MONTHLY MEETING $20

Remember when the groundbreaking report on OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) for school districts and city governments in Contra Costa County was published?

That was primarily the work of this month’s guest speaker, Gary Craft, founder and principal of Craft Consulting Group. Gary will be using his OPEB update as a springboard for an analysis of what is going on in Calironia government that has been keeping us from solving problems and what really needs to be done.

Craft Consulitng Group is a Lafayette, CA based consulting firm that assists private and public sector clients in developing successful strategies to compete in the new economy.

We will also being discussing issues updates and taking positions on some additional local ballot items.

NOTE LOCATION HYATT SUMMERFIELD SUITES 2611 Contra Costa Blvd, Pleasant Hill. Located just off 680 with plenty of parking.

RSVP
Payment for all reservations is required. Early registration is suggested due to limited seating. Reservations can be made by phone, e-mail or at www.cocotax.org. If you have questions, please call me at 925-228-5610 or e-mail me at krishunt@cocotax.org. Prepayment is greatly appreciated. Checks should be mailed to: P.O. Box 27, Martinez, CA 94553, payment can be made online through Paypal on the CoCoTax website.

MONTHLY MEETING $20

NOTE LOCATION
HYATT SUMMERFIELD SUITES 2611 Contra Costa Blvd, Pleasant Hill. Located just off 680 with plenty of parking.

This is your opportunity to find out what is going on with California’s economy
Well-known Bay Area economist Gary E. Schlossberg is the featured speaker at the Friday, June 25th breakfast meeting of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association. We are inundated daily with information about the economy but with little contest. Here is your opportunity to ask those questions of an expert whose job it is to evaluate that input.

As senior economist with Wells Fargo, Gary Schlossberg is responsible for assessing the economic environment and providing input to the equity and fixed income portfolio management teams at Wells Capital Management which has over $349 billion assets under management. In this capacity he makes presentations to clients, prospects, and investment staff analyzing prospects for the financial markets. He is kwown as a terrific speaker.

Schlossberg entered the financial industry in 1972 as a researcher at the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve Board covering international economic conditions and joined Wells Fargo in 1974. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the City University of New York and a master’s degree from The Pennsylvania State University. Schlossberg is widely quoted a variety of news and industry publications in the Bay Area and national media.

RSVP
Payment for all reservations is required. Early registration is suggested due to limited seating. Reservations can be made by phone, e-mail or at www.cocotax.org. If you have questions, please call me at 925-228-5610 or e-mail me at krishunt@cocotax.org. Prepayment is greatly appreciated. Checks should be mailed to: P.O. Box 27, Martinez, CA 94553, payment can be made on line through Paypal on the CoCoTax website.

RSVP NOW
MONTHLY MEETING $20

Mr. Greenhut has been following this issue for years while on the Editorial Board of the Orange County Register. His columns have also appeared in newspapers throughout the country.

Mr. Greenhut has just become the head of the Pacific Research Institute’s new journalism center in Sacramento.

Plunder! will be available for purchase at the meeting.

The Breakfast Meeting of the Contra Costa Taxpayers Association, will be held Friday, January 29, 2010, at 7:45 a.m., Social 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Meeting cost is $20.00 includes breakfast buffet

LOCATION: HYATT SUMMERFIELD SUITES 2622 Contra Costa Blvd, Pleasant Hill. Located just off 680 with plenty of parking.

Payment for all reservations made is essential. Reservations can be made by phone, e-mail or at www.cocotax.org. If you have questions, please call me at 925-228-5610 or e-mail me at krishunt@cocotax.org. Prepayment is greatly appreciated. Checks should be mailed to: P.O. Box 27, Martinez, CA 94553, payment can be made on line through Paypal on the CoCoTax website.

For the curious, Concord has 15 members headed by their former City Manager, Ed James, at $167,180 per year. Walnut Creek has 10 members, with former police chief Tom Soberanes at $179,399 leading the pack. Richmond has 49 members headed by Charles Bennett, the former police chief, at $172,200.

The idea behind revealing those making over $100,000 is not to “out” anyone, but to call to the attention of taxpayers that some members of government (particularly safety) are receiving some very generous pensions. Of real concern are those granted pensions that actually exceed the amount they earned before they retired.

The blame (and solutions) to the pension problems are in the hands of elected officials. No one should blame the pensioners who are legally entitled to the amounts granted. Governments cannot continue to have people retire as early as age 50 and receive generous retirement benefits. This does not include all employees, but the drain on the system is becoming enormous.