In an effort to corral mounting pension costs for employees, Ventura on Monday became the first city in Ventura County to call for a two-tiered pension system that would scale back benefits to future retirees.

Existing employees would continue to receive promised pension payments for the rest of their retired lives, but could have to contribute more of their salaries to cover those future payouts.

The City Council unanimously approved the changes, the details of which still must be negotiated and accepted by union and nonunion employees and their bargaining units.

Councilwoman Christy Weir, who made the motion, said too many taxpayer dollars are going to pay for retirements, at a time the city is cash-strapped to provide for vital city services. Lowering city pension costs, she said, could free future funds for public programs.

"We are spending more and more money to pay people who no longer work for the city, which means, to me, the city is not getting the actual, tangible benefits for its dollars," she said. "To me, that is not the right way to run a city."

Councilman Neal Andrews, who has championed pension reforms, said the city will face staggering costs to cover future obligations, and it was time to act rather than wait for the state or others to find solutions.

Labor leaders who learned of the change Tuesday reacted sharply, saying a new retirement benefit system would not likely provide significant savings for at least 15 years and the council shouldn't balance the budget on the backs of workers who already have forfeited 3 percent of their salaries and taken unpaid furlough.

The council's unexpected vote came late Monday after it received a lengthy report by a volunteer task force created by the council last year to study employee compensation and possible pension reforms.

The task force, which included city employees and local business officials, concluded that while pension plans for Ventura employees are in line with those offered by other public agencies across the state, Ventura, like others, will be forced to contribute growing and "unsustainable" amounts to cover promised retirement obligations.

The task force told the council that CalPERS, the state retirement system plan covering most public employees, projects by 2016, total annual pension contributions from the city will rise to 30 percent of salary for general employees and 46 percent for public safety employees, projections that some Ventura employees disputed. Battered by stock market declines, the California Public Employees Retirement System has an unfunded liability of up to several hundred billion dollars, depending upon future earnings, to finance pension and retiree healthcare benefits, according to the governor's administration.

The task force's chairman, Ed McCombs, a former Ventura city manager, however, stopped short of recommending any concrete fixes. McCombs said the task force didn't have the time, expertise or money to hire experts to accurately project savings if the city moved to a two-tiered system.

The council voted not to wait, adopting policy directing the city manager to move to a two-tiered system and have employees contribute more to their retirements. The exact details still must be defined and negotiated.

City employees don't pay Social Security, because they are enrolled in the state retirement system, and due to past negotiations, the city currently pays both the city's share and the employee's share of pension costs - 7 percent for general employees, 9 percent of safety personnel.

Possible changes to save future expenses could involve employees having to resume paying for those costs, similar to what county employees do, officials said.

Under the tiered system, new hires also could receive lower pension benefits or longer public service before collecting retirement.

About a handful of California public agencies have enacted tiered systems, and Ventura would be wise to act now to reduce long-term pension costs, despite likely stiff union opposition, said Herb Gooch, a political science instructor at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

"This is the direction that most cities and counties will have to go," he said.

Ventura currently provides retirement benefits under three formulas: 3 percent at 50 for sworn police personnel; 2 percent at 50 for firefighters (scheduled to go to 3 percent at 55 on July 1); and 2 percent at 55 for all other full-time employees.

This allows a police officer to receive 90 percent of his or her highest earnings, not including overtime, after age 50 if they have at least 30 years of service. For example, a 30-year officer whose highest salary was $100,000 would get a $90,000-a-year pension at age 50.

Firefighters also could receive 90 percent of highest pay, but would have to work until age 55 and have at least 30 years of service. Other staff reaching at least 30 years of service at age 55 could retire with 60 percent of their highest year of earnings.

Though he ultimately supported the policy, City Councilman Mike Tracy, a former police chief who participated on the task force, cautioned of "a tipping point" where too steep of reductions to employee's pay and compensation will prompt them to seek employment elsewhere and make recruitment more difficult, particularly among the police and fire departments.

Many city labor leaders were unaware of the late-night vote.

Police Cpl. John Snowling, Ventura Police Officers Association president, said in an interview Tuesday that officers compensation lags other departments and the guaranteed pensions are reasonable and widespread for such dangerous work.

Still, the association was "willing to discuss a two-tiered system and other options to try to help balance the budget," he said.

The Service Employees International Union 721, which represents nearly 400 employees, said the city's budget problems are not related to any retirement increases or enhancements for their rank-and-file members and creating a lower, second-tier retirement benefit would not save the city any significant funds for at least 15 years.

"It would be unconscionable for Ventura to continue balancing its budget on the backs of workers who have already contributed 6 percent of their salary last year," SEIU 721 President Bob Schoonover said in a statement. "The once-in-a-lifetime stock market loss and revenue decline is something that all cities, counties and states are trying to address and continuing to reduce wages or lay off workers would harm Ventura's own economic recovery."