Los Angeles, California, Airport Police Officers Pension Changes Amendment, Measure SSS (November 2016)
| Measure SSS: Los Angeles Airport Police Officers Pension Changes Amendment |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 8, 2016 |
| Status: |
 Approved
|
| Topic: |
| Local pensions |
| Related articles |
| Local pensions on the ballot November 8, 2016 ballot measures in California Los Angeles County, California ballot measures Local charter amendments on the ballot |
| See also |
| Los Angeles, California |
A charter amendment concerning pensions for airport police officers was on the ballot for Los Angeles voters in Los Angeles County, California, on November 8, 2016. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the city charter to (1) enroll all new airport police officers and firefighters after January 7, 2018, in the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions Plan (LAFPP), instead of the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS), which is the program for civilian city employees; (2) allow all airport police officers and firefighters who started before January 7, 2018, to switch to LAFPP at their own expense; and (3) give any current or retired Airport Chief of Police the option of joining LACERS instead of LAFPP. |
| A no vote was a vote against amending the city charter to generally shift over Airport police and firefighters to the city's pension system for sworn officers rather than civilians, thereby leaving Airport police officers and firefighters enrolled in the civilian LACERS system. |
The city administration officer estimated the cost of a pension plan in the LAFPP system at between 14 and 19 percent more than the cost of a plan in the LACERS system. Measure SSS was designed to require Airport Police Department funds, rather than the city's general funds, to be used to pay for any increased costs for the pensions of new police officers and firefighters caused by Measure SSS.[1]
As of 2016, the city's pension costs accounted for about one-fifth of the city's general fund.[2]
Election results
| Measure SSS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 544,885 | 50.91% | ||
| No | 525,479 | 49.09% | ||
- Election results from Los Angeles County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[1]
| “ |
CITY OF LOS ANGELES FIRE AND POLICE PENSIONS; AIRPORT PEACE OFFICERS. CHARTER AMENDMENT SSS. Shall the Charter be amended to: (1) enroll new Airport peace officers into Tier 6 of the Fire and Police Pensions System; (2) allow current Airport peace officers to transfer into Tier 6 from the City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS) at their own expense; and (3) permit new Airport Police Chiefs to enroll in LACERS?[3] |
” |
Ballot summary
The following summary of Measure SSS was provided by the city elections office:[1]
| “ |
THE SITUATION: Sworn peace officers who perform police and firefighting duties for the Airport Department are currently members of LACERS, which provides retirement benefits primarily for civilian employees. LAFPP provides retirement benefits for sworn employees of the Los Angeles Police Department, Fire Department, and the Harbor Department. Tier 6 is the current LAFPP benefits plan provided to new employees. Both plans are funded from employee contributions, City contributions, and retirement plan investments. THE PROPOSAL: This measure would:
A YES VOTE MEANS: You want all new Airport peace officers to be enrolled in LAFPP, allow current Airport peace officers to transfer to LAFPP at their expense, and allow new Airport Police Chiefs the option to enroll in LACERS. A NO VOTE MEANS: You do not want all new Airport peace officers to be enrolled in LAFPP, allow current Airport peace officers to transfer to LAFPP at their expense, and allow new Airport Police Chiefs the option to enroll in LACERS.[3] |
” |
Fiscal impact statement
The following fiscal impact statement for Measure SSS was provided by City Administrative Officer Miguel A. Santana:[1]
| “ |
This proposition enrolls new Airport Peace Officers into the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension (LAFPP) and allows current Officers to voluntarily transfer into LAFPP from the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS). Officers electing to transfer into LAFPP must each pay the full costs associated with all prior LACERS years of service. According to an independent actuarial analysis, the City’s annual cost of providing future retirement benefits (normal cost) for current and new Officers joining LAFPP will be 14 to 19 percent higher than if these same Officers were with LACERS. This increase represents $140,000 to $190,000 for every $1 million of total payroll of current and new Officers joining LAFPP. The actual annual cost increase will depend on the number of Officers joining LAFPP. The Airports Department, not the City’s General Fund, will pay all future employer contributions to LAFPP for these Officers.[3] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Sharon M. Tso, Chief Legislative Analyst:
