According to state law, before increasing pension benefits the elected officials are required to (1) hire an actuary to determine the future annual cost of the increase, (2) enact by majority vote a board resolution adopting the new formulas and (3) present the cost to the citizens at a regular public meeting so they would have the ability to know how their tax dollars are being spent. In Sonoma County, plaintiffs allege that not one of these requirements were even minimally met.