxes], from the campaign to the State of the State speech, to the Chamber of Commerce address the other day," said one of the govemor's political aides, speaking on condition of anonymity. "To reverse himself would have had a tremendous detrimental effect." Another Option was to cut dramatically into spending, a position advocated by the more conservative voices in the Republican governor's party. But Schwarzenegger has shown he has little appetite for such cuts. In December, he reversed a decision to cut services to the developmentally disabled, forgoing potential savings of more than $270 million. Prodded by his wife, Maria Shriver, he also scrapped plans to eliminate services to homebound children and adults. In changing course, the governor disarmed Democratic lawmakers who fight for such programs, avoiding the sort of quarrels that in recent years have delayed budget passage. ".Judging by the angst that's coming from the Legislature over the cuts that he has proposed, a broader effort to rein in government spending would be dead on arrival, even for a governor with his kind of political capital," said Dan Schnur, a Republican consultant with close ties to Schwarzenegger's advisors. Leading up to Thursday's budget announcement, Schwarzenegger cut numerous side deals aimed at averting protests and improving prospects for a swit~ and cordial budget agreement. In accepting spending cuts this year in exchange for promised support in future years, college and university officials, for examPle, undercut Democratic lawmakers poised to fight the governor's budget on grounds that it was hostile to education. Califomia State University Chancellor Charles Reed said it was an easy choice to make. Nobody in the Legislature "ever had a plan" for protecting the education budget in future years, Reed said. In any case, "it was our friends" in the Legislature who voted at the end of last year's session to cut millions from the higher education budget, he said. By contrast, "the governor made these commitments," Reed said, describing a conversation he and University of California President Robert Dynes had with Schwarzenegger. "He looked Bob Dynes and me in the eye and he said, 'I will keep my commitment.' And that's all I need." The one great weakness in Schwarzenegger's strategy is that by promising those future spending increases, he has narrowed his options if he needs to make cuts two or three years from now. On Thursday, legislators, including some Republicans, voiced qualms about that potential problem even as they admired the 'governor's political success. "It's a brilliant strategy," said Joe Canciamilla, a Democratic assemblyman from Pittsburg. "I just don't know how all these individual deals will work as you come toward a final agreement. And what happens in two years when these things start locking in?" http://www.latimes.com/news/local/Ia-me-analysis 14mayl 4,1,4295804,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines 5/14/2004 Los 9mgeles Times: Deal-Cutting Schwarzenegger Opts to Put Offthe Pain Page 3 of 3 Added Assemblyman Rick Keene (R-Chico): "We still have a lot to do." If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives. , Reprints Article licensing and reprint options Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-analysis 14may 14,1,4295804,print.story?coll=la-home-headlines 5/14/2004 The Sacromento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Revised budget backs off cuts Page 1 of 4 This story is taken from ._B._u_d._get at sacbee.com. Revised budget backs off cuts $103 billion plan mostly spares health services By Alexa H. Bluth -- Bee Capitol Bureau - (Published IVlay 2004) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a revised $103 billion budget Thursday that abandons steep cuts to health services for the poor and fulfills his no-tax-increase pledge, but seeks to wipe out upcoming state worker raises and relies heavily on borrowing to erase $15 billion in red ink. The Republican governor reshaped his 2004-05 spending plan to take into account more than $2 billion in higher-than-expected tax receipts and to respond to some concerns of lawmakers and interest groups who will play prominent roles in budget negotiations in coming weeks. The budget overhaul contains a handful of significant reversals from his 3anuary plan, most notably scrapping proposals to cap enrollment in state health programs. He also softened his call to cut money for roads, instead proposing that the state borrow from its transportation fund and pay it back with extra money he expects to collect as a result of negotiations with Indian gaming interests. Absent from the plan are promised dramatic plans to reform Medi-Cal, close prisons and streamline state bureaucracy. But included are roughly $6 billion in cuts and other money-saving proposals ranging from eliminating sack lunches for prisoners on weekends to raising fees at state universities and community colleges. The cuts include a deal he struck with the state teachers' union to withhold $3 billion in school funding. "It is a compassionate budget that spends tax dollars more effectively to support essential services," $chwarzenegger said. "It will meet our basic needs today, and it will make California stronger for the future." State revenues, Schwarzenegger said, are expected to climb $1 billion higher than expected by year's end, and thetreasury is plump with a one-time windfall of $1.2 billion from an amnesty program for users of illegal tax shelters. Schwarzenegger's revised budget also calls for another tax amnesty program next year - this one more widespread - for people who owe back taxes. The governor seized this year's unexpected cash to help smooth negotiations with lawmakers and, he hopes, deliver a rare on-time budget. Members of the Democratic-controlled Legislature will review the proposal and are supposed to submit their version to the governor by June 15, a seldom-met deadline that Schwarzenegger has said he is determined to meet. Under state law, the budget is supposed to be signed by June 30. "The budget did what all budgets do if there's a problem - try to push it forward and hoping some solutibn will come to pass. And that's budgeting as usual," said Senate President Pro Tern John Burton, D-San Francisco, http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/budget/v-print/story/9288343p- 10213268c.html 5/14/2004' Tb.e Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Revised budget backs off cuts Page 2 of 4 adding that he has seen every governor from Republican Ronald Reagan to Democrat Gray Davis do the same. Democrats acknowledged Thursday that Schwarzenegger had succeeded in removing some potential hurdles to negotiations by reversing proposals to cut or cap health and social service programs. "It helps narrow the issues that are to be debated in the weeks ahead," said Assembly budget chairmafiI Darrel Steinberg, D-Sacramento. But they promised a battle over his plans to turn some students away from universities this year and make continued cuts in some transportation projects. They also questioned some of the budget-balancing measures the governor is counting on. "This budget