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Politics

San Diego Makes Policy, Not Payment

San Diego Makes Policy, Not Payment
San Diego City Council will consider at its meeting tonight whether to change budget policy so that long term liabilities don’t grow out of control.

San Diego City Council will consider at its meeting this evening whether to change budget policy so that long term liabilities don’t grow out of control.

All city governments are dealing with new federal standards requiring them to disclose the future costs of retiree health care. According to San Diego’s independent budget analyst, Andrea Tevlin, the full annual contribution for the city is reported to be $113 million next year.

However, while federal law requires full disclosure, it does not require local government to actually pay the full amount.

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The city council will decide whether to adopt new budget language, saying funding retiree health care is a priority. But the plan is to pay about 50 percent of the full annual contribution of $57 million.

Tevlin’s report shows the city has been ramping up its payments into a retiree health fund over the past few years. The city had a goal to pay the full annual contribution in 2010.

Now that commitment is no longer on the table, she suggests the council members need to discuss how they plan to fund retiree health care costs in the future.

Rather than meeting at its normal time of 2 p.m. in city hall, the council meets tonight at 6 p.m. at Kearny High School.