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Councilmember McGovern suggested that staff post the letter on the City's website for public viewing. <br /> Ralph F. said he has done a lot of reading as of late at the federal, state and local levels and said <br /> families could expect a $4,100 tax increase in 2013 in addition to the numerous local taxes and tolls <br /> being pushed through the system at the moment. Public entities are provided with tax dollars to build <br /> systems that they are not equipped to properly manage or fund for the future and the public has no <br /> representation on these matters. He stressed the importance that today's Council and anyone running <br /> for future office make the public aware of these matters and represent them accordingly. <br /> Councilmember McGovern noted that Mr. Volking provided the Council with a brochure announcing a <br /> Town Meeting at 7 p.m. on September 4th regarding this very issue. <br /> PUBLIC HEARINGS AND OTHER MATTERS <br /> 16. Introduction of a Tentative Agreement (Memorandum of Understanding) between the City of <br /> Pleasanton and the International Association of Firefighters Local 1974 for a term ending June 30, <br /> 2014 <br /> City Manager Fialho introduced the item which relates to the consideration of a Tentative Agreement <br /> with the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1974, otherwise known as Livermore- <br /> Pleasanton Fire Department (LPFD). He called attention to the fact that on August 16, 2011, the City <br /> Council was one of the first California cities to adopt the League of California Cities Pension White <br /> Paper as a roadmap for pension reform and a basis for influencing and informing future personnel <br /> negotiations. <br /> The document called for a two-prong approach in addressing the matter. Locally, it called for a number <br /> of reforms including employee assumption of the full share of the employer paid member contribution <br /> (EPMC), which for public safety employees is approximately 9% of monthly wages, implementation of <br /> lower retirement tiers for new employees, and the calculation of final retirement allowances based on <br /> more than the highest single paid year. The police contract adopted this past July achieved those <br /> objectives, as does the Tentative Agreement before the Council today. <br /> At the State level, the document called for repealing SB 400 and AB 616; prohibiting the adoption of <br /> enhanced formulas over the next 20 years by any agency in the State; eliminating the availability of <br /> City-paid EPMC; and providing employers with another option to retirement benefits through a 401K- <br /> style deferred compensation plan combined with the lower risk management defined benefit plan <br /> offered by CaIPERS. He noted that the State has been a bit slower in its implementation and a number <br /> of these issues are still at various stages of deliberation. <br /> The white paper also adopted three benchmarks by which to measure its progress towards fulfilling <br /> cost containment. The first was for the City to actively eliminate the negative amortization inherent in <br /> PERS rates starting July 1, 2012. In recognition of that, the City advanced more than the minimum <br /> payment to PERS this year. The second was to reduce the unfunded liability by a minimum of 10%, <br /> though it was acknowledged that the liability is market driven and any reform efforts may prove <br /> ineffective in years of poor market performance. Conversely, this objective may be met without any <br /> effort at all in years where the market yields a strong return. <br /> Councilmember Cook-Kallio asked if, with the understanding that the market is poor, the City might hold <br /> on to its payments to lower the unfunded liability in hopes of producing a better return through its own <br /> investments. Mr. Fialho tabled the question for discussion with the Chief Actuary later in the meeting. <br /> The third benchmark was to reduce total personnel costs down to 70% of the City's operating budget. <br /> Historically, personnel rates have hovered at about 72% but in recent years reached as high as 79%. <br /> City Council Minutes Page 6 of 19 August 21,2012 <br />