Councilman Parks on $265,000 pension: I earned it

As The Times' Rich Connell reports, pension spending is a growing concern for city budget planners. The city could face a $1-billion budget shortfall in 2010-2011, and an even larger deficit the year after, chiefly because of pension investment losses, according to the city’s top budget analyst.

Connell's review of city records found that Los Angeles Councilman Bernard Parks, City Hall’s budget committee chief, who is warning that soaring payroll and pension costs threaten the city’s financial stability, receives $22,000 a month in city retirement benefits in addition to his $178,789 a year salary.

Some critics contend that packages such as Parks’ underscore the need for broader reform, particularly given the current financial stress on taxpayers and public agencies.

“I don’t discuss my salary or my pension and I earn both of them,” Parks said in a brief phone conversation.

In all, nearly 600 people receive city pensions in excess of $100,000 a year, according to figures obtained by The Times.

What do you think should be done to fix the pension system? How big is big enough for retired city employees?

File photo of Bernard Parks from 2006 by Perry Riddle / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Gerry]

criminal

[ScottD]

I think this is obscene. If you are working for the people and city then do what is right for them.

[GLau]

Parks (and others) should forfeit his $22K, at the very least. If at all possible, his $100,000-plus a year should be trimmed. It's far too generous. For goodness sake! We've all worked most of our lives and most of us will NOT be getting pensions. Parks was supposedly a public servant. He should know that the public doesn't have the cash to pay such a generous pension. He and others should understand that the city they supposedly love needs help now.

[nag]

I'm just turning 66. I spent 3 and a half years as a Naval Officer and the other 44 working as an executive for various private companies. Each year, except for my Naval years, I earned the maximum amount required to contribute to Social Security. When I retire next month the SSA will pay me $2,306 per month and I have one private pension for $576 per month. Everything else is money I have saved from my salaries and invested.

Under what perverse logic makes this government employees think they should earn $200,000+ per year in pensions, or even $4,000 per month? It is people such as me that have to subsidize these obscene amounts. And even these amounts are not enough since so many firemen and police claim "disabilities" when they retire and collect even more funds from the public dole.

[Kinsey6]

What could Parks have *possibly* done in his lifetime to "earn" that much money??? I am disabled (through no fault of my own), and have to live on a grand sum of $631 total per month. That's not a misprint... in fact that's about the average a person on total, permanent disability receives each month. I have six years of college too, so again, what could Parks have *possibly* done in his lifetime to "earn" such an outrageous amount of money in pensions... Find a cure for cancer? Establish world peace? End homophobia? Stop global warning? Bring about an end to terrorism? End all crime? Extend the average human lifespan by 50 years? Provide every Republican with a lobotomy?

Quite frankly, there is nothing Parks could have done in his lifetime to justify such a repugnant disparity between his income and that of the average person on total, permanent disability. People think the disparity between CEO salaries and the average employee's wage is outrageous, but this situation is equally as reprehensible.

[Ross McNaughton]

For someone to get a pension such as this is utterly obscene. And its being paid by the unfortunate tax payer. Doesn't this man understand that this is what has lead the whole world into financial disaster? Unfortunately it is all about greed and no regard for others. He should be ashamed, but obviously is laughing all the way to the bank and not caring for his fellow Americans.

[Majority Opinion]

Parks takes home $17,000 MORE each month than the average RETIRED LAPD POLICE OFFICER. That is totally wrong!!!

The outrageous Parks retirement pay, perks, and benefits are what LAPD Captains, LAPD Commanders, LAPD Deputy Chiefs, LAPD Assistant Chiefs, and the LAPD Chief of Police (over 500 people) get fron the City of Los Angeles when they retire. This only goes to show that the LAPD's top ranks are much too TOP HEAVY!!!

Can we afford this MR. MAYOR? What are YOU going to DO ABOUT THIS? This is a critical topic that requires honest public debate and immediate action!!! You can hire more police officers if you get rid of these OVERPAID 500!

We need less CHIEFS and more worker bees! We need more police officers in this City!

[Karen]

Kudos to Parks for at least coming out and saying something about this matter. I had no idea these employees could be collecting a salary and a pension both at the same time. This is criminal! This has to end!

1.Cut all employee's pensions across the board by 20% immediately.

2. Redesign the method that employees get their pensions based on salary. No one in the private sector gets retirement at 90 to 100 % of their incomes. Why should they? Cut the amount anyone is receiving in the future by 20% as well.

