Retire in Carlsbad At 55 & Get Paid $76,440 Per Year
According to Carlsbad city officials, the average police officer or firefighter retires at age 55 after 28 years of service in Carlsbad. In the past, the City and public safety officials had negotiated what was called a “3 at 50″ plan, which lets some 50-year olds retire at 90 percent of their highest salary. Someone earning an annual salary of $91,000 and retiring at age 55 after 28 years of service would earn $76,440 per year! Carlsbad pension costs have gone up from $2.5 million per year a decade ago to $15.2 million since the “3 in 50″ plan began.
In May of this year our Carlsbad City Council, on a 4 to 1 vote, approved a plan to help control pension costs by providing that public safety employees hired after October 4, 2010, would qualify for pension benefits on a “2% at 50″ and “2.7% at 55″ plan. Existing employees, of course, are still entitled to their original plan benefits. The sole no vote on the new plan was Keith Blackburn, a former police officer, who has heavy backing from the public safety employee unions, and who, after just one year on City Council, is running for Mayor to replace our long-serving Mayor, Bud Lewis.
Matt Hall, a proponent of the new plan, and a 16-year member of the Carlsbad City Council, has also strongly backed Proposition G on this November’s ballot. He’s running for Mayor against Keith Blackburn, and Matt has the support and endorsement of Bud Lewis. Passage of Proposition G would provide that an amendment of the City’s Charter to increase the new “2% at 50″ and “2.7% at 55″ plan of public employees pension system would require a vote by the citizens of Carlsbad. This puts control of the situation in the hands of the voting public rather than in the hands of elected officials who may be influenced by union backing or union pressure in the future.
The language of Proposition G is not as clear as one would wish:
Shall the Charter of Carlsbad, California be amended to add Section 502 Retention of Benefits limiting increases in safety retirement benefits without an amendment to this section?
What that means is what I’ve indicated above. An increase to the public safety pension percentages would require your vote! So, to keep control of pension costs Vote “YES” on Proposition G on election day, November 2, AND vote for Matt Hall for Mayor; he has the experience, knowledge, and understanding of what’s best for Carlsbad! And, tell your family, friends, and acquaintances that they too should vote YES on Proposition G and they, too, should vote for Matt Hall. Or to make it simple, just send them the link to this blog post!