The Final Chapter, Part 4 of 4 The facts and law indicate that the lawyers defending the city in the POA pension reform law suit, directed by the city attorney, and supported by a city council majority, consciously and intentionally failed to uphold two legal ordinances which could have prevented the financial “Fall of Pacific...

The Final Chapter, Part 3 of 4 The parties to the law suit made final oral arguments, and on June 18, 2013, Judge Wills issued his Statement of Decision, setting forth his conclusions and the legal reasoning that led to his conclusions. First, he found that because the charter stated that the city council was...

The Final Chapter, Part 2 of 4 In June of 2010, the City of Pacific Grove (City) received an initiative petition from a citizen’s group containing the requisite number of signatures. Thereafter the city adopted the petition as an ordinance. The ordinance limited the city’s obligation to pay for employee pensions for work not yet...

The Final Chapter, Part 1 of 4 Editor’s Note:  In early 2014 we published a eight part series, “The Fall of Pacific Grove,” written by retired attorney and Pacific Grove resident John Moore. It describes in detail how this small coastal city slid inexorably towards insolvency by yielding, again and again, year after year, to pressure...

Part 7 of 7: How the City and Unions Covered Up the Illegal Pension Enhancements In 2009, through a series of public records requests, I discovered a document entitled “Contract Amendment Cost Analysis.” It was the document mandated by State Government Code Section 7507 (for the 2002 pension increase for the safety unions), which said:...

Part 6 of 7: Unions Will Seek Court Imposed Tax Increases Instead of Reform In a corporate bankruptcy, the judge can close down the business, sell the assets, and determine which creditors get paid. But in a municipal bankruptcy (MBK), a judge cannot force a city out of business. The city should come out of...

Part 5 of 7: A New Reform Initiative is Proposed Mayor Chuck Reed of San Jose is a genuine pension reform advocate. He has been working on a state-wide pension reform initiative for the last year. On Oct. 15th, the proposed initiative was filed with the state attorney general. Pacific Grove’s Mayor, a dyed-in-the-wool anti-pension...

Part 4 of 7: How the Unions Control the City’s “Pension Subcommittee” In Pacific Grove (Pacific Grove), the employee unions rule. They have the full support of the city manager, the city attorney, and the council majority. True “collective bargaining” is a myth. The Pacific Grove Charter established a strong city manager form of city...

Part 3 of 7: By 2005 Pension Costs Were Crippling the City In 1999, CalPERS represented to the state legislature that a 50% increase in pension benefits for safety unions would not result in increased costs. It based its opinion on its investment prowess. But by 2002, the tech bubble broke, and CalPERS began suffering...

Part 2 of 7: City Attorney Kept Sponsors of Initiative from Participating in Defense of Initiative Part 2 of 7:  In 1927, the City of Pacific Grove adopted a charter that reflects the principles of “home rule” and provides for local control of municipal affairs (California Constitution, Article XI, Section 3). That is why evidence...