Home Contra Costa County Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association Responds to Times Inaccurate Editorial

Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association Responds to Times Inaccurate Editorial

by ECT

Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association

Ken Wasterman of the Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association issued a response to a recent Contra Costa Times Editorial which he calls inaccurate and over-states a judge’s ruling. Most importantly, he shares how the Contra Costa Times Editorial Board leaves out details to paint a bad picture over the pension issue.

For example, Wasterman writers that, “The taxpayers do not fund almost the entire cost of pension benefits. At least 50% to 75% of the funding comes from investment returns; a fact conveniently omitted by the author.”

This is just another example of the Contra Costa Times Editorial Board doing a bang up job in not providing their readers will all the facts in order to make their one-sided opinion look stronger.

Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association Responses to Times Inaccurate Editorial

By: Ken Westermann
President
Contra Costa DSA

DSA reply:

This article is egregiously inaccurate and over-states the judge’s ruling.  The judge did not rule that ALL accrued time sold back is excluded from final compensation.   The notion that several years’ worth of accrued time can be counted toward final compensation has never been a contention of the DSA in this case.

The taxpayers do not fund almost the entire cost of pension benefits. At least 50% to 75% of the funding comes from investment returns; a fact conveniently omitted by the author. These inaccuracies are inexcusable and serve to mislead the reader.  The statement that employees’ reliance on vested rights ignores the plight of the taxpayers is absurd.  Imagine if the author urged that you be stripped of any of your rights because your claim to those rights ignores the plight of the taxpayer in paying for the associated costs. No one in this country should ever be stripped of their rights based upon some claim of fiscal expediency.  That is moronic and frankly, un-American.

Most importantly, the benefits in question fit neither the definition of “egregious” nor “spiking”. The term “spiking” is just a catch phase designed to distract the reader from the facts. The term egregious is nothing more than a proverbial Viagra pill used to firm up an otherwise flaccid argument. The term spiking insinuates some unfunded financial gift has been handed to the employees without being properly accounted for. Nothing could be further from the truth!

This is not some gratuitous bonus pay like that handed out to corporate CEO’s. The ability to include the monetary value of one year’s worth of accrued time is a known cost component of the retirement system. It is actuarially accounted for. From the day an employee is hired until the day he retires, employee and employer contributions have been made in order to properly fund the benefit in question. It is expected from day one that this is what the employee will do! By the way, this information has always been publicly available on the CCCERA website. There is nothing sneaky, underhanded, or egregious about it; and it most certainly is not spiking. It is a known component of the pension system. Period.

This accounted for and paid for component of the pension has long been accepted and uncontested by the employer. In fact, the employer has historically claimed the benefit as a component of an employee’s total compensation.  Understandably, the employer takes full advantage of that fact during collective bargaining.  In other words, salary is played against the cost of benefits.  For example, in a salary survey conducted in 2012 consisting of the 9 bay area Counties and 15 Contra Costa Cities, the Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs were second to last, ahead of only Clayton PD.  So not only is the benefit paid for directly, but also indirectly!

It would be an egregious misrepresentation to characterize an employee receiving a known and paid for benefit as “abusive”.

I’m not sure how anyone who truly understands the pension system can characterize this as “abuse” without intentionally trying to bias the reader.  The author may not like the application of law, but those playing by the rules are in no way abusing the system.   There is really no sound reason to use such inflammatory and inaccurate verbiage when reporting on pensions, other than to bias the reader.  We can only think that the author is not very confident in his position, so he must resort to hyperbole.  Hiding it as “opinion” does not relieve the author of responsibility or justify inaccuracy.  We believe people want only the unbiased truth from the media so that they can formulate their own opinion.

As the reader, you have not been afforded that opportunity.  Please, seek both sides of the story.

https://www.opoa.org/contra-costa-deputy-sheriffs-association-responses-times-inaccurate-editorial/

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17 comments

JimSimmons42 Nov 18, 2013 - 9:01 am

You mean to tell me the two Dans in that Department are not telling the full story? No way!!!!!! What a shocker, NOT!!!!!!!!! Way to go Ken Westermann in holding that Board accountable for there untruths.

Buy a Clue Nov 18, 2013 - 9:36 am

If you’re looking for unbiased truth from the media, the CC Times is not the place you go. They have become an activist newspaper attempting to make news rather that simply reporting it with a degree of journalistic integrity.