3. Make it illegal for the unions to invest pension money in the stock market unless the pensioner agrees via contract that if the money is lost, they have to take the cut to their pension by the same percentage personally. The tax payers should not be held accountable to the Unions for a bad gambling decision.

4. NO double dipping! Either a salary, OR a pension, NEVER both.

5. There should be two types of pension funds, high risk and low risk.

Low risk. Those who have paid into the pension their entire working lives and who's money is not invested in the stock market. They get the benefit of their pension amount rising by the fact that other pensioners adding their money to the pool and potentially earning a higher yield on a safe and secure savings account.

High risk. Those who want to gamble with their money and let it be put into the stock market thinking it has a higher probability of increasing in value in the future. These people may get the benefit of higher future pensions, but if the value of their investments goes down, they loose their money as well. Just like the rest of us invested in 401 K plans.

6. I don't know if the city does this or not. But if the city "matches" pension contributions with tax payer money, this is THEFT and should be put to an immediate halt.

All of this going on and these politicians are out there saying that the people of california didn't know what they were doing when they voted down the propositions. You people should be ashamed of yourselves! You're out there saying the schools should cut their budgets, that we have to cut staff for fire fighters and police.Cut these pensions!

And to you pensioners out there who are whistling and looking up at the sky as you quietly collect your fat pension checks. Well I welcome you to the harsh reality that the patient has no more blood to be sucked out.

[Janet]

Unbelievable a former police chief who ruined the LAPD, had 1,000 officers leave because he was horrible gets paid that much money today. I don't understand why the LA Times would print the names of only the police and fire and refuse to print the agencies of all the others. Where is the transparency in this type of reporting and blatant bias?

[mjv]

parks the ceo of los angeles
parks repesents the poor district of los angeles , does he feels the pain of the peple he repesents no, des he care for the district he repesents no
des he care that most of the decitions parks and the rest of city hall have made have made los angeles what it is no
we los angeles voters have to take the blame we have elective politicians that dont have the best interest of the peple of los angeles , i relly belive changes are coming
we can not keep on electing crooks and liars

[Crooks]

It's this kind of robbery of tax dollars that have the voters fed up. These politicians that vote for their pensions and salaries while all the rest of us struggle to pay our bills. These politicians believe they have a right to live like kings compared to the general population.

[AdoptiveFather, Los Angeles CA]

Oh my!!!!!! LA Times is sure late to the party on out of control public pensions. Why don't you do an expose on the scams the public workers commit to increase their pensions?

Like going on disability for your last year because public pensions are based on 90% of you net take home pay and disability is always higher because it is tax free.

Private sector workers will be bankrupted by public worker pension and medical benefits. No end to the amount of taxes they can steal from us to pay for their lifestyle.

[Eric of Reseda]

WHAT?!? Parks earns 22K a MONTH in pension benefits, PLUS 179K per year in salary?!? So, we pay Parks roughly 444 THOUSAND A YEAR?!? Granted, under the law, he earned the money. SO THE LAWS NEED TO CHANGE! Parks, a city councilman, gets paid more in SALARY ALONE (179K) than the next Governor of California will receive (173K)!!! Folks, while we have been asleep at the wheel, our elected leaders have been livin' like fat cats, dipping their fingers in the till, and disregarding the common citizen and OUR FUTURE!!! Time for people to wake up...

[Mike]

"These are real people" making just $40,000 a year in public pensions, says union mouthpiece Barbara Maynard. (The average for police and firefighters turns out to be $54,000). Well, the rest of us, who had the misfortune of working for private companies, are real people too. And we aren't going to pay for these absurd pensions, period. Nag is right. And it's about time this incredible largesse began coming to light. The next step is for the media to find out who among the elected officials ever approved these bonanzas on behalf of the taxpayers and to strip them of their own excessive rewards. For some of them, the pensions should go to zero, as they have for many of us--including many of you newspaper employees.

[JLB]

It is too bad that excesses such as the Parks' situation have only come to light, and sparked outrage, at a time when the ecomomy is in sad shape. Perhaps if excesses such as this had come to light earlier, and if the revelation had sparked the outrage it does now, the excesses may have been apporpriately horsecollared "out of the blocks." Putting the cow back in the barn so long after the barn door closed will not be easy.

I have been a government employee for the bulk of my working years and I have concluded that the average government manager has little regard for fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer. Most think it is somebody else's job, not their's. Government cars loaded with options, redecoration of offices that didn't need redecorating, having as many as 6 high-paid managers to supervise a total of 25 employees, and many other similar stories come to mind.