continues to rely on some phony money," said state Treasurer Phil Angelides, a Democrat who has been among the most outspoken critics of Schwarzenegger's fiscal policies. Angelides cited Schwarzenegger's request that state workers' unions reopen contract talks to save the state $464 million, including a plan to coax $300 million in concessions from the state's powerful prison guards union. Schwarzenegger said he was seeking "responsible budget relief by asking public employee unions to renegotiate contracts that were recklessly based on the dot-com boom and now unsustainable." But union leaders immediately called the plan "smoke and mirrors." "It Would be more fair if he would ask his super-rich corporate friends to help out with the crisis," said Jim Hard of the California State Employees Association. SchWarzenegger's budget chief, Donna Arduin, said the budget balances in 2004-05 and the following fi~cal year, but the plan still includes borrowing and some plans that are not guaranteed to materialize, including $1 billion in borrowing to help pay the state's pension obligations and $500 million in gambling revenues from talks with Indian tribes. The governor also hopes to collect $450 million from a new proposal to change state law to require plaintiffs to give the state two-thirds of all punitive damages awarded to them by juries. Schwarzenegger said his plans to present a massive overhaul plan for the state's health plan for the poor, also expected to prompt a fight with lawmakers, will come later. "We couldn't do everything at the same time," Schwarzenegger said. "it's just so complex." In previous weeks, Schwarzenegger has hammered out deals with key leaders who stand to be affected by his budget. He persuaded executives from cities and counties, universities and K-12 schools to support his budget - including steep cuts to each of these entities - in exchange for promises of more funding and protection in future years. The deals infuriated some Democratic lawmakers, who accused Schwarzenegger of attempting to shut them out of the budget negotiating process. An agreement with higher education leaders drew the most criticism. ~' Schwarzenegger's deal with University of California and California State University leaders asks them to swallow cuts next year in exchange for modest increases starting in 2005. His latest proposal continues to call for raising community college fees from $:18 per unit to $26 despite a protest that brought thousands of students to the Capitol in March. http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/budget/v-print/story/9288343p- 10213268c.html 5/14/2004 Th~ Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Revised budget backs offcuts ','. Page 3 of 4 Most shifts came in state financial aid, where he agreed to spend an extra $34.2 million on noncompetitive Cai Grants to help recipients cover the 14 percent increase in undergraduate fees expected at UC and CSU. But Schwarzenegger will ask the Legislature to shrink the much smaller competitive Cai Grant program by nearly 6,000 students to save $5.4 million, despite high demand. Last year, there were six qualified applicants for every award offered, according to state financial aid officials. "That one really affects community college students and students at CSU who tend to be older, going part time and working," said Diana Fuentes-Michel, executive director of the California Student Aid Commission. "We have been trying to get more of them into the pipeline, and this will hurt that." The governor sought to reassure lawmakers angered by the recent private deals he made before presenting them in his new budget, calling them "partners." "I will nurture this partnership because I alone cannot do it," he said. Burton said lawmakers "can't be bypassed." "We are the ones who take a budget, work our will up, down or sideways and send it back to the governor," he said. "So I view all of t.he deals that have been cut as a suggestion from the governor." About the Writer The Bee's Alexa H. Bluth can be reached at (916) 326-5542 or abJ_ut;h_@.sa_cb.e~.,.cg.m.. Margaret Talev and John Hill of The Bee Capitol Bureau and Bee staff writer Lesli A. Maxwell contributed to this report. Highlights Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has backed off a variety of proposals since taking office six months ago. Among them: · He proposed suspending the Lanterman Act, which guarantees access to programs for the developmentally disabled. He withdrew his proposal after an outcry a few weeks later, saying "Tt was just one of those things that slip through when you make decisions very quickly." · His .lanuary budget proposed cutting the program that pays relatives to care for housebound family members; he withdrew the plan pending receipt of a federal waiver. · The January budget proposed a variety of health savings, including caps on program enrollment and co- payments for some recipients. All were scrapped in the revision submitted Thursday. · A plan to limit subsidized child care to one year for mothers coming off welfare was softened. · A prostate cancer program axed in December was restored in March after officials came up with unspent funds from previous years. · A hiring freeze imposed last fall was relaxed to bring on 400 workers to alleviate long waits at DMV offices. · 'A contract freeze was revised to reimburse some nonprofits and counties for health-related program costs. · The January budget suspended Proposition 42, which dedicates sales taxes on gasoline to transportation projects. In the revision, the state promises to repay the money in the future. In addition, the governor agreed to restore about $350 million in road projects. http://www, sacb ee.com/content/politics/ca/budget/v-print/story/9288343p- 10213268c.html 5/14/2004 The' Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Revised budget backs off cuts Page 4 of 4 · The revised budget restores $42,000 for a state-supported telephone service that blind people use to have newspapers and periodicals read to them. Go to: 5.acb_e_.e_ / B~.qk...t.o s~.Qry Contact Bee Customer Service Advertise Online I Privacy Policy I Terms of Use I Help I Site Map News I Sports I Business I Politics I Opinion I Entertainment I Lifestyle I Travel I Women _.C..!as~ifi_e.d.~ I ~..p.mes I _.C_._a..r__~ I J._o_bs I G_U!_DE T_.O.__:[?I_E BEE.;. I _.S_ubscdb.~ I .~;.Q~tacts I ..A_.d_v._~i.s~ I Bee Ey~..n_..~;.~ I [ Sacramento Bee Web sites ] ~acb~.,.~Qm I s~Ei~.ke~c..~pm I S.~.~r~..m.epto.com. Contact sacbee.com This article is protected by copyright and should not be printed or distributed for anything except personal use. The Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q St., P.O. Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852 Phone: (916) 321-1000 Copyriqht © The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/budget/v-print/story/9288343p- 10213268c.html 5/14/2004 ?he,Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Democrats: Budget battle not yet over Page 1 of 2 This story is taken from Budge_.t;._ at sacbee.com. Democrats: Budget battle not yet over By Clea Benson -- Bee Capitol Bureau - (Published May 14, 2004) Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger avoided some looming showdowns with Democratic lawmakers by reversing unpopular cuts to social programs in his revised budget, but activists and Democrats said Thursday that he isn't yet off the hook. Nany praised the changes the GOP governor made to the $25 billion Health and Human Services Department budget but said they would continue to fight his remaining proposed hits to services such as welfare and home care. Unlike the spending plan unveiled in January, the budget Schwarzenegger released Thursday does not include enrollment caps on Healthy Families insurance for poor children, drugs for A]DS patients, welfare for immigrants, and mental-health services. And after loud and sustained protests from advocates, the governor agreed not to eliminate home care for some disabled people who are aided by relatives. After a federal judge told the state it couldn't legally slash the rate health providers earn to treat people on Medi- Cal, the governor took a proposed tO percent rate cut out of the budget. The administraUon is appealing the cour~ decision. A plan to shift programs for legal immigrants to counties was scrapped. But reductions to welfare checks and tougher work rules for welfare recipients are still on the table. So is a proposal to decrease the wages of home-care workers who serve the disabled. And a new proposal shifts the costs of some services for abused children to the counties. "! just think these are things that we are going to look very hard at and that in my opinion aren't going to happen," said Senate President Pro Tem .lohn Burton, D-San Francisco. 'Tm only one of t20 members of the state Legislature, but my mother didn't bring me into this world to pick on poor people in order to solve problems that were not created by them." The governor and his Health and Human Services secretary, S. Kimberly Belsh~, described the changes as a responsible and compassionate approach that prioritized the needs of poor children. Han¥ of the new funds for Health and Human Services - about SS00 million in all - went to restore cuts that had been proposed to help close the state's budget gap. A program for uninsured men with prostate cancer was reinstated. Funds for breast cancer detection were expanded. But the budget leaves Jn play proposals that reflect a shift toward a more conservative social policy as well as the state's financial needs. The governor put off until August a plan for overhauling the Nedi-Cal system to save about $800 million in future Years. And his welfare changes, which are in the budget, include making welfare recipients work longer hours and financially penalizing children of recipients who fail to comply with the rules. http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/budget/v-print/story/9288345p- 10213270c.html 5/14/2004 The Sacramento Bee -- sacbee.com -- Democrats: Budget battle not yet over Page 2 of 2 "I don't think we have much choice but to fiat-out oppose all of this stuff," said Mike Herald of the Western Center on Law and Poverty, a nonprofit group that is suing the state over proposed cuts to welfare checks. Zsobel White of the Children's Defense Fund praised the governor's decision not to cut the Healthy Families program, which provides health insurance to children whose parents make up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level - about $39,000 annually for a family of three. But, she said, advocates are worried about the Medi-Cal changes that will be coming later in the year. Proposals floated by the administration this spring were all unpopular with advocates. They included instituting co- payments for doctor visits and making more users switch to managed care. Medi-Cal covers people who make up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level - $20,000 for a family of three. The governor also could find himself fighting with the counties over some of his new proposals for saving money in social programs, said Frank Mecca of the County Welfare Directors Association. Mecca said a line item that would save the state $17 million by making counties pay more for services to abused children could cost the state tens of millions of dollars in federal matching funds if already strapped counties can't come up with their share. "Our hope is that between now and June 15th, when the budget is adopted, the governor can be convinced to modify the problematic proposals that remain," Mecca said. About the Writer. The Bee's Clea Benson can be reached at (916) 326-5533 or cbeos~n_@s_i~.~;.b.e_e.,_~;.o.__m.... Go to: .S__a...c.b_~e/.8ac_k.t__o_s_t__o. ry A.d~.e~ise Oo....r!.e I Rr[va.cy Pol.cy I .T_er_..m_s_.o~..Us~ I Help I .N.e.~.s I ~.PQ.~.~ I Busin.e~.~. I ..P_~).!.jtics I Op.!.!3.!.o._.n.. I .Entertair:!me.o.l; I L. jf~s!;y!.e. I GUIDE TO THE BEE: I Subscribe I Contacts I Adve~ise I Bee Evenl;s I Communi~ Involvement [ Sacramento Bee Web sites ] Sacbee.com I SacTicket.com I Sacramento.corn Contact sacbee.com This a~icle is protected by copyright and should not be printed or distributed for anything except personal use. The Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q St., P.O. Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852 Phone: (9~6) 321-1000 .~:9_pyri g h_t. ©._ _T__h ~_..~.c__r..i~ m~e_.n__t_o...._._B_e_ e_ http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/budget/v-print/story/9288345p- 10213270c.html ~ 5/14/2004 This story is taken from Politics at sacbee.com. Local officials agree to two-year cuts They accept governor's promise to fight for their funding in the future, By Alexa H. Bluth and Clea Benson -- Bee Capitol Bureau - (Published May 13, 2004) Officials from California cities and counties said Wednesday that they are willin§ to stomach $2.6 billion in cuts over the next two years in exchancje for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenecjcjer's word that he will ficjht to protect their fundincj in the future. City, county and law-enforcement leaders stood with Schwarzenegcjer at Elk Grove City Hall to announce the agreement, the fourth such deal that the governor has struck to win support for the revised budget he will present to the Lecjislature today. He is scheduled to unveil a budget overhaul that includes deep cuts to social programs and, like his .January budget proposal, does not call for raisincj taxes. The budcjet also will reflect an unexpected boost to the state treasury from an improvincj economy and a one-time amnesty procjram for taxpayers usin§ tax shelters, but the state still faces billions of dollars of red ink. "Cuts are never easy to accept, especially not cuts of this macjnitude, but we are keeping our eyes on the prize," said Alex Padilla, Los Ancjeles City Council president. "This is short-term pain for long-term gain." The deal with cities, like others $chwarzenecjcjer made with a powerful teachers union and top officials from state courts and universities, still is subject to approval by the Lecjislature. Lawmakers and others have criticized Schwarzenegger for strikincj deals without their input and makincj guarantees that could strap the state with costs in future years. But the GOP cjovernor