For years the California Public Employee Retirement System was so overfunded that the city of Redding paid zero dollars to give this benefit to its employees. Instead of setting aside the money it should have had to pay PERS, Mike Warren spent it.

So when the rates went up our notorious business leaders took this opportunity to blame the unions. Since that time the PERS rates have declined and are once again approaching what they were before the stock market bubble. No one in the business community will mention this.

A false fact that is constantly thrown around by the likes of Kent Dagg is how much the retirees are costing the city. Once an employee retires, the city pays zero dollars toward his or her retirement benefit. Three of every four dollars spent by PERS comes from its investments. PERS assets grew from $189.8 billion in 2005 to $208 billion today. This money is spent throughout the state on real estate projects such as offices, apartments and industrial property.

Instead of fighting PERS, our all-informed leaders in the community should be seeking out PERS as an investment partner to help our community grow. This would free up tax dollars that developers have become so dependent on.
Steve Flader
Redding