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CHICAGO —All across the country, millions of government pensioners are contract-bound to receive lifetime pension payouts, each in the millions of dollars, along with taxpayer- funded, premium healthcare insurance, according to Rae Ann McNeilly, executive director of Taxpayers United of America (TUA).
“There has been a flurry of reaction to the ‘discovery’ of Alameda County Administrator, Susan Muranishi, securing an excessive lifetime annual payment of $423,000. We have completed analysis of government employee salaries and pensions in nineteen states across the country and while Ms. Muranishi’s pay is on the high end of the scale, it just isn’t as uncommon as you might think.”
Peter G. Mehas, retired from the Fresno County Office of Education, annual pension – $241,807; est. lifetime payout: $9,357,534
Tapas Das Gupta, retired from the University of Illinois, annual pension – $426,885; est. lifetime payout: $8,337,549
Frank A. Fairbanks, retired city manager of Phoenix, AZ, annual pension – $246,813; est. lifetime payout: $7,404,386
Irene Mitchel, retired from the Pennsylvania Higher Ed System, annual pension – $332, 017; est. lifetime payout: $9,960,523
“Alameda County, CA (ACERA) had fourteen pensioners receiving eight-figure pensions in 2011, the highest being $17,824,590 estimated lifetime payout to Gary Thuman, based on his annual pension of $396,102. This is what he is being paid not to work.”
“Alameda County government teachers have a real sweetheart deal too. Christine A. Lim, retired from San Leandro Unified and enjoys $239,092 in annual pension payments. Her est. lifetime payout is a stunning $10,436,359. Not bad for ‘civil servant’. The top 100 Alameda County government teacher pensions average $5.5 million.”
“How did pensions ever get so outrageous?” asks McNeilly. “These grotesque pension payments have far exceeded any possible original intent of adequately compensating ‘civil servants’ for meager wages that lean government budgets could barely afford for basic services. No, the pension scam has become the number one tool of corruption for top government union bosses to stay in power and to reelect those that would make such deals with the devil. And to ensure the scam proliferates, lavish pensions have been awarded to the legislators who would vote on this issue. This keeps them protected by the state’s laws, and for judicial certainty, the very judges who might rule on any challenges to the system have themselves been made part of the conspiracy with gold-plated retirement security of their own.”
“Knowing all that we know about the desperate state of government pensions across the country, how then do some states continue to hide their pension largesse behind a shroud of legal secrecy? One might think pensioned judges wouldn’t protect their own pension payments from public review. But consider Colorado, where Denver District Judge Edward D. Bronfin ruled that the state’s own treasurer, Robert Stapleton, could not have ‘unlimited, unfettered access’ to the state’s PERA data, holding that individual names and pension amount are personal. When you consider that Colorado’s PERA has at least a $16.8 billion unfunded liability, it would seem the public will be picking up a majority of that tab and it should be open for review.”
“Colorado is not the only state that still hides pension payments from public review. To give taxpayers an idea of what the current government pension laws allow for, TUA estimated pensions for current employees, assuming they meet the terms of full retirement. The shear magnitude of these estimates explains why government bureaucrats maintain the shroud of secrecy. Consider current Colorado State employee, Robert K. Hammond, a Colorado State employee whose salary is $225,000. Under current PERA rules, assuming he meets all of the criteria, he would be eligible for an annual pension of about $168,750 that could accumulate to a lifetime payout of about $5.4 million.”
“Nevada is another state that keeps individual pension payouts from public review. The state keeps its approximately $11 billion in unfunded liabilities hidden as well. Ricardo A. Bonvincin, a corrections lieutenant, was receiving $435,658 in annual wages. Assuming he met all criteria for full retirement, he would have been eligible for an annual pension of $335,456, potentially accumulating to a stunning $15,961,017.”
“And so the list goes across the country.”
“Cities, counties, government boards are buckling under the shear magnitude of these pension promises — promises negotiated out of corruption and expanded to include all who would challenge them, such as legislators and judges. The current government-employee pension system is indefensible on any level. If contractual agreements are honored across the country, taxpayers will be required to sacrifice all their property to ensure that the ‘new elite’ keep pulling in the big bucks.”
“It is actually too late for pension reform, and time for pension settlement for existing pensioners and pension replacement for new hires. It is mathematically impossible to tax our way out of the government pension debacle, so what is left? Stockton, CA, is taking the bankruptcy path to dealing with its fiscal irresponsibility, which will allow it to reorganize its debt. Does every city, county and state government have to go bankrupt in order to fairly settle the incredible financial burden placed squarely on the backs of taxpayers as a direct result of this ubiquitous corruption?”
“But the debt is only half of the problem. Any city, county, state, or court that manages to survive the overwhelming pension crisis and allows the system to perpetuate under the same set of rules is acting criminally. It is time to end government pensions forever.”
Note: All pension amounts are based on 2011 reports generated on data received directly from each of the respective funds and the pension laws in force at the time of each study.
TUA’s work in helping local activists defeat 4 property-tax-increase referenda was featured in the Daily Herald.
Experts used to say the best time to ask voters for a tax increase is when there are fewer of them at the polls.
Tuesday’s election results in DuPage County show how much times have changed.
Despite less than 19 percent voter turnout countywide, four DuPage school districts were left licking their wounds after voters soundly defeated requests for more property tax money.
Itasca Elementary District 10 sought more tax dollars to fill holes in its budget. Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200, Lake Park High School District 108 and Butler Elementary District 53 were hoping to pursue construction projects.
All of them lost.
“We went into this knowing it was going to be an uphill battle,” said Alan Hanzlik, president of the District 53 school board in Oak Brook.
Still, supporters were surprised when the district’s request to borrow $15 million to build a $40 million K-8 school was rejected by about 72 percent of the residents who voted on the measure, according to unofficial results.
A ballot question related to where the school would be built did worse.
About 76 percent of the Oak Brook voters who weighed in refused to give the village permission to sell Sports Core land to District 53 for the school.
Meanwhile, voter turnout for both ballot questions was more than 41 percent.
Hanzlik said he’s now trying to figure out what went wrong with the referendum campaign.
But with voters also resisting property tax hikes in District 200, District 108 and District 10, it’s possible nothing could have changed the outcome.
“The failure of a broad cross-section of these referendums indicates taxpayers are still hurting economically,” said Terry Pastika, executive director of the Citizen Advocacy Center in Elmhurst. “They are feeling the squeeze. They are feeling overburdened.”
District 10 officials said they had to seek $1 million annually in extra taxes to fill a budget shortfall that was caused, in part, by decreased state and federal funding.
That didn’t stop Taxpayers United of America from campaigning against the ballot question. The Chicago-based government watchdog group argued the district was seeking higher property taxes at a time when Itasca taxpayers are taking home less pay.
The end result was the proposal being rejected by nearly 60 percent of the District 10 residents who voted on it.
District 200 residents who championed a proposal to replace an aging early childhood center acknowledge the sluggish economy likely played a role in the measure’s defeat.
“We feel that the community didn’t say ‘No.’ We feel that they said ‘Not yet.’” said Dan Wagner, who served as co-chairman of a group called Friends of the Schools — Yes to the Jefferson Early Childhood Center Referendum.
District 200 sought voter approval to borrow $17.6 million to construct a new Jefferson Early Childhood Center and demolish the existing structure in Wheaton. Roughly 59 percent of the voters rejected the idea.
Without a November election, taxing bodies can’t seek another ballot question until March 2014.
District 200 school board President Rosemary Swanson said officials will take time to review the election results to determine what concerns voters had about the proposal. “We’ll work to see if we can find a plan that’s acceptable to them,” she said.
In the meantime, the existing Jefferson doesn’t match the program it houses. While two-thirds of the students have special needs, the building originally was designed as an elementary school.
Some students receive therapy in converted storage closets, while others use equipment set up at the end of hallways. In addition, some entrances and bathrooms aren’t accessible for students in wheelchairs and walkers.
“It (Jefferson) needs an overall redesign,” Swanson said. “And we do not have the money in our district funds to be able to do that without going to the voters to seek their support in the future.”
In District 108, officials say they don’t foresee the issue of an indoor swimming pool at Lake Park High School going away.
In fact, they said they’re encouraged by the results, in which roughly 55 percent of voters said no to both questions related to the proposed pool.
“We’re seeing an increasing level of community support even though it didn’t work to our favor this time,” Superintendent Lynne Panega said. “Maybe there is some traction. So we’re trying to focus on the positive and use this to move forward.”
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Chicago – Taxpayers United of America (TUA) helped local activists defeat 4 more property tax increase referenda. This makes our Illinois property tax increase referenda victories 197! We were also successful in 2 of 3 Home Rule battles. We have effectively helped taxpayers beat down 200 Home Rule referenda in our 37 years of operation!
“Taxpayers are the big winners anytime Home Rule is defeated. Home Rule communities always have higher taxes and that is the message that resonated with South Chicago Heights and Anna voters yesterday,” stated Jim Tobin, president of TUA.
“Itasca SD 10 put out a full marketing blitz to try and blur the new requirement that ballot language include the actual property tax increase. But thanks to our coordinated efforts with local activists, we were able to educate the voters who soundly defeated the referendum 1,107 to 743.”
“McClellan CCSD 12 gave their government school bureaucrats a resounding ‘NO’ on a property tax increase referendum with a vote of 140 to 76. Taxpayers in Mt. Vernon simply can’t support a property tax increase when they have been hit so hard economically. They insist that government school bureaucrats tighten their belts and stop expecting taxpayers to take yet another hit.”
“McHenry County taxpayers won bigger than most. They defeated a referendum, 20,562 to 11,075, that would have actually added an entirely new taxing authority to reach into the wallets of McHenry County residents. But these big government bureaucrats met tremendous opposition thanks to local activist, Bob Anderson, founder of McHenry Citizens TaxWatch. This well organized opposition also defeated a move, 4,273 to 2,378, by McHenry HSD 156 to spend $2.2 million in bond surplus rather than return it to the taxpayers making this a double win for the taxpayers in the district.”
“McHenry Citizens TaxWatch also coordinated efforts with us to elect Tax Accountability (TA) endorsed candidate, Chris Jenner and his running mate, Thomas Wilbeck to the McHenry County College Board. With records as fiscal watchdogs, Jenner and Wilbeck will serve McHenry County taxpayers and students, rather than special interests that seek to grow empires by creating jobs – and pensions – for their cronies.”
“Libertyville trustee candidate, Phil Collins, who was endorsed by TA won a very close race for that seat. Libertyville now has at least one ‘liberty’ focused trustee in Phil who pledges to protect taxpayers from irresponsible spending and increased taxation.”
“The most important politics are local and the message that voters sent to municipal leaders yesterday is that they want a say in tax increases and aren’t willing to give government bureaucrats a blank check to pay for empire building.”
“Our fight for smaller, more responsible government is going to be won at the local level and we, TUA, are there on the ground with activists across the state to beat down the expansion of taxing authority and incessant property tax increases. We educate people on the reality of expanding taxing authority through home rule and what property tax increases are really used for, and we give them the tools they need to defeat the increases. In some cities, we are the only voice of opposition to the government rhetoric that is unchallenged and regurgitated by many media.”
“Thanks to our research, people aren’t being fooled any longer; they know that 80% of local taxes go to pay salaries and benefits, including gold plated pensions. Voters in these communities sent a loud and clear message that they want spending cuts without tax increases and they want to throw out the tax-and-spend incumbents.”
