Joe Flynn
Phone (619) 588-7078
joeglo@MSN.com
May 21, 2005
Retirement
Board Update - By Joe Flynn
The May 20 meeting of the Retirement
Board was standing room only; a rare occasion.
Television cameras ringed the room and reporters circled the crowd. Mayor Murphy, Councilwoman Toni Atkins, City
Manager Lamont Ewell, and Audit Committee member Troy Dahlberg gave reasons why
they it was necessary for the Retirement
Board to waive the attorney-client privilege to allow the City to complete the
2003 Audit.
They were followed by City Attorney Mike Aguirre,
and Dep. City Attorney Chris Morris.
Mr. Aguirre asserted that he, and not Board Attorney Lori Chapin,
represented the Ret. Bd. and urged the Bd. to waive the attorney-client
privilege. Waiting in the wings were
two attorneys who have been advising the Bd. on legal matters, especially the
waiver question. During Bd. discussion
with Mr. Aguirre, I suggested that, “The only thing worse than not having the
advice of one attorney was having the advice of three attorneys.” It was one of the few light moments of the
day.
Retirees Jim Gleason, Patricia Karnes, and Virginia
Silverman also requested the Bd. to waive, in order to complete the City
Audit. Judie Italiano MEA Pres., spoke
in support of Bd. member John Torres.
Joan Raymond, Pres of Local 127 said that 2,000 member supported the
waiver of privilege.
Board items:
A request to change the Board meeting time from 1:30 PM to 4 PM was
roundly defeated. The Board approved a
Cost of living increase, effective July 1, 2005, of 1.9% for 1981 pension plan
retirees, and a 2% for eligible SDCERS retirees. Special Safety Class Fluctuators are exempt from this
increase. And to give you an idea of
the heightened sensitivity on conflict of interest, the Bd. Attorney advised me
not to take part, since as a retiree I will be getting the 2% increase.
The Bd. went into closed session to discuss pending
litigation and the request to waive attorney client privilege around 6:30
PM. We adjourned, after extensive
discussion, at 10:45 PM without a vote and a request for additional
information. The Bd. will resume the
discussion on June 17. During the April
15 closed session, the Bd. had voted 8-4 not to waive the privilege; I was one
of the four who voted to waive.
Joe Flynn, Retiree Rep.