Point Loma resident Jarvis Ross made the following remarks to the San Diego City Council during Tuesday’s non-agenda public comment session.
Council President Peters and Council Members:
I recently received a lengthy report on the activities of a council member who is attempting to derail the city attorney’s efforts to undo the debacle that the former city attorney Casey Gwinn helped create by approving the illegal under funding of the pension plan.
The plan was originally conceived under the notorious Mayor Susan Golding and City Manager Jack McGrory. Unfortunately, it was perpetuated by Mayor Murphy and certain current and past council members. The misrepresentations to the bond market of the city’s financial status finally brought the matter under the purview of the SEC.
Anyone who has done their homework knows the devious reasons corporations and cities hire the likes of KPMG and Kroll to investigate this type of wrongdoing. Number one is to whitewash the culpability of the individuals involved, thereby reducing any possible incarceration to mere slaps on the wrist. Number two is to replace their incrimination with a large fine. Not against the individuals but in this case against the city which is then paid for by taxpayers dollars.
So when the final tab is tallied along with a possible multi-million dollar fine it will include the $20 + million dollars spent on the whitewash companies, and up to $3.1 million already approved to pay attorneys for former Mayor Murphy and certain current and past council members. That still leaves us with the $1.43 billion pension deficit.
Unless City Attorney Aguirre is supported in his efforts to overturn the corrupt manner that the city deferred the proper funding by bribery of certain pension board members, we taxpayers will be left holding the bag.
Aguirre is not seeking to do away with the original mainstay benefits. He is only seeking to protect the taxpayers by removing the ones based on the illegal quid pro quo of increasing retirement benefits in return for the ongoing under funding of the pension reserves.
Wrongfully, City Attorney Aguirre has been attacked for defending his primary client, we the taxpaying public, by certain council members who seek to benefit from enhanced retirement benefits which resulted from the bribery.
The public can excuse those who were misled by the inept Casey Gwinn and Mayor Murphy. What we can’t excuse are those who seek to cover up and perpetuate the wrongdoing. Isn’t that right Council President Peters?