That’s rich! You are saying the state pays for the unfunded liabilities for pensions, injuries and administrative expenses! Have you seen how many millions Riverside Country pays the state in Administration fees?
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You might want to find out what the admin fee actually pays for… hint it’s not for pensions. When a municipality contracts with the state, the municipality is not responsible for the unfunded CALPERS liability for the employees because the contracted employees are state employees not county employees. That’s one of the major benefits of contracting with CAL FIRE.
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I did not say that the administrative fees pay for pensions! You said that municipalities would be responsible for administrative functions if they left the state and I said they are already paying for the admin!
Second, and I emphasize that I do not know for sure but, I can not imagine the state NOT passing on the unfunded liabilities cost to the contract cities and counties.
The liability piece the agreement provides covers way more than the admin fee. The PFAS lawsuits are going to be astronomical and the state will pay not the contract.
Paying for administrative services on contract is much different then employing your own administrative staff to perform those admin function. Which again gets back into pensions, benefits, workers comp, etc.
Also to answer your original question, yes the state will be responsible for the unfunded pension liability of Schedule A employees, not the municipalities.
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Just an anecdotal data point. I took a look at a large LG budget. Their non operational portion of their budget (which includes things like labor relations, pension support, Health and welfare) is at a minimum 25% of their budget. Not sure what the current admin fee is but last I heard (years back) it was hovering around 11% (curious what the current is). Not apples to apples but if I had to bet I’d say the admin fees do not cover all the ancillary costs a department would incur if they were to set up their own system equivalent to the current CalFire structure.
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Local gov does pay their share!
I recall the last time unfunded liabilities were brought
up, ripples ran all through local govs as they tried to work extra payments into their budgets.
Looks like it’s happening share!
As 5 years on the job, how does one get ready for divorce, PTS, time away from family, missed occasions, deaths, alcoholism etc. I would actually like to hear a real answer, not just, “ you knew what you signed up for” because if that’s your approach, that’s not much of a recruiting tactic. And 56’s require bodies.
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Local government do not pay their share but neither does the state or any other CALPERS agency for that matter, which is the reason CALPERS has a $1.5 TRILLION unfunded pension liability.
The State, the municipalities and other CALPERS agencies will not be the ones responsible for the unfunded liability, it will be the taxpayers who are left holding the bag.
Please review the following report in reference to unfunded pension liability.
Then, if none of the CALPERS member agencies are paying the UAL appropriately, that’s not a benefit to LG agencies that contract for Sched A? Everyone’s ducking their obligation?
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Sorry Pard, you might not be able to see it right now but you are the one with the regressive thinking. It’s regressive to think that CAL FIRE employees and their families should get the short end of the stick so that municipalities can get cheap fire protection.
I once drank the Schedule A kool-aid earlier in my career, but then I realized the smoke and mirrors that are Schedule A contracts and how they are a detriment to CAL FIRE employees and their families.
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I would think, from a total employment cost standpoint, that the admin fee should capture ALL indirect costs associated with the employees. PPE, retirement, benefits, workers comp, etc. If it doesn’t, maybe it should be increased? That would avoid a gift of public funds from the state to LG.
Actually it’s the exact opposite, it’s a huge benefit to the LG agencies. Those agencies will not be responsible for the unfunded liability, the California taxpayers will be responsible for the unfunded liability.
Why do you have to get a divorce? Yes divorce rates are high, but not everyone gets a divorce. Most guys and ladies I know that have gotten divorced are from a multitude of issues, this job will just magnify those issues. A weak marriage will probably not survive anyway and jobs like this definitely won’t help. Divorce rates are high period.
Why do you have to have PTS? Sure you will see horrible things. However you literally signed up to see horrible things. Find someone to download with, remember there is EAP/ESS, retreats. There are ways to deal with these events. Anchor point podcast has numerous episodes on this problem. Listen to them. There is resiliency training and other programs. Be honest with yourself, this might not be your job, there are tons of jobs in our agency that don’t run calls also. You have options.
Time away from family and missed events are part of the job, just like doctors, nurses, military, long haul truckers, and so many more. We are not an exclusive club. This is a sacrifice you must be willing to make, however jobs are available with us where this burden is a lot less. You have options.
Deaths occur in tons of jobs. Even with all the safety measures and training they will still occur in this one.
Alcohol and drugs are a crutch, just find a better one that will make you healthier. If you are having a problem with any crutch that is having a negative impact on your life get the help you need, is readily available.
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IA, that was my point. The admin fee should be capturing ALL of the costs. Otherwise, the entire state taxpayer base is obligated to pay, in a part, the cost of that LG contract. The numbers should be square to show the TOTAL costs of Sched A. Then the local agency either accepts or doesn’t. And the overall taxpayer, at least half of whole don’t live in the SRA, isn’t paying the price.
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The State has to be passing on the full cost to the LG contracts and I believe they are. Now if you have ever looked at the contracts they are very difficult to understand.
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That is exactly my point and the issue with Schedule A contracts. It’s a huge befit to the municipalities but not a great deal for employees and the taxpayer.
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Admittedly my experience is old and the info might be out of date but 15 years ago I was involved in writing 3 of these contracts (nothing like the RRU one). I’ve also over the years perused some of the other contracts because I’m a nerd. They are very easy to understand (if you are fire oriented). No they do not cover the full costs. Unless the district is in a high dollar area, no department can cover all the costs CalFire incurs.
Whether you agree or not, one of the reasons I was given as to why CalFire eats some of these cost is because the state gets a benefit in having available staffing to draw on for it’s own mission when needed. Same reasoning behind sending aircraft/crews to LRA fires because of the threat to state lands. There’s a balance, it is not all black and white.
Regarding the unfunded liabilities topic above. Ever since I started my career I’ve heard the sky is falling regarding PERS. This usually comes from people that have an agenda (public employees are moochers). The two sources cited above have extensive history in that regards. Grain of salt…
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Meanwhile the only communication to the membership from 2881 has been the “send us your pictures for next month’s newsletter” email. 
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Spot on. This whole concept of unfunded liability always seemed like drama to break up 3@50. In order to be 100% funded, there has to be enough money in the plan to pay everybody their retirements if all emoyees retired at the same time.
Previously, the bean counters knew the rates of retirements and made sure the funds stayed well above the projected payouts.
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