OC Pension Reform Accomplishments Draw Attention of the Little Hoover Commission

Norberto Santana, Jr. over at Voice of OC has an excellent article about the meeting held Friday by the Little Hoover Commission, a Grand Jury type group with a focus on state issues, where they took testimony about the ability of our local county elected officials and labor leaders to reach agreement on an innovative method of addressing the increasing costs of public employee pensions.

Santana writes:

It was a rare sight.

A group of county supervisors and labor leaders sitting across the table from each other at a public meeting having a calm discussion, even offering each other complements. There was no shouting, no finger pointing and even the posturing was kept to a relative minimum.

What made it even more remarkable was the topic: Public pensions.

Orange County has become a darling of late among those who study public pensions.

One of the nation’s most politically conservative counties has actually achieved something that looks like progress by…get ready for this one, cooperating with labor.

The results?

Landmark deals that radically lowered the public unfunded liability on retiree medical costs and ushered in a new tier of public-sector retirement offering lower benefits to workers.

“Orange County has done a better job of addressing issues proactively,” said Little Hoover Commission Chairman Daniel Hancock after visiting Friday with a host of county supervisors and labor leaders to hear about Orange County’s reform efforts.

Read the rest of Santana’s article HERE.