Politics, Government and Business in Southern California's Inland Empire
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Thursday, May. 9, 2013 – 12:00 am | Page 7B
CalPERS says the insolvent city of San Bernardino has enough money to pay its past-due bill to the giant pension fund.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 05/07/2013 07:06:07 PM PDT
The city’s financial situation is clearer and many disagreements about what documents to share have been resolved, San Bernardino’s attorney and those objecting to its bankruptcy eligibility said Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside.
Again.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, May 6, 2013
Bankrupt San Bernardino’s new budget restarts CalPERS payments in July after skipping about $13 million in payments this fiscal year. But the next step in the city plan, getting CalPERS to refinance the unpaid bill, is a no-go at this point.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/22/2013 08:56:31 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO — The city passed a “survival budget” Monday evening that continues to defer millions of dollars it owes, with frequent and substantial changes expected later.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/14