The short answer is . . . most currently-employed public servants in CA at the State, County and municipal level are hopelessly overloaded. Retirees have NOT been replaced in recent years and mandatory furloughs (to help eat up workers’ leave balances) have NOT helped them plow thru their workload. For instance, I recently had a civil “client” who had pled guilty to a “wet reckless” (in lieu of a DUI) six months prior and their annual auto insurance premium was about to come due. When they checked with the DMV, they found out the local branch court who took their plea had NOT YET reported the lesser wet reckless charge to the DMV and so their insurance company would be pricing their new premium on a DUI arrest shown on her record. When I accompanied her to the courthouse and waited in a 45 min line to talk to a clerk, we found out that this particular section was 9+ months behind in DMV reporting. After a lengthy discussion with a supervisor (and their searching for and finding her convelope pkg while we waited), they agreed to report it to the DMV within a day and actually did so.
This is deplorable service considering all the fines she paid and proof of classes she had to submit to the court to have her lesser plea accepted. It may even be against the law but I can’t cite the actual “failure to perform their ministerial duty” code at the present time. It currently takes close to a year in this county to get either a civil or domestic trial date (provided all previous hgs were attended by all parties).
Due to massive retirements, CA public agencies need WORKERS now! Piggs, get out there and apply!!
[quote=FormerSanDiegan (from “Another crash in 2012?” thread)]I haven’t read this entire thread (frankly, I can’t bear to read the longer posts, so I skim them and read responses).
But, what I want to knwo it, how the heck did we go from the question of whether the stock markket will crash in 2012 to a pissing contest about public employees.
Maybe we should creat a separate thread for that subject ?[/quote]
I agree. There are MANY “separate threads” dealing with public pensions here, FSD. The same small group of Piggs keep complaining about public pensions but have little understanding of how they are actually funded. When push comes to shove, they won’t apply for these “teat-sucking gravy-train” jobs. Could the reason be that they know they can’t pass the stringent pre-employment “background check” or don’t want to lose their “constitutional rights” or “common freedoms” while on duty (which they undoubtedly enjoy with their current employer)?
It’s the same tired old story that rears its head on here several times per month.
Safety workers (who are NOT eligible for SS) are NOT affected by the $106,800 FICA deduction cap. They typically pay a higher contribution rate on a higher salary (often due to overtime). I apologize for any confusion my previous post WRT this may have caused. There are NO caps on these members’ retirement contributions as their pensions are usually calculated based upon their highest year’s (or combination of their highest 3 years’) salary.
Every public retirement system has their own nuances, depending on each employee-group’s collective bargaining agreement.
Also, I didn’t mention the “SS offset” which affects all SS-eligible public servants from all levels of government. It represents +/- 5% of the worker’s pension. For example, for a worker who receives a public pension of $800 month, they will have approx $40 deducted from their monthly SS benefits when they become eligible for them.
I believe it is important for the general (oft-complaining) public to understand the effect a public pension deduction has on a worker’s pay instead of (ignorantly) repeatedly stumping about how “unfair” it all is. This doesn’t even take into account the working conditions and voluminous rules and regulations the typical public worker has to abide by (if they want to remain free of disciplinary action).
“Boring” as my “informational posts” might be, FSD, I believe that if someone can’t competently discuss the “nitty-gritty” of reality here re: public pensions, then STFU.
These public jobs are for the taking, Piggs. I urge you to apply and go thru the “selection process.” It will be an “eye-opening” experience even if you don’t get hired :=]