Vince aka Boomba Nov 18, 2013 - 3:35 pm

Buy a Clue,

We haven’t agreed 100% before on topics, but you are right on the money in your opinion of the Contra Costa Times. Oh by the way, did you get a chance to see my responses to your posts regarding “old news” Measure C that were posted shortly before the election ??

In 'da know Nov 18, 2013 - 9:59 am

Do you expect anything less from a dying newspaper? The times is not even a former shell of what Dean Lesher created. The “two Dan’s” have completely screwed their readership and the paper with but bias and yellow opinion. One Dan is too stupid and the other is just a sour little man who wishes he wasn’t stuck in such a dead end job. This is what happens when you have editors that have no background in economics, public policy and suffer from a severe case of jealousy. Neither Dan has ever let facts get in the way of their jaded opinions.

Most people have an image in their minds of what an editorial board represents. These two hacks are not even close. If readers of the CC times met the two Dan’s in person they would be shocked at the men behind the print.

The editorial board has been pandering to a uniformed public in which they have played an enormous role in under-educating. The news is supposed to educate the public—-not mislead it.

I dumped my subscription over a decade ago. It’s no wonder—– they cannot even give away that paper.

Kudos to Mr. Westermann for setting the record straight.

D.B.Minion Nov 18, 2013 - 8:53 pm

Mr. Westerman,
Are you saying if the returns on investments do not cover your pension it gets lowered ? I doubt it. The public is on the hook for your pension one way or the other. Spiking is quite common in the public sector. It is immoral and unjust. Spiking should be made a felony.The public sector should have their retirements adjusted just like the private sector. The public sector demands that the promise of a finite pension benefit remain from the very first year no matter what happens in the following 30 years. The private sector adjusts yearly or so depending on the income of the plan. This method is why private union pensions do not have the financial problems the public employee pensions have. They are mandated by law unlike the public sector to keep pension funds healthy. It’s not rocket science and I think those public employees who believe that pension dollars automatically grow and cover the fund are in la la land. The buck stops at the public to carry the burden of a bad pension year. The courts need to correct the broken public employee pension system.

worthy of all sorts of name calling Nov 19, 2013 - 3:11 pm

Private sector pensions are now a matter of folklore. Don’t believe me, Ask American Airlines employees. The only thing more immoral and unjust than spiking is working your whole life for a company and losing your pension for no fault of your own. Private Pensions don’t have the problems of public sector pension because Private companies can declare bankruptcy protection and drop their pension plans. This is not rocket science and you Sir, are a fool.

Buy a Clue Nov 19, 2013 - 5:32 pm

Do you work for the Contra Costa Times? A member of the Editorial stooge-fest, perhaps?

All the pension naysayers can discuss are the down years after the mortgage meltdown. You’ll never hear them talk about all the years of double digit growth or the fact that the 20 year average(the only honest number for this discussion) is 7.5% appreciation.

Nope, that would take the wind out of the hit piece.

If you think the private sector has it wired when it comes to pensions you live under a rock. In honor of that ignorance treat yourself. Stop off on the way home and buy a box of the newly re-released Twinkies. In honor of those nice 20 year employees who took it in the shorts last year when the private equity firm that owned them declared BK after many years of looting their pension funds. Those poor slobs had already taken a 50% haircut on wages only to get the final insult when the company closed the doors and left them hanging.

Oh, and who gets to be the caretakers when a few white collar criminals do that? The taxpayers. Through the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp(PBGC) we make the pensioners whole again.

The private to public sector comparisons are always humorous because they are usually led by the horribly uninformed and sometimes in the case of the D.B. crowd, the criminally insane.

Shouldn’t you guys be out organizing your next permit less frat party?

Vince aka Boomba Nov 19, 2013 - 6:32 pm

Buy a Clue,

You go buddy !!

D.B. Kook Catcher Nov 19, 2013 - 6:33 pm

@ Buy a Clue ,

DB Minion is “Voter 123456789” by any other name . I’m sure you caught his usual “faux pas” .

He is still a douche .

He hasn’t achieved the status of minion . He is still out racing trees !
… and losing !

Bawahahahaaaaaa !

B-Wood Nov 20, 2013 - 7:17 pm

D.B. Minion,

Same old whining emanating from your keyboard? Perhaps by a different name but you cannot escape your punitive rhetoric . It must be difficult to process the little things such as facts with such a narrow mind. You are right, it isn’t rocket science for most of us, however in your case, it is must surely feel like it.

Psssst…..”Buy a clue”, “Worthy of all sorts of name calling”, “DB kook catcher” and Vince aka Boomba….You can’t fix stupid or in his case……….. “frustrated”.

D.B.Minion Nov 19, 2013 - 7:32 pm

The response I have to those who think there is no spiking going on and the public pension system can handle what ever is thrown at it;

You are either one of the people working in the public sector or one of the three blind mice.

I do not feel for you at all. When you have shamed America to the point of no return by taking more than a fair share by payola tactics to politicians, the people left holding the bag will right your wrong.The next generation of public workers will suffer for todays workers greed. I pray that common sense will intervene before the existing government changes into a form of government the masses will regret. Many of the public workers today have no clue as to what it means to proudly serve the public. How much do I get? What is in it for me? How can I buck the system for my personal benefit? Just like BART, I need family days off along with my vacation, personal days, comp time, sick leave, and holidays.I also want to accumulate them to a point I can inflate my pension we above what is contributed.The only fools are the ones that continue to allow this.
The rest are just thieves of the s\pension system.

I hope and pray the judge and courts are not blind to this. Our children and grandchildren will suffer if not.

Vince aka Boomba Nov 20, 2013 - 8:09 am

@DB Minion,

Spiking ?? All you UNINFORMED people IMAGINE three things, 1) Public Employees are all millionaires in retirement — with vacation homes in Maui, 2) spend countless hours at and away from work on how they can SPIKE their pensions and 3) do NOT pay taxes, like they are all on some kind of “free ride” granted to them by the taxpayers …. Oh there you go, feeling sorry for our children and grandchildren to be left with some “burden”, that argument has been used for 60 plus years, so get over it.

The Contra Costa Times has always been anti-labor, anti-public employee with their half-cocked reporting, and Borenstein and Bainridge — well they are just a morons when it comes to public employee retirements. I don’t read the Times, besides being anti everything public, it’s a shitty news gathering organization that chooses to inflame people with their moronic editorials (from the two Dans) rather than just report the news — unbiased.

Hey DB Minion, you ask if people who disagree with you are people who work in the public sector like it’s a bad thing ?? Well it’s not, if you are still able to you should give it a try, and if not well too bad, you missed your chance.

Yeah I’m a retired public employee, and believe me, I was NOT able to spike my pension with unused sick leave, holiday pay, comp time, vacation, personal days — and besides what moron is not going to take time off during their career ever, to be able to add that money to their final payout ??? You are entitled to your opinions, but do some more research with regards to public employee pensions before you open your mouth and mouth the words of the Contra Costa Times Editorial staff, that think public employees should be working for “coolie” wages ……

Vince aka Boomba Nov 20, 2013 - 8:12 am

@DB Minion,

I should say I don’t purchase the Contra Costa Times, I look at it online (FREE), just to see what crap they are laying on the people today.

Vince aka Boomba Nov 20, 2013 - 8:22 am

DB Minion,

And you mention the politicians who SUPPOSEDLY give away the ranch to public employees, well maybe you have to use your head, and think about who keeps re-electing “bad politicians” ?

What exactly is your problem ???? I guess you are one of those who think people will become cops, firefighters, etc. for $10 an hour, with NO benefits …. You are either some old, blue hair or some angry, jealous, disgruntled employee of some crap place, with a weak or non existent union, a person who refused or refuses to become a public employee when you had the chance, and now you are kicking yourself in the ass for not doing so.

Yeah, I don’t know who are, but yeah, I’m labeling you because you fit the criteria with your comments !!

ECVsBrother Nov 20, 2013 - 7:42 pm

Boomba got butt hurt. Sometimes the truth hurts. If the boot fits as they say. How many aliases do you have bonewood.

B-Wood Nov 20, 2013 - 11:32 pm

ECVsbrother,

That would make you wrong again douchebag.

My God man, you really are “that dumb”.

Yep, sometimes the truth hurts. Man up buckwheat. Thanks for making so many of us look good via your paranoid convictions. You are such a troll.

Vince aka Boomba Nov 20, 2013 - 8:41 pm

ha ha ha !!

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