Redwood City officials made no bones about it this past summer: The town needs a half-cent increase in its sales tax to account for ever-rising public pension costs.
Discussions about such a levy boost were clear, transparent and up-front — until the tax hike actually got onto the Nov. 6 ballot.
Now there is no specific mention of the pressing need to address the city’s own escalating share of its unfunded pension responsibility in Measure RR’s official ballot statement.
In the statement’s expanded version, there is a note indicating that contributions to pensions by public employees themselves have been increased. But any reference to the municipal (taxpayers’) role in funding the city’s share of pension costs is MIA.
There is a plea to “maintain essential city services” and a warning about a looming budget deficit that could hit $12 million annually. The impact of the city’s pension bomb — why that factor sucks money from other spending priorities — is not explained.
It’s pretty obvious why: If you present a voter with a proposed tax hike to finance a public pension shortfall, it’s unlikely to be viewed with a great deal of enthusiasm these days.
That’s particularly true if the voter in question does not have a defined benefit pension of his or her own. Small wonder there’s been a change of heart by those Redwood City authorities.
Hall of Fame
Nominations for induction into the Peninsula Sports Hall of Fame are being accepted. The 29th induction event will be in the spring of 2019 at the San Mateo County History Museum.
The county’s Historical Association will present the induction ceremonies next year. Hall of Fame plaques are on display at the museum in downtown Redwood City.
The local Sports Hall of Fame, which made its debut in 1989 and currently includes more than 280 individuals, honors Peninsula athletes, coaches, referees, administrators and others who have made a mark on the sports scene here.
Nominations for the Class of 2019 can be sent to either of the addresses listed at the bottom of this literary effort.
Anonymous donor
As officials in Burlingame and the San Mateo Union High School District consider how to repair or replace a defective swimming pool at Burlingame High School, one important factor tends to get scant mention.
A major reason, perhaps the only reason, the full, Olympic-sized pool was constructed in the first place was a $1 million donation by an anonymous Hillsborough family.
When a new high school pool (the only such public aquatic facility in Burlingame) was being planned in the late 1990s, it was not envisioned as being 50-meters-long. The benefactor stepped in and volunteered at the 11th hour to finance whatever it took to increase its length (and width).
That $1 million represented about half the cost of the new pool.
Unfortunately, the pool’s construction turned out to be faulty. Now the city and school district are confronted with potential costs ranging all the way to $5.5 million for a full replacement.
The question of how those costs will be shared also remains.
Johnny Midnight
This guy’s going to be on deck early, despite his last name: Johnny Midnight will begin performing at 9 p.m. at an annual (post) Halloween party Saturday at historic Molloy’s Tavern, located on Mission Road on the Colma-South San Francisco border’s cemetery district.
John Horgan’s column appears weekly in the Mercury News. He can be contacted by email at johnhorganmedia@gmail.com and by regular mail at P.O. Box 117083, Burlingame, CA 94011.
