Aguirre Calls on S.D. Council to Reconsider Bankruptcy Reorganization

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published November 13, 2008 at 9:09 AM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

City Attorney Mike Aguirre called on the San Diego City Council to reconsider the possibility of bankruptcy reorganization. He based this conclusion from the latest report from the pension fund.

City Attorney Mike Aguirre called on the San Diego City Council to reconsider the possibility of bankruptcy reorganization. He based this conclusion from the latest report from the pension fund.

Speaking at an all-day budget hearing, Aguirre brought in auditor Joseph Esuchanko to confirm his warnings.

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Esuchanko: We're creating liabilities much faster than we are creating assets and the problem with that is that now those numbers, as of October 31, now the shortfall is at $2.78 billion, correct? That is correct, alright 14.

San Diego pension deficit was half that amount earlier this year.

San Diego's Chief Financial Officer, Jay Goldstone, says the city will not have to cover this year's pension fund losses by contributing more to the fund until 2011.

Currently the city pays about $160 million a year into the fund. That figure could jump between $30 million and $70million.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.