San Jose pension fight could have nationwide implications
The eyes of the nation are on San Jose as a landmark June 5 measure to trim soaring pension costs puts residents of the 10th largest U.S. city at the center of a $1 million-plus battle for their votes.
Should San Jose's Measure B pass, as Mayor Chuck Reed and the business and taxpayer groups behind it expect, it would be a key test of a city's authority to reduce future pension costs that exceed expectations and revenues, despite earlier promises to employees. Government employee unions maintain that the measure is illegal, unfair and unnecessary.
"It will have nationwide implications on pension obligations and what we can and can't do when we get underwater," said Marcia Fritz, a Sacramento-area accountant and president of the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility.
Reform advocates see the San Jose pension measure and another one in San Diego as a gauge of voters' willingness to trim costly retirement for cops, firefighters and librarians whose unions have stalled lawmakers' efforts to impose major changes.
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