promised Wednesday to wield the same political power he used to win support for an unpopular bond measure and workers' compensation reform to carry out his pled§e to local §overnments. Under the latest deal, local cjovernments - includincj cities, counties, special districts and redevelopment acjencies - say they will accept $1.3 billion in cuts in each of the next two years. SchwarzenecJger, in return, will press lawmakers to place a constitutional amendment on November's ballot that would prohibit the state from raidincj local cjovernments' share in future years. The amendment would make permanent in the California constitution a reduction in the state's vehicle license fee, and it would require the state to reimburse local governments the same amount that they lose from the vehicle tax cut beginnincj in the 2006-07 budget year. Cities and counties say the deal will eliminate uncertainty over whether they will receive funding crucial for law enforcement and other services. "With this agreement ! am keepincj my promise to the cities and to the counties that they should also have a reliable revenue stream to pay for local services," Schwarzenecjger said. !n another key part of the acjreement, the proposed constitutional chancje also would prevent lawmakers from forcincj local CJovernments to provide state-mandated services unless the state supplies money to defray the costs of providincj the programs. Schwarzenegger said he will include the proposed savings from the agreement in his revised budget, which he is scheduled to release this afternoon. He was mum about other details of the budget, but advocates and lecjislative staff said Wednesday that an expected plan to overhaul Medi-Cal that some had predicted would hang up budget talks will not be included. The administration originally intended to release a detailed proposal for changing the state's health insurance system for the poor as part of next year's budget. Throughout the spring, state officials held a series of public workshops seeking feedback on options for cutting costs in the mammoth program that serves 6.8 million people. But all of the choices for cutting costs - such as shifting more users into managed care or making some users pay more than others for doctor visits - were controversial. Democratic lawmakers had predicted a bigflght on the issue, saying they felt it should be handled separately from the budget. Staff and advocates said the administration now plans to come up with a plan by the end of the summer and send it to the Legislature then. About the Writer The Bee's Alexa H. Bluth can be reached at (916) 326-5542 or abluth~sacbee.com. Go to: Sacbee / News I Sports I Business I Politics I Opinion I Entertainment I Lifestyle I Travel I Women Classifieds I Homes I Cars I Jobs I Shopping G.k!.ID~ TC)...._T_HE B~.E..; I SL!b~;.!:J.b~ I Co!].~;~.~cs I Ad¥~.~.!~.~ IBe~ Ey.~.~.~c~ I [ Sacramento Bee Web sites ] Sacbee.com I SacTicket.com I Sacramento.com Contact sacbee.com This article is protected by copyright and should not be printed or distributed for anything except personal use. The Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q St., P.O. Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852 Phone: (916) 321-1000 Copyright © The Sacramento Bee From: Eric Matlock To: Alan Tandy Date: 5/14/2004 10:26:30 AM Subject: Fwd: COPS FUNDING AND THE GOVERNORS MAY BUDGET REVISION >>> "Craig Steckler" <CSteckler@ci.fremont.ca.us> 5/13/2004 11:21:26 PM >>> TO ALL CHIEFS Information about the COPS funding in the Governor's May Budget Revision. This information comes to use from John Lovell our Legislative Advocate. Craig Steckler Communications Committee Chair BUDGET UPDATE The May Revision to the Governor's Budget has language with respect to the COPS program that has caused law enforcement concern. Here's the language: "The May Revision proposes to add budget bill language requiring the Citizens Option for Public Safety funds to initially be used to cover mandated costs associated with the Peace Officer Procedural Bill of Rights mandate as imposed by Chapter 675, Statutes of 1990. Any remaining funds would be used in accordance with current law." This language could cause someone to interpret that COPS would be reduced by whatever amount was attributable to local POBOR costs. In response to this concern, the Governor's office initiated a conference call today at 4:30 PM with the various law enforcement advocates. During that call, the Governor's staff assured law enforcement that the language of the May Revision did NOT reflect their intention. Their intention is to stop accruing debt for the POBOR mandate, not to diminish the COPS funding. The Governor's staff assured us that the actual trailer bill language would be more carefully drafted and that the COPS program would continue to be fully funded at the $ 100,000,000 level and that the current COPS form ula would remain unchanged. This story is taken from Politics at sacbee.com. Medical pensions: ls the state's system sick? By Dorothy Korber and 3ohn Hill -- Bee Staff 'Writers - (Published May ~0, .2004) Half pay, untaxed, for life. That's the California pension formula for public-safety personnel so badly injured at work they no longer can do their jobs. No one questions a special disability retirement for a young Sacramento County deputy left debilitated when his spine - and-his career - were shattered during an arrest. But what about a state nurse who suffers anxiety about sick people? Or a prison guard who hurt his knee schlepping a big coffeepot upstairs? Or the investigator who racked up two consecutive disability pensions, both for the same heart condition? Under state law, all three retired with the same special medical pension as the .disabled deputy. They joined legions of other safety workers who claimed a permanent "industrial disability" to gain this popular perk. Two out of three retirees in the California Highway Patrol are on these medical pensions. Among local police and fire retirees in the state pension system, it's nearly one out of two. Such retirement benefits are a growing expense for cash-strapped California. Even so, they've escaped scrutiny as a new governor and Legislature wrestle with the record deficit. Over a fiveTyear period, the California PUblic Employees' Retirement System estimates that new safety disability pensions cost the state $493 million. On an annual basis, the cost increased 65 percent between 1997-98 and 2001-02. That increase coincides with the tenure of Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and a labor-friendly Legislature. Prodded by public-sector unions, the politicians passed a series of bills that expanded eligibility for these medical pensions - and made it easier to get them. The rationale for disability retirement benefits for safety workers is reasonable enoUgh: protect those who risk their lives to .protect us. But, in practice, the system is enormously complicated and ripe for abuse, yet also often sadly inadequate for those severely disabled. "This benefit was designed to provide for the young firefighter or police officer who-is seriously hurt on the job," said Bob Palmer, president of