Posted on 06/05/2011 6:21:11 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Just as Vallejo, Calif., starts to pull itself out of municipal bankruptcy, Stockton, its Central Valley neighbor, hurtles towards financial collapse.
Calling Stockton's fiscal problems "chronic and severe," city officials have declared a state of fiscal emergency for the second time in two years, The city is facing a $37 million budget gap this year, a 60% increase from last year's $23 million shortfall, according to Bond Buyer.
City officials project the budget deficit will grow to $48 million by 2014 if nothing is done to reign in ballooning employee costs. Public safety personnel costs alone eat up 80% of the Stockton's general fund.
Like Vallejo, Stockton's fiscal woes are largely the result of skyrocketing employee costs and a major drop in revenue due to the collapse of the housing market. Both cities experienced major growth during the housing bubble, only to be locked into lavish labor contracts when the bubble burst.
Vallejo has yet to emerge from bankruptcy since the city filed for Chapter 9 protection in 2008.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
For those who don’t know, Stockton’s population is TWICE the size of Vallejo ( its neighbor ). Stockton has about 300,000 residents.
“Unexpected”.
Not to worry. The “Takers” (Democrats)will just get taxpayer money from somewhere else.
I don’t see why they don’t just increase taxes on the rich.
Brilliant! I bet they are working on it...
Why don’t they start taxing those who don’t pay taxes?
Also, start taxing items that aren’t already taxed and tax the rich more; oh and tax gas more too.
EXCERPT Public outrage over California's lavish government employee compensation and pensions is becoming more heated as new revelations about excesses seem to crop up every week. The latest: Newport Beach, California, where some lifeguards have compensation packages that exceed $200,000 and where these "civil servants" can retire with lucrative government pensions at age 50.
Newport Beach has two groups of lifeguards. Seasonal tower lifeguards cover Newport’s seven miles of beach during the busy summer months. Part-time seasonal guards make $16-22 per hour with no benefits. They are the young people who man the towers and do the lion’s share of the rescues. Another group of highly compensated full-time staff work year-round and seldom, if ever, climb into a tower......... the typical Daily Deployment Model in the winter for these lifeguards is 10 hours per day for four days each week, mainly spent driving trucks around, painting towers, ordering uniforms and doing basic office work—none are actually manning lifeguard towers.
........last year the top earner received $211,000 in pay and benefits, including a $400 sun protection allowance. In 2010 all but one of the city’s full-time lifeguard staff had annual compensation packages worth over $120,000. Not bad pay for a lifeguard - but what makes these jobs most attractive is the generous retirements. One recently retired lifeguard, age 51, receives a government retirement of over $108,000 per year—for the rest of his life. He will make well over $3 million in retirement if he lives to age 80.
In 1999, California legislators, including many Republicans, felt very generous with the public's tax dollars and created "three at fifty" for public safety workers. SB 400 allowed these government employees to retire as early as age 50, well over a decade before their counter-parts in the private sector, and calculate their annual retirement pay at three percent per year or 90% of their final year's pay.
With the ability to spike final year's pay based on over-time, vacation and sick leave time, uniform allowances, etc., many former government employees now earn more retired than when they worked. There was a domino effect of this incredibly generous law resulting in local communities jumping on board to stay "competitive" by offering local public safety personnel, including lifeguards, the same great deal. Thousands of state and local employees are locked into generous pension contracts which the courts have decided cannot be broken despite the lack of budgets to pay for them.
According to a Stanford University study, California taxpayers are facing a pension liability that could exceed $500 billion, a figure the non-partisan Little Hoover Commission says will "crush" government.
As bad as Newport Beach's situation is, it pales in comparison to some other cities in California. The city of Fresno currently spends 53 cents of every payroll dollar on pensions. The state average is 31 percent and is expected to rise significantly in the next few years. --SNIP--
SOURCE http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Reu//b//2009%5C243%5C254f62a0-a420-4f58-b614-1b2fd0b8bd1b@news.ap.org.jpg
Does anyone remember the name of the town near Atlanta GA that outsourced all their infrastructure maintenance etc an the employees they did keep fire ems an police as well as small number of clerks all were on a 401k an medical while an employee only....
There was a very good book written on their overhaul of city goobermint that worked very well for all involved including the taxpayer.
Dang I wish I could remember
The good news about that is if everyone moves out, they won't need city workers and VIOLA, no more money problems.
Dang, doesn't anybody in that state have a brain? How have they allowed this to happen?
It is the only practical solution, besides the rich have more then enough money. We cant let children starve and how do you expect their baby mama to take of them if nobody pays her rent,light bill, cellphone, healthcare, etc.
I sure wish old, broke down, white, conservative construction workers could get some of that pie, especially since we have been paying for it all out lives.
Must be nice.
Why not...we're all Americans? Just because you work harder does not mean you should have more. <>
Not a normal town....
Thanks SeekAndFind.
Cut to the chase.
How long until we’re bailin’ em out?
Saw your recon team. Guns and dogs...you can be my neighbor anytime.
Some years ago, the company I worked for wanted to build an asphalt storage and loadout plant in Stockton. It was to be on city owned property, a former Army base with river and rail access.
By the time the state air board, the county air board, the neighborhood board and various other interested parties got done with us, we built the thing in Reno.
There are no rich people in Stockton. It's the most miserable city in America. Really an awful place.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.