| “ |
This measure would amend the Los Angeles City Charter (Charter) to: 1) enroll all City employees appointed on or after January 7, 2018 as sworn peace officers who perform police or firefighting duties for the Airports Department in Tier 6 of the sworn employee retirement system; 2) give any Airports Department Chief of Police appointed on or after January 7, 2018 who is not already a member of the sworn retirement system the option to enroll in the City’s civilian retirement plan; and, 3) allow sworn peace officers appointed to the Airports Department prior to January 7, 2018 the option to transfer from the City’s civilian employee retirement plan to Tier 6 of the sworn employee retirement system, at their expense. Since 1946, when the Los Angeles Airport was transferred from the U.S. War Department to the City of Los Angeles, airport security has been provided by Airport Police Officers and Airport Safety Officers (collectively, Airport Peace Officers). Airport Police Officers have full peace officer status with police powers equivalent to those of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers. Airport Safety Officers are also sworn peace officers who perform firefighting and rescue operations. Today, the Los Angeles Airport Police Department is staffed by 550 sworn officers. Currently, all Airport Peace Officers who perform police and firefighting duties for the Airports Department are members of the City’s civilian retirement plan, the Los Angeles City Employees’ Retirement System (LACERS). Sworn LAPD officers, Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters and paramedics, and Harbor Department peace officers are members of the sworn retirement system, the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions Plan (LAFPP). The proposed Charter amendment would automatically enroll in Tier 6 of the LAFPP Airport Peace Officers who are appointed on or after January 7, 2018 to perform police and firefighting duties for the Airports Department. In addition, any Airport Chief of Police appointed on or after January 7, 2018 who is not already a current or retired member of the LAFPP may choose to join LACERS instead of the LAFPP, an option currently available to the LAPD Chief of Police, Fire Chief, and the Harbor Department Chief of Police. The proposed Charter amendment would also give Airport Peace Officers appointed to the Airports Department before January 7, 2018 the option to transfer their retirement benefits from LACERS to Tier 6 of the LAFPP, at their expense. Any transfer between retirement plans must be cost neutral and the transferring employee will be required to pay the full actuarial cost of the service to be transferred. To the extent required by the Internal Revenue Code and applicable tax law, Airport Peace Officers who elect to transfer to the LAFPP would be required to continue to make member contributions at the rate applicable to their LACERS membership. This Charter Amendment will become effective if approved by a majority of voters.[3] |
” |
| —Sharon M. Tso, Chief Legislative Analyst[1] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
If you know of any endorsements or arguments that should be posted here, please email [mailto: editor@ballotpedia.org editor@ballotpedia.org].
Opposition
Opponents made the following arguments:[4]
- Measure SSS would increase the city's already large pension costs and debt.
- Measure SSS benefits new Airport police and fire safety officers but not current ones since it would not allow current LAX police officers to join the sworn officer pension system without an out-of-pocket expense of as much as $20,000 for each year they've served.
- Measure SSS is premature because it would move the city's charter in the direction of consolidating the LAX police department and the LAPD, a decision that would require a lot more consideration and discussion.
Media editorials
Opposition
- Los Angeles Times: "Measure SSS is an incremental move in that direction [merging of LAPD and Aiport Police], which seems premature. That, combined with the cost and the lack of support from the affected officers, is reason enough to vote no."[4]
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the Los Angeles City Council.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Los Angeles Local pensions. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Los Angeles City Clerk, "November 8, 2016, Special Election Voter Information Pamphlet," accessed October 29, 2016
- ↑ Los Angeles Magazine, "These 6 Local Issues Will be On The Ballot, So Let’s Talk About Them Before Election Day," October 7, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Los Angeles Times, "Editorial Police pension Measure SSS raises too much doubt to support," October 7, 2016
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