Here is another twist on the city's negotiations with its six labor unions:
Anyone paying much attention to the budget reports knows that the absurdly generous retiree medical benefits available to city employees also are available to the City Council.
Just to summarize how the current benefits work:
Anybody with five years of service in any CalPERS agency who is at least 50 years old can retire from the city and have 95 percent of his medical premiums paid for his ENTIRE family for life.
If you worked for another CalPERS agency, you can come to Culver City and work for one day and retire and get this benefit. I guess that is why the reports the city has given up the cost of this benefit at over $200 million.
Any City Councilperson elected to a second term has this benefit available to him.
Does our City Council have the courage to reduce this benefit for city employees, even if it means reducing it for themselves?
Mr. Smith may be contacted at jsmith1960@gmail.com