I watch many a high ranking military officer and/or high level federal employee retire on a great pension on a Friday and return to the same place of work the following Monday as a high-paid contractor. All on the taxpayer dollar. While the Fed likes to tout such things as employee head count reductions on the one hand, they're silent in regard to the swelling of the contractor workforce. It has been a shell game that's been played for many years.

The snapping and cracking you hear in the distance is the sound of the collapse of governments all over the country, at all levels of government.

[Ameilia Everhart]

$265,000 in pension??? Ridiculous. What did he do to earn that? No public servant should receive that kind of pension OR salary.

[Sal]

Between things like this and the massive advertising on the sides of buildings, I'm leaving this city for sure this year, and probably the state.

[Donna Smith]

Well, it is highly hypocritical of someone to tout pension reform on the "other" guy -- the small-time wage earner such as myself, and get that big a sum. At least, Parks, keep your mouth shut.

Well, suffice it to know that "most" municipal, state ,and federal workers earn a very paltry retirement subsidy for their years of hard work. Most of us don't get to make laws twice a year, go on cruises, expense paid "living expenses," etc. We work for a living. I think most municipal workers "should" get a pension but, indeed, it should be capped at no more than $100,00 a year -- no matter what salary you earned!! If you are retired, you are just that. You don't deserve any more. That's the end of it.

But please don't take this out on the little guy. Most of us go to work like yourselves, day in and day out, get little to no raises and do the work of two people. We, as little people, deserve OUR retirement.

Thank you for listening.

[karen]

Parks gorging at the public trough is obscene. Equally, as disturbing is the arrogance of the unions who will collect a "mere" $40k/yr. pension but think this is fair because they don't collect social security!!!. I collect $18k/yr. in social security, an amount which is near the top of the scale. I have no pension, nor medical benefits and am living on savings. The ticking time bomb of the "entitlements" of the county workers will bankrupt an already near bankrupt state. It is time to stand up to the unions who constantly propagandize about being underpaid and overworked. Most of them wouldn't last a week in the private sector and their benefits are undeserved and out-of-touch with the rest of the working public and hardworking taxpayers who are supporting them on their backs.

[Karen]

Look at this, posted by JLB:

"I have been a government employee for the bulk of my working years and I have concluded that the average government manager has little regard for fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayer. Most think it is somebody else's job, not their's. Government cars loaded with options, redecoration of offices that didn't need redecorating, having as many as 6 high-paid managers to supervise a total of 25 employees, and many other similar stories come to mind.

I watch many a high ranking military officer and/or high level federal employee retire on a great pension on a Friday and return to the same place of work the following Monday as a high-paid contractor. All on the taxpayer dollar. While the Fed likes to tout such things as employee head count reductions on the one hand, they're silent in regard to the swelling of the contractor workforce. It has been a shell game that's been played for many years."

Now, why doesn't some politician somewhere answer to this. Let's reward people (money) working in the government for being whistlblowers. Have them submit their recommendations on where there is fat that can be cut. Offer them 10% of what they save the taxpayers. Now THAT would be creative tax cutting!

[Robert]

What more can I say than what has already been said here? I guess I don't know which is the more obscene, the double-dipping, the exhorbitant pension, or Parks' insistence that he deserves these sums. Another example of one of "our leaders" who just doesn't get it.

[CJ Roses]

At what point did public service become self-service?

[Pancho Villa]

Parks won't discuss his salaries because they are indefensible. He claims he "earned" them. What he really earned is the ire and repugnance of us middle income taxpayers against this overpaid conservative politician. He has the gall to bring to our attention the problem the City will have with paying pensions in the future? Why did people in his district vote for this hypocrite? Voters are ignorant and stupid.

[Rob]

Here's a different approach.
1. Keep his total compensation the same.
2. Increase the contribution to his retirement from $22K to $100K by reducing his current income by the same amount.
3. Increase the early retirement benefit eligibility age to 85 years old, with a maximum annual payout of 65% of your final annual income.
4. In this way, he will still be compensated the same today, but he will not be able to take any money out until he is 85, and when he is 85, he will get $116K per year. If inflation stays at 3% for the 20 year period from age 65, to the beginning of his retirement at age 85, the current value would be $64K/yr. If he should die before the age of 85, no payouts would ever be paid.

[Shamed...]

With Salary and Pension, Parks is making more than the President of the United States. How is this right? Wait a minute. What person thinks this is "morally" right?