the California Association of Public Retirement Systems. "What it .has become is an entitlement, just another retirement option for people near the end of their careers." On top of the state's bill for this special disability pension come added costs to California counties and Cities, where safety workers' benefits - by law or binding union contracts - generally match the state's. On top of that comes a loss in income tax revenue. The costs are rising, too, as more public employees come under the public-safety category and more of their disabilities are declared job-related. John Descamp, chief of the Sacramento County Employees' Retirement System, blames politicians who will not say no to powerful interest groups. "It's driven by greed and political posturing," Descamp said, "Once the formula is established for one group, then every group wants it. It's piecemeal." Yet this is not news to state officials. A decade ago, concern about the large number of industrial-disability retirements in California triggered a host of reform proposals. There were calls for rigorous physical fitness tests for safety workers, for keeping disabled employees-on the job in "light-duty" assignments, and for clamping down on fraudulent claims. In October 1994, the state auditor recommended that pension benefits be reduced for "disabled" retirees who earn outside income that exceeds their pre-retirement salaries. In July 1998, the Department of Personnel - AdministratiOn recommended pulling managers out of the public-safety .category. In the mid-1990s, both 'the California Highway Patrol and CalPERS set up special units to investigate disability fraud. Ten years later, most' of those reforms are in limbo and the system seems looser than ever. Since 1999, intense .lobbying by public-employee unions has significantly expanded the kinds of disabilities automatically presumed to be job-related for public-safety workers. The list grew with every session of the 'Legislature: heart trouble, cancer, blood-borne diseases including HIV, hernias, tubei'culosis. Employers complain that the "heart trouble" presumption, in particular, is too vague',and ignores the role that diet and tobacco play in cardiac disease. It's also problematic to presume that all cancers are job-related, said Palmer, who also is the administrator of San Joaquin County's retirement system. "The law just says cancer," Palmer said. "On one 'hand, maybe lung cancer for a fire.fighter makes sense. But colon cancer'for a firefighter? You have to question the relevance." Yet union lobbyists argue that it is sometimes impossible to determine the original si'.te of a cancer or to pinpoint a specific carcinogen that triggered it.' In general, the unions say, the presumptions allow their members to get treatment Under workers' compensation without having to spend time and money fighting for it. But a workerS' comp claim also is used to set the stage for retirement with a lifelong disability pension. "What these presumptions do is shift the burden of proof to the employer to show tl~e problem is not job- related," said Steve Keil, legislative coordinator for the California State Association qf Counties. "As a practical matter, that's often impossible to .prove." But Sacramento lawyer David E. Mastagni, who represents safety employees in their disability claims, counters that employers do challenge the presumptions regularly. "]:f they never won, then the employers wouldn't'challenge them," said Mastagni. "These presumptions are valid. Think about it: This is someOne who is supposed to raid a drug lab or go into a burning building without thought for his own safety.." Not every presumption involves heroics, however. Lower-back pain, a presumption created by the Legislature in 2001, applies to peace officers who wear the wide woven gun belts known as "Sam Browne belts." The measure, SB 424 by Sen.'. John Burton of San Francisco, provoked howls of protest from cities and counties who foot the bills for Workers' compensation and disability pensions. "We jokingly called it the Doughnut Disability," Keil recalled. "The duty belt is presumed responsible, even if the officer is 50 pounds overweight. And who doesn't have some lower-back pain as, they get older?" Indeed, medical research finds that 80 percent of all adults suffer from occasional lower-back pain, and between 5 and 10 percent have a chronic problem. SB 424 had supporters with political muscle: the California Association of Highway Patrolmen and the Peace Officers Research Association of California - which together in 2000 and 2001 gave more than $1.4 million to California politicians and political causes - along with big police unions in Los Angeles and Riverside. The bill passed the Senate'on a 24-10 vote, the Assembly by 75-2. Assemblyman Ray Haynes, then a Republican state senator from Riverside, was a lonely voice of opposition in the Legislature. "This absolutely removes the possibility that the individual hurt their back shoveling rocks, lifting weights, or any other activity pursued on their personal time," Haynes wrote to Gov. Gray Davis, urging a veto. When SB 424 :reached the governor's desk, Tim .Gage, Davis' own finance-director, recommended a veto, arguing thatthe presumption "would make it almost impossible for state and local agencies to reject claims that completely lack merit." But Davis signed SB 424 on Oct. 12, 2001, thereby casting aside another restriction on industrial-disability pensions. (Davis declined to be interviewed for this story.) Last year, one of the few remaining limits was eliminated in a $250 million court settlement. Based on a 1980 law, this rule reined in benefits paid to older workers who had put in only a few years on the job before claiming the half-pay retirement benefit. The idea was to cap their disability pension at whatever their regular pension would have been if they'd worked until retirement age. So Lana :Hoffman, the anxiety-prone nurse, was initially granted just 11 percent of her pay as her disability pension. Her lawyer, Fresno attorney Thomas J. Tusan, said Hoffman deserved her full disability pension, even though she'd been on the job at Corcoran State Prison for only four years. Tusan sees no irony in the notion of a nurse made anxious by caring for the sick. She worked in the prison's AIDS ward, he noted. "The standard for a disability pension is: Can you work at your usual and customary duties?" he said. "She could not." Likewise, John Haggard, who hurt his knee carrying the coffeepot, received a reduced pension, based on his eight years with the Department of Corrections. At his hearing, Haggard said he and another officer were carrying the 50-pound container upstairs to prisoners who were "locked down" and so had to be fed in their cells. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission challenged the 1980 law as discriminatory toward older workers. In early 2003 - after a prolonged court battle - CalPERS agreed to settle. Hoffman and Haggard, along with 1,700 other public-safety workers, were awarded the half-pay pensions, retroactively. Another beneficiary of this settlement was Michael D. Hunter, who actually was granted two safety disability retirements - one an untaxed half-pay pension from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department and another from the state, after working 18 months as an investigator for the Department .of Motor Vehicles. Both were for the same heart arrhythmia. Such double-dipping for industrial disabilities is not 'uncommon and is perfectly legal in California, if two separate pension systems are involved - in this case, CalPERS for the DMV and San Diego County's own retirement system. Half pay, untaxed, for life. Understandably, it's a sought-after benefit for the state's safety workers - among them the prison's correctional officers, psychiatric technicians and, starting this July, even milk inspectors - as well as for local deputies, firefighters and cops. But, on a percentage basis, no employee group logs more industrial-disability retirements than the California 'Highway Patrol. Nearly 70 percent of CHP retirees leave work on an industrial-disability pension. Their average age is 53 - they're eligible for regular retirement at 50 - and their average monthly benefit is $5,458. That's $600'more than CHP officers who take straight retirement, and it's quadruple the monthly pension of'non-safety State workers. If they've reached retirement age and take a disability pension, safety workers get either half pay or their regular retirement benefit - whichever is higher. Either way, the first 50 percent is untaxed, which means t~ha~ many Highway Patrol retirees actually net more each month in retirement than they received when they were working. The end-of-career timing raises suspicions, even for CHP Commissioner D.O. "Spike" Helmick, who is among those eligible. ~. "Zt's amazing that they can do the job till the day when the magical wand is waved and they're at the top of their retirement benefit," Helmick said. "It's'not that people are lying - the law allows them to get these retirements. But they're using the law." Although Helmick himself is entitled to an industrial-disability retirement - "I've had an injured back for years from car wrecks" - he plans to go out with a regular service pension instead. "But that decision is difficult if you take the calculator and add it all up," he said. "You begin to wonder who's stupid and who's smart. Zf, without breaking the law, you could increase your retirement 20 percent every month, would you do it?" Helmick said the Legislature should revisit the disability.presumptions as well as the rule against giving injured CliP officers light-duty assignments, a prohibition spelled out in the vehicle code. Within the CHP, all officers - even those with sedentary desk jobs - are expected to be able to carry out 14 "critical tasks" involving physical skills. That includes proving they can extract a 200-pound victim from a vehicle. Disabled officers sometimes are forced to retire against their will. "! know a lot of personal friends who were hurt - I've wished we didn't have to dump them into disability," said Jon Harem, executive director of the California Association of Highway Patrolmen. "I'm not saying we have no abuses, but I've talked to many others who say: 'I don't want to retire, but they're going to make me. I'm excess baggage.'" That sentiment was a mantra at a gathering of CHP retirees at a Laughlin~ Nev., resort in March. The former officers, most of them appearing tan and fit, talked about their pride in serving in the patrol - and the physical rigors of a job that kept them on the road, whether desolate highway or crowded freeway, rain or shine. Many of them went out on disability pensions. "I did a job ! loved for nearly 30 years," said Jim Mortensen, 73, who retired two decades ago. "When I joined the CHP in 1957, there were no disability presumptions and no (retiree) health benefits. ! know the fight we went through to win those improvements. My firm belief is that CHP officers deserve those things." Mortensen, who lives in Vacaville, took an industrial-disability retirement after, he injured his back during an undercover assignment in 1981. "! hung on for two years after the injury," he said. "I planned to work till the bloody end. But the doctor told me I could no longer be a highway patrolman. It broke my heart." !t was patrolman Conrad Schneider's heart that.went. He had a massive coronary at age 42 and his career was .finished; Schneider, who at 68 'is the security chief for the Riverside Casino .in Laughlin, is a quiet man. He headed outside to have a smoke while his .wife told his story. "I don't know if you understand the Stress these officers are under," Louise Schneider confided. "They experience the most gruesome and heartbreaking situations and are told 'just suck it up.' "After his coronary, the doctor gave Connie only a 50-50 chance of recovering. And the first thing Connie said when he finally came to was 'They're going to make me retire! ! don't want to retire!'" A heart attack also drove Virgil Hartz into retirement; he was 55. "I was done," he said. "My doctor told me no way was I going back to work." He blames job stress for his heart trouble. "You go through 25 or 30 years on patrol, and there's constant turmoil," said Hartz, now 62. "The public is mad at you, and :your supervisors aren't all that happy, either. You're stressed just at the .thought of a pursuit. Or you go to a fatal accident and have to tell parents that their 2-year-old is dead." But fatalities and deadly pursuits aren't the only source of stress, said his wife, Diane Hartz. A CHP officer herself in Needles, she will take a regular service retirement -this summer - not a disability retirement - after 30 years with the patrol. "Working in the city," she observed, "you can have 700 accidents in the rain in a 24-hour period. You're trying to juggle and prioritize all those competing demands, and everyone is angry at you." The Hartzes.believe that most CHP disability retirements are well-deserved. If there are phony claims, Diane Hartz said, they should be weeded out and prosecuted. "Excuse me? This is a job where people are supposed-to have high integrity," she said. "If they lie about being disabled, the investigators need to nail them." ,~ Half pay, untaxed, for life. After five years withl.the Riverside County SherifPs Department, that's what Deputy Linda Morelli was banking on. Her case seemed open-and-shut. Who would deny a disability pension to a helicOpter pilot whose spine was fractured when her police chopper suddenly died and spiraled to the ground? Ron Komers, for one. He sent Morelli back to work. Komers, Riverside-County's human resources director, embraces a tough attitude toward industrial-disability pensions, turning down many claims and fighting energetically when an employee files an appeal. "Riverside County is a lightning rod for this issue in California," said Steve Keil of the state counties association. While CHP brass say that most safety medical retirements are simply not disputable - and many local agencies throw up their hands at the idea of challenging a disability presumption - Riverside County is tackling the situation head-on. There, any disability retirement based on a presumption is