San Diego Committee Nixes Fund to Cover Pension Contributions

The San Diego City Council’s Budget Committee has voted against a proposal by Mayor Kevin Faulconer (R) that would have created a $21 million reserve fund to cover unexpected increases in city contributions to the San Diego City Employees Retirement System (SDCERS). The city, the 8th largest in the United States with a population greater than that of 10 states, faces financial challenges that include the cost of increases in pension payments.

The amount San Diego contributes to its employee retirement system varies, depending on factors such as how the funds in which its money is invested perform, according to Fox 5 San Diego.

City Councilman Scott Sherman (R), who supported the proposal, noted that the hours that city libraries and recreation centers are open had to be cut to cover increases in the contribution to SDCERS and that such a fund would have been helpful in forestalling those reductions. San Diego Chief Financial Officer Mary Lewis also expressed support for the proposal.

Budget Committee Chairman Todd Gloria (D) was not convinced and noted that the city has been able to make contributions to SDCERS on time and in full for 11 years, and argued that the money it would set aside could better be used to protect neighborhood services.