The Association is a nonprofit association whose function is to provide strong dignified and responsible representation for the purposes of improving the economic benefits and the physical and social welfare of all retired City of San Diego employees, and all beneficiaries, including spouses, of the San Diego City Employees Retirement System.

Monthly meetings are normally held on the second Tuesday of each month, at 11 AM January through November, in the War Memorial Building in Balboa Park.  At these meetings there is a general meeting in which association business is conducted, a program that is educational or entertaining, with subjects that are of interest to retirees and a catered luncheon.  The December luncheon meeting is more social in nature and is normally held on the second Thursday of December.

City pension compromise may be on ballot
     June 25 - The SDUT reports that San Diego voters may get the chance in November to ratchet down retirement benefits for new city hires starting next year.
      The changes would increase the minimum retirement age, reduce the maximum benefit payout and cut the taxpayer contribution to the retirements of city workers almost by half. The link to this story is in the "Press Articles" section of the Members-Only area.

City settles with law firm that probed pension crisis
     June 13 - The SDUT reports that Vinson & Elkins, the Houston-based law firm whose two-year investigation into San Diego's finances was criticized as a whitewash, has agreed to settle with the city for $4.35 million.
      The firm would be the fourth to settle lawsuits related to financial and legal troubles from the city practice of increasing employee pension benefits while cutting funding for them. The link to this story is in the "Press Articles" section of the Members-Only area.

Waterfall Revisions
     May 27 - Patti Karnes reports on the City Council meeting in which revising waterfall revisions was considered. <Patti's report>

Mayor: City Back to Wall Street
     May 15 - The Voice of San Diego reports that the Mayor's Office just announced that the city of San Diego has regained access to Wall Street, a significant milestone that ends the city's nearly four-year struggle to regain its suspended credit rating. The link to this story is in the "Press Articles" section of the Members-Only area.

Late Night Labor Talks Lead to Confusion
     May 14 - The Voice of San Diego reports that as the dust settled after Monday's lengthy labor battle at City Council, the future of three City Hall unions' labor contracts remained unclear.      In fact, some involved aren't even sure what to make of Monday's marathon council hearing over the stalemate between the unions and the Mayor's Office, which included a last-minute mayoral concession that some found surprising, as well as unlawful.The link to this story is in the "Press Articles" section of the Members-Only area.

MEA Meet and Confer Sessions End In Impasse
    May 13 - Ann Smith, MEA Attorney Ann Smith, MEA Attorney, has sent the MEA membership an update on the current meet and confer and impasse process.  Joe Flynn states that there is a lot of good background here, which we can use to inform our friends and neighbors.   <See Report>

Audit of Operations Added
    June 11 - You can now see the report of the Audit Committee in the "Audit of Operations" section of the Members-Only area. At the present time only the 2007 audit is available. We are planning on scanning and posting previous audits as time permits.

For Mayor, There Were Other Pension Options
     May 22 - The Voice of San Diego reports that during his months-long labor negotiations with city unions, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders focused squarely on one proposal for a new pension system despite a number of equally effective proposals floating around City Hall.
     Implementing a less expensive, hybrid pension plan for new city employees, with the exception of police and firefighters, has been central to Sanders' platform since his 2005 campaign, and has been the dominant issue in five months of negotiations between the administration and the city's three non-public safety unions. The link to this story is in the "Press Articles" section of the Members-Only area.

Judge in pension case refuses to step down
     May 17 - The SDUT reports that in a sharply worded rebuke, the judge presiding over the criminal case against five former members of the San Diego retirement system ruled he won't step down as federal prosecutors have asked him to do. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez said the arguments from prosecutors that he could not be impartial were “thin” and “weak.” The link to this story is in the "Press Articles" section of the Members-Only area.

Sanders Kind of Debates
       May 14 - Andrew Donohue of the Voice of San Diego reports that yesterday I moderated a two-hour debate hosted by the City of San Diego Retired Employees Association. I like their debates, they're good and long so you really get a chance to go in-depth with the candidates and touch on a wide range of issues. Plus, the questions come from the audience, and there isn't a more engaged group that the former city workers. The link to this story is in the "Press Articles" section of the Members-Only area.