Copyright Sutter County Taxpayers Associations 2011 © SCTA
Content of this site may not be used or reproduced without expressed written consent
Sutter County Employees. . .
SCTA: Sutter County employees still being paid under old contracts
By Ben van der Meer/Appeal-Democrat - 2011-08-25 00:17:20
Though Sutter County officials said in the spring they would save money through renegotiated contracts with employee bargaining units, a
watchdog group is saying the reality is different. In a letter sent earlier this month, Sutter County Taxpayers Association President Pat Miller said
two dozen county employees hired since supervisors approved contract changes are being paid under the old contracts, resulting in no savings.
"This is gross mismanagement of county resources at the highest level," Miller said in her letter, which criticized the county's chief administrative
officer, Stephanie Larsen, and board of supervisors president James Gallagher for not forwarding the contract changes to the state public
employees retirement system.
But Larsen, in an email response, said the SCTA is misinterpreting the facts. By government code, the county can't change the contract terms
affecting retirement pay and benefits until there's been an actuarial study of how much savings the contracts will bring, Larsen said in the email.
The study is nearly complete, with savings to be projected over 20 years. "Enacting the reduction in pension benefits is an ongoing process that
will take a few more weeks to complete," Larsen said in the email. "Once the changes are implemented, significant savings will accrue over many
years."
Larsen added the county already knows of $3.6 million in savings over the next three years because of eliminated pay increases in the employee
contracts.
Gallagher said the county will also save because employees will pay more toward their retirements under the contract changes. "The bottom line
is the board has addressed pensions head-on," he said. "I'd love to have it move faster than it is, but we have to do the analysis." Miller said she's
unsatisfied by the response, questioning why the county waited to do the actuarial studies until after the board approved changing the contracts
rather than before.
"Yes, the county is following the 'letter of the law' but not the intent of the law that the counties should know what the costs or savings of
negotiated contracts would be," Miller said in an email sent this week, after reviewing Larsen's response. "It is inconceivable that the county could
calculate the savings without actuarial studies." She also said the county should've instituted a hiring freeze until the studies were done. But Gary
Stucky, executive director of the Sutter County Employees Association, said doing a study beforehand would be pointless. The studies would be of
employees in a new tier for benefits created by contract changes. Because the tier would be for new employees, Stucky said, projecting savings is
all but impossible until those employees are hired.
"The fact of the matter is, it takes awhile to change the process," Stucky said. While the county has hired new employees, he said, they've also
laid off or offered retirement incentives for others. And those being added are either paid for by non-General Fund dollars or in high-caseload
areas such as child support services, he said. Larsen said the results of the actuarial study would be shared with county supervisors at an
upcoming meeting.
Copyright Sutter County Taxpayers Associations 2011 © SCTA
Content of this site may not be used or reproduced without expressed written consent
Sutter County Employees. . .
SCTA: Sutter County employees still being paid under old contracts
By Ben van der Meer/Appeal-Democrat - 2011-08-25 00:17:20
Though Sutter County officials said in the spring they would save money through renegotiated contracts with employee bargaining units, a
watchdog group is saying the reality is different. In a letter sent earlier this month, Sutter County Taxpayers Association President Pat Miller said
two dozen county employees hired since supervisors approved contract changes are being paid under the old contracts, resulting in no savings.
"This is gross mismanagement of county resources at the highest level," Miller said in her letter, which criticized the county's chief administrative
officer, Stephanie Larsen, and board of supervisors president James Gallagher for not forwarding the contract changes to the state public
employees retirement system.
But Larsen, in an email response, said the SCTA is misinterpreting the facts. By government code, the county can't change the contract terms
affecting retirement pay and benefits until there's been an actuarial study of how much savings the contracts will bring, Larsen said in the email.
The study is nearly complete, with savings to be projected over 20 years. "Enacting the reduction in pension benefits is an ongoing process that
will take a few more weeks to complete," Larsen said in the email. "Once the changes are implemented, significant savings will accrue over many
years."
Larsen added the county already knows of $3.6 million in savings over the next three years because of eliminated pay increases in the employee
contracts.
Gallagher said the county will also save because employees will pay more toward their retirements under the contract changes. "The bottom line
is the board has addressed pensions head-on," he said. "I'd love to have it move faster than it is, but we have to do the analysis." Miller said she's
unsatisfied by the response, questioning why the county waited to do the actuarial studies until after the board approved changing the contracts
rather than before.
"Yes, the county is following the 'letter of the law' but not the intent of the law that the counties should know what the costs or savings of
negotiated contracts would be," Miller said in an email sent this week, after reviewing Larsen's response. "It is inconceivable that the county could
calculate the savings without actuarial studies." She also said the county should've instituted a hiring freeze until the studies were done. But Gary
Stucky, executive director of the Sutter County Employees Association, said doing a study beforehand would be pointless. The studies would be of
employees in a new tier for benefits created by contract changes. Because the tier would be for new employees, Stucky said, projecting savings is
all but impossible until those employees are hired.
"The fact of the matter is, it takes awhile to change the process," Stucky said. While the county has hired new employees, he said, they've also
laid off or offered retirement incentives for others. And those being added are either paid for by non-General Fund dollars or in high-caseload
areas such as child support services, he said. Larsen said the results of the actuarial study would be shared with county supervisors at an
upcoming meeting.
