Daniel Weintraub: In a Pickle Over Plans to Pay for Retirement

Summary

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WHEN Tim Smith was running for City Council a few years ago in the Sonoma County town of Rohnert Park, he noticed a footnote in a city document that mentioned the public's liability for health care benefits the city had promised its employees in retirement: $39million.

That seemed like a big number for such a small town, and Smith, who is now mayor, began asking questions. Why did the city owe so much money? How was it going to pay its obligation? And why was such an important issue buried in a footnote instead of front and center in the city's budget?

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Daniel Weintraub: In a Pickle Over Plans to Pay for Retirement

Now, a lot of people are asking those questions all over California.

Thanks to a ruling from a board that oversees government accounting practices, the state, local governments and school distr...

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