(June 12, 2013) -- We will never know whether or not our Police Chief, Jim McDonnell, would have been a viable candidate for Sheriff nor will we ever know whether or not he would have been good for the Sheriff's department, but I do know that the City of Long Beach was the ultimate winner with respect to Chief McDonnell's decision to not run for Sheriff.

I have gotten to know him well in the past few months and my level of respect for him as both a person and a professional could not be higher. The members of the Long Beach Police Department both sworn and civilian and the citizens of the City of Long Beach were the real winners with respect to his decision to remain as our police chief. I know for a fact that there are many on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department who were longing for a change in leadership but I believe that any chance of that happening ended with Chief McDonnell's decision yesterday.

While the challenges facing the Sheriff’s department may be more formidable than those facing our own police department, there are still many challenges that will face the leadership of this city and, of course, fall squarely on the desk of Chief McDonnell. Budgets, while looking good temporarily, are only going to be more challenging in the future as pension contributions, resulting from recent CALPERS accounting decisions, will rise significantly in the coming years with no end in sight.

City management is well aware of the PERS increases that loom, but based on comments that have been attributed to some of our illustrious elected city leaders, I am not sure that they are living in the real world. Then again, when you are focused on some future political position other than the one that you are currently in, it is very easy to see how and why they are not paying attention to what is really going on here in the City of Long Beach.

Since I have been a pension trustee for the past fifteen years in the Los Angeles County Pension System, I am well aware of the impacts that result when benefits are increased or accounting procedures are changed. I am well aware of what happens to unfunded liability levels when benefits are retroactively granted and/or when employees are allowed to retire at an earlier age than was allowed at the time that they entered the system.

Fortunately pension law in California changed dramatically on January 1 of this year but unfortunately that will not absolve either CALPERS or any of its member cities, counties, educational institutions, or independent agencies from carrying the burden of some very questionable decision making that took place in both Sacramento and throughout the public sector in California at the beginning of our last decade.

When I read about the current budget SURPLUS, of admitted one time money, here in Long Beach I am just amazed at some of the reported rhetoric as well as the decisions that have already apparently been made with respect to just how some of that money will be spent. Once again, be advised that pension contributions will skyrocket in the coming years, no matter what the new law is.

To run around in a mini feeding frenzy like some of our City Council members appear to be doing is rather amazing at best. Then again, what do you expect when you know that they know that they will be gone and either out of office altogether or moving on to their next political position, leaving the mess behind for the next generation of City Councilmembers to deal with.

I would certainly hope that a great deal of the one-time surplus money is set aside to deal with the pension increases that are looming. It would seem prudent to take a portion of that money and try to catch up with some of the incredible infrastructure needs in this city however. I don't have to look any further than the surface of the street that I live on to know that we have nearly unimaginable infrastructure needs in this city. I certainly hope that our respective elected city officials have the wisdom to make smart decisions with any surplus money that they may find.

It is certainly apparent to me, that based on a great many decisions made in the past twenty years, that wise decisions are about as rare as finding a politician in Washington D.C. these days who is willing to compromise.