Pension Hearing to Come After Bill Is Due

A hearing on the city of San Diego’s new pension lawsuit will happen July 16 — two weeks after the city’s pension payment is due, the City Attorney’s Office said today.

City Attorney Jan Goldsmith, who filed a San Diego Superior Court lawsuit last week aiming to have employees contribute toward the pension fund’s investment losses, had hoped for a court decision prior to July 1. That’s when the city’s $231.7 million pension bill is due, a bill that should be approximately $40 million lower if Goldsmith is correct.

Goldsmith spokeswoman Gina Coburn said the city’s challenge to the pension payment wouldn’t be affected by the late court date.

“We can work with the timing and it should not present a problem in preserving the city’s rights,” she said.

Coburn declined further comment, saying the office needed to discuss the issue with City Council before elaborating.

When I spoke with Goldsmith last week, he said he understood that matter likely wouldn’t be resolved even if the city won the case before July 1. For one, there’s the almost certain chance of a union-backed lawsuit, should the city prevail now.

But Goldsmith said because the city had challenged the pension bill before it was due, the legal result would affect this year’s payment.

— LIAM DILLON