Unions representing first responders in Hermosa Beach have filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming a recent decision approving reductions to retirement benefits is a violation of state law.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges the Hermosa Beach City Council violated state law by approving changes to the city's CalPERS contributions without completing negotiations with public safety employee groups.
A second hearing in the court case is set for today.
Several council members Tuesday called the lawsuit a "waste of taxpayer money."
"To learn that Hermosa Beach is being sued over something so frivolous is frustrating and contrary to what we're trying to do here," said Mayor Michael DiVirgilio.
The city council's decision, aimed at trimming compensation costs for rank-and-file employees that are expected to balloon through the next decade, was initially discussed at a council meeting in late July and is scheduled to appear again for a final vote in September.
If fully approved, the plan will reduce the city's payments to police employee pension plans from 47.5 percent of payroll to 13.5 percent. For firefighters, the rate would drop from 37.8 percent to 13.4 percent. The city's portions of contributions to other public workers' retirement plans will be reduced from 14.9 percent to 6.7 percent.
Employee contracts expired June 30 and the city has been negotiating with the two groups for the last several months.
The cost-saving plan will not affect current employees, only future hires. The plan is expected to go into affect on Nov. 1.
"This is a huge step for this city," Councilman Pete Tucker said at a July 27 meeting, when changes to the city's reduced pension payment plan were first approved. "It doesn't look like a lot of money now, but in the years to come it will save us a tremendous amount."
Union leaders said the city's decision to trim pension costs could affect recruitment and the city's ability to retain highly qualified employees.
"We are not asking for more pay or benefits," Aaron Bush, president of the Hermosa Beach Firefighters Association, said in a written statement. "At this time, we are asking for the right to negotiate what the city wants to take away. We hope the city realizes it made a mistake and will reconsider their approach on this matter."
The lawsuit comes as public sentiment across California sours over generous benefit systems and pension plans paid to public employees. In Bell, a small suburb southeast of downtown Los Angeles, city and public safety officials have come under fire for receiving huge salaries and exorbitant pension benefits.
In late July, CalPERS, the state's public employee pension system, announced it would withhold pension payments to Bell officials until an investigation by the state Attorney General's Office was complete.
In 2009, Hermosa Beach contributed about $3 million of its $27 million budget to pension plans for current police and fire employees.
Corey Glave, an attorney representing the city's police and fire associations, said the council's action was premature, unnecessary and a direct violation of state law.
"The city has already balanced their budget this year, and a change doesn't save the city any money," Glave said. "They indicated the savings would come in the future and not be immediate."
Ron Cottingham, president of the Peace Officers Research Association, a Sacramento-based federation of police officer unions, said that more than 100 cities and counties across the state have taken steps to trim compensation and benefit payments for public safety employees.
"The economy has opened the door for some of these communities to really go after employee benefits to try and stabilize things," Cottingham said. "When people trust each other on both sides of the table, we see public safety employees working with those cities to make sure their economic situation remains as sound as possible."