automatically .disputed. Any request for disability retirement filed after the employee has taken a regular retirement is automatically turned down. Tho~e who claim they can no longer perform their regular duties-had better be ready to prove it. "It's true that different agencies have vastly different standards of applying the policy," Komers said. "It makes me angry when some agencies ... grant everything that comes along." Riverside County errs in the other direction, said lawyer .lim Cunningham, who has represented safety employees for 17 years. He's also the new executive director of the deputies' union. "To say that our people have this culture of entitlement is outrageous," Cunningham said. "The culture, if anything, is not to report an injury - they don't want to be forced into retirement. "I'm seeing more valid claims being challenged now than I've ever seen before, l~f Riverside County is the lead in anything, they're the lead in considering economic considerations over the validity of the injury." Four years ago, Komers hired an assistant, .lennifer Cooper, to pursue questionable claims for industrial- disability retirements, designating her as a kind of fraud-buster. She's zealous about her mission, an admittedly confrontational one. "Over and over, we hear the same angry response when we reject someone's claim," Cooper said. "They say, 'I've earned this! I deserve this!' ! tell them: Your regular service retirement is what you deserve. It's extremely generous. If you're not disabled, you don't get the industrial-disability retirement too." Some of the cases she undertakes may seem extreme: The respected sheriff's lieutenant whose sense of duty kept him on the job for years, despite his disabilities. ("We didn't want to set a precedent," Cooper said.) Or the young deputy who was shot in the wrist - by another officer - while he was wrestling with an armed suspect. ("It was just a graze.") Of Riverside County's last 149 applications for safety disability pensions, 67 were denied. So far, the county has lost just one case - that dutiful lieutenant's. "But my biggest'success is not the cases we win in front of a judge," Cooper said. "The biggest wins are those people who decide not to file - the deterrent effect." Riverside's combative attitude troubles Descamp of the Sacramento County retirement system. "The problem I have with that is, if you take a damn-the-torpedoes approach, you can throw up hurdles for the employee unnecessarily," Descamp said. Descamp contends that a more deliberate approach builds employee trust - and still provides adequate checks. "We do our investigation and challenging on the front end. We take our time and do it right," he said. "We're rigorous but fair, and our members know it, so they're less likely to file untenable claims." The statistics tend to bear him out. Of the 994 safety retirees in Sacramento County, just 169 (17 percent) are on industrial-disability pensions. In Riverside County, with 993 safety retirees overall, 430 (43 percent) are on industrial-disability pensions. That's still less than the statewide average of 49 percent, but it was high enough to propel Komers into his aggressive mode. Now Komers is looking beyond enforcement to the physical roots of the problem. In December, he persuaded Riverside County supervisors to adopt a program aimed at preventing workers' disabilities and injuries in the first place. Komers' strategy is to push wellness by monitoring absenteeism, requiring physicals and drug testing, and making every new deputy sheriff sign a no-smoking pledge. Riverside County is not alone in deciding to reward wellness as a pre-emptive strike against disability retirements. In March, San Mateo County adopted its own no-smoking policy for sheriff's deputies. Other places offer incentives for fitness, and some are talking about mandatory physical testing. In the final analysis, .Komers suggests, there are things more important than a half-pay pension - even an untaxed one. "When you look at it, you see that most of these people are in their 40s and 50s when they develop these job-related disabilities," Komers said. "We'd like to help them avoid developing the disabilities. Nobody wants to have'heart trouble or cancer - or die young. "All things considered, would you rather have spinal surgery plus a lifetime income, or not have spinal surgery at all?" From the pension case files Here are six actual cases, drawn from court and hearing records, of California safety workers who applied for industrial disability pensions. Some of the claims may seem bizarre, but the stakes are high - such pensions promise a lifetime benefit at half pay, untaxed, regardless of age or work experience. All six workers argued that work-related injuries prevented them from doing their jobs. Here are the reSults. Case l: Denied Facts: Gary L. Burnett, an Orange County-based traffic officer with the California Highway Patrol, was fired in 2000 for "inexcusable neglect of duty and dishonesty." The reason: Burnett intentionally shot himself in the foot, then fabricated a story about being attacked by assailants.'He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of lying to investigators. ~ Less than a year later, Burnett filed for an industrial disability retirement from the CHP, citing the self- inflicted gunshot wound and post-traumatic stress stemming from the incident. CalPERS turned him down, arguing that his dismissal precluded him from a disability retirement. Burnett appealed. Result: Pension denied. Case 2: Denied Facts: After 18 years on the job, Firefighter Anthony Haywood was dismissed by the American River Fire Protection District in 1993 for "inexcusable neglect of duty." The-district had compiled a long list of instances of Haywood's insubordination - including his refusal to park the fire truck where his supervisors directed him to. A year after his firing, Haywood filed for an .industrial disability retirement. His injury? Psychic damage that resulted from being dismissed. Result: Pension'granted by a Sacramento Superior Court judge. But the state appeals court overturned that decision in ~.999, saying an employee fired for good cause is ineligible for disability retirement. Case 3: Granted Facts: Registered Nurse Lana .1. Hoffman went to work in the'hospital ward at Corcoran State Prison in ~L995. Four years later, she applied for an industrial disability pension, claiming a psychological condition. Twice, she said, she accidentally stuck herself with contaminated needles. She also worried about defective tubing .that leaked blood and body fluids. Anxiety over her exposure to HIV and hepatitis contributed to a general depression, her doctor found, a disability that precluded her from working at the prison. CaIPERS demurred, saying that the normal duties of a nurse include treating infectious Patients. Result: Pension granted. Case 4: Granted Facts: After five years as a sheriffs deputy for' San Diego County, Michael D. Hunter took an industrial disability retirement due to a cardiac arrhythmia condition following a chest injury. That was'in 1990. In 1'995, 'Hunter went to work as an investigator for the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Less than two years later, he applied for a separate industrial disability retirement from DMV - also for th'e arrhythmia. Result: Pension granted. Case 5: Granted Facts: Stacee M. Wyke, a correctional officer at California State Prison, Sacramento, hurt her back while .wrestling a !50-pound food cart up a flight of stairs. Pain and disability from the injury made it impossible for her to worE'at the prison, accord ng to her doctor, and Wyke apphed for an industrial disabil'ty pension. CalPERS questioned t'his, surreptitiously videotaping Wyke carrying groceries, jogging, walking her "well- mannered dog" and hugging her children. Wyke responded that she was on pain medication during those activities - and that a physically disabled correctional officer is a danger to her colleagues and the prison. .Result: Pension granted.. Case 6: Denied Facts: Former professional baseball player Steven A. Barnard began working for the CliP in 1988. A decade later, Barnard injured his right shoulder during a scuffle with a drunk driver near Victorville. An orthopedic surgeon examined Barnard on Oct. 20, 1999, and concluded that the injury prevented the officer from being able to carry out his duties. Ten days later, Barnard was out on the 'baseball diamond, playing catcher in a six-game tournament in Peoria, Arizona. He hurled the ball, swung the bat forcefully both right- and left-handed, and restrained a teammate from-slugging the umpire. All Of this was captured on five hours of surveillance videotape, which became evidence against him. The orthopedic surgeon saw the videotape and changed his opinion. Result: Pension denied. · Source: Court and hearing records Burden of proof shifts to state * Any California firefighter or police officer who comes down with syphilis can claim an industrial disability retirement. The same goes for HIV - or mad cow disease. * Since 2001, such blood=borne diseases are among the disabilities presumed to be work-related for various safety employees in California. Under the Labor Code, these workers needn't prove they were exposed to tainted blood on the job - the presumption is enough. * Once a presumption is in play, the burden of proof shifts from the employee to the employer, who must prove that the injury or illness was not caused by the job. * The number of presumptions has multiplied since 1999 as public employee unions pushed the labor-friendly Legislature to add more diseases. With each addition, cities and counties raised vocal - and unsuccessful - opposition. * In a letter urging Gov. Gray Davis to veto the blood-borne disease presumption, the city of Garden Grove noted that many of these infections "are Primarily transmitted through intimate sexual contact, which is not in the job description of any public safety officer." Davis signed the bill 'anyway. The presumptions * Blood-borne disease * Cancer * Lower-back injury (for duty-belt wearers) * Heart trouble * Hernia * Meningitis * Pneumonia * Tuberculosis Source: Archives of Gov. Gray Davis papers About the Writer ~--~ ~ ~. Page 1 of 3 Rhonda Smiley - Bakersfield Among Least Costly of Top 100 U.S. Travel Destinations From: David Lyman To: AdmMayor; Charles Webb; Donna Barnes; Donna Kunz; Rhonda Smiley Date: 5/12/2004 12:15 PM Subject: Bakersfield Among Least Costly of Top 100 U.S. Travel Destinations Bakersfield Among Least Costly of Top 100 U.S. Travel Destinations Soume': May 12, 2004 2:01pm Controller's Repo~ Bakersfield has some of the Iowe~ cos~ among the 100 most common U.S. travel destinations. The in~rmation below is from the latest ~udy of the U.S. lodging indust~ from Price-wa~rhouseCoopers. It was published originally as pa~ of the 2004 Corpom~ Travel Index, which is an annual suwey from the trade paper Business Travel News (BTN). Bakersfield is ranked 93 (1 = mo~ expensive). Avg. 2004 2004 Avg. Car Rank City Cost Hotel Rental Food 1 New York $445.77 $250 $105 $90 2 Chicago 384.58 214 93 78 3 Boston 367.02 187 106 74 4 .. Washington, DC 364.07 197 86 81 5 San Francisco 362.81 205 85 72 6 New Orleans 362.45 196 91 75 '7 Oakland 340.87 186 79 76 8 Seattle 335.33 172 84 80 9 Atlanta 331.32 179 79 74 10 White Plains, NY 328.81 175 82 71 1! Los Angeles 327.76 182 70 75 12' ~Newark, NJ 327.60 165, 99 64 13 Miami 324.42 184 68 72 i4~' Philadelphia 322.57 157 99 67 15 Orlando 320.46 175 76 69 16 Baltimore 315.93 149 103 63 17 Detroit 314.17 164 80 70 i8 Providence, RI 309.12 166 69 74 19 Sacramento 308.19 161 77 70 20 San Diego 307.75 176 62 70 21 Houston 307.07 160 80 67 22 Honolulu 303.14 169 67 68 23 .- Phoenix 301.69 166 77 59 24 Hartford 296.51 142 89 65 25 Minneapolis 295.18 160 79 56 26 Omaha 294.62 158 76 61 27 Tampa 293 09 157 69 68 28 Denver 288 42 142 81 65 29 Dallas 287 17 143 76 68 30 Memphis 287 10 134 93 60 31 Cleveland 285 91 136 89 61 32 Cincinnati 285 78 142 75 69 33 Indianapolis 285 39 162 60 63 34 Raleigh, NC 284 67 148 72 65 35 San Jose 284 03 134 80 69 36 Pittsburgh 283 00 150 74 60 37 Anaheim 282 23 152 73 58 38 Austin 278 73 122 83 74 o o o file://C :LDocuments ¼20and ¼20SettingsXrsmiley\Loca1¼20Settings\Temp\GW} 00001 .HTM 5/13/2004 3~. ~ St..Louis 275.60 136 81 59 40 Tucson 275.16. 154 62 59 41~ Nashville 274 45 142 71 61 42 Savannah 273 17 145 67 61 43 Jacksonville 272 31 150 -67 56 44 Ft. Lauderdale 270 64 141 67 63 45 Santa Barbara 270 50 138 67 65 46 Albany 270 11 151 66 '52 47' Kansas City 268 74 130 76 63 48 San Antonio 268 23 ~142 72 55 49 Las Vegas 267 88 141 70 58- 50 Rochester, .NY 266..27 140 74 52 51 Richmond 265.73 .129 70 67. 52 Baton Rouge 264.38 128 75 62 53 Greensboro, NC 261.01 '118 89 53 54 Birmingham 259.91 120 68 71 55 Toledo 259.64 119 - 87 54-' 56 Wilmington,' DE 259.36 131 56' 72 57 Lexington, KY 258.91 135 66 '58 58 Salt Lake City 256.51 127 70 59 59 Portland, OR 256.30 124 77 56 60 Milwaukee 253.46 130 67 57 61 Columbus, OH 253.00 129 66 58 62 Charleston, WV 252.80 123. ~85 45' 63 Albuquerque 250.7'4 102 84 65 64 Louisville 249.43 114 73 62 65 Corpus Christi 249.17 114 87 49 66 Charlotte, NC 248.55 112 83 54 67 Buffalo 248.10 118 77 53 68 Sarasota, FL 246.61 121 67 59. 69 Syracuse 245.97 123 76 47 70 Oklahoma City 244.75 ~14 71 59 71 E1 Paso 244.22 108 83 54 72 Harrisburg 244.00 133 60 50 73 Charleston, SC 243.67 114 67 63 74 Des Moines 242.23 124 59 59 75 Tallahassee 240.01 119 64 57 76 Ft. Wayne 239.40 100 86 54 77 · Norfolk 239.20 88 89 62 78 Wichita 239.10 110 81 48 79 RoChester, MN '238.72 129 60 49 80 Jackson, MS 236.99 93 86 57 81 Tulsa 236.97 107 71 59 82 Shreveport 235.66 90 72 73 83 Knoxville 235.16 94 79 63 84 Chattanooga 234 78 99 74 61 85 Grand Rapids 232 01 103 72 58 86 Little Rock 231 58 103 63 65 87 Madison, WI 231 16 115 ~65 51 88 Dayton 230 43 98 74 58 89 Mobile 228 10 99 59 69 90 Spokane 222 91 114 53 56 91 Columbia, SC 219 45 108 60 52 92 Akron 218 98 107 57 54 93 B&kers~ield 204.21 99 51 55 94 Greenville, SC 203.47 89 62 52 95 Roanoke 203.03 84 66 53 96 Fresno 202.94 90' 59 54 97 Allentown 197.65 87 64 46 98 Peoria 196.35 87 51 59 99 Springfield, MO 193.93 88 51 55 100 Biloxi 175.95 66 54 55 Average $270.94 $135 $74 $62 CoPyright © 2004 Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc.