With pensions, county is on solid ground

Supervisors say grand jury concern on pension costs is overstated

By KERANA TODOROV
Register Staff Writer

Pension and retirement benefits won’t cause Napa County to go bankrupt like the city of Vallejo, county officials said this week in response to a critical grand jury report issued earlier this summer.

In June the Napa County civil grand jury raised questions about whether Napa County risked bankruptcy if it did not reduce generous pensions and post-employment benefits paid to county employees.

In its response, the county said it should not simply forego its pension system for a cheaper defined-contribution plan, as the grand jury had recommended.

Similarly, city of Napa officials responded to grand jury concerns earlier this year by saying pension policies are often set at the state level, and that local agencies have been working for two or three years to minimize risks.

The county spends 54 percent of its $247 million budget for wages and benefits.

Supervisor Bill Dodd said Tuesday that while the board heard the grand jury “loud and clear” on the issue, that Napa County is in far better shape than Vallejo was when it sought bankruptcy protection earlier this year.

“Everybody looks at Vallejo and looks at it as a real problem,” Dodd said. “I don’t think we’re there.”

Britt Ferguson, assistant executive officer for Napa County, said Napa County will continue to look at costs, including whether or not the system encourages employees to retire too early.

The grand jury may have underestimated the main issues that plagued Vallejo, including the turnover of top leaders, labor-relation problems, too-generous benefits for emergency workers and mismanagement, Ferguson said.

“We have been pretty conservative,” Ferguson said.

Helene Franchi, principal management analyst for Napa County, said the county will continue to review all its benefit packages for its employees. At the same time, she said, the county has to remain competitive.

“It’s important to maintain a decent benefit level to attract good employees,” Franchi said.

County employee’s retirement and health benefits are provided through the statewide California’s Public Employees Retirement System — or CalPERS.

According to the grand jury report, costs to Napa County taxpayers to fund the county employees benefits over the next two years will be $39.4 million.

Franchi said the figure is about $23.6 million.

The grand jury did not take into account the fact that many county positions are funded either by state or federal mandates, she said.

There are about 320 retired Napa County employees, and about 270 more are expected to retire within the next decade.

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