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Public
Pension Plans Face Billions in Shortages
By
Mary Williams Walsh, The New York Times
August
8, 2006
In
2003, a whistle-blower forced San Diego to reveal that it had been
shortchanging its city workers' pension fund for years, setting off a wave
of lawsuits, investigations and eventually criminal indictments.
The mayor ended up resigning under a cloud. With the city's books a
shambles, San Diego remains barred from raising money by selling bonds.
Cut off from a vital source of cash, it has fallen behind on its
maintenance of streets, storm drains and public buildings. Potholes are
proliferating and beaches are closed because of sewage spills.
Retirees are still being paid, but a portion of their benefits is in doubt
because of continuing legal challenges. And the city, which is scheduled
to receive a report today on the causes of its current predicament, still
has to figure out how to close the $1.4 billion shortfall in its pension
fund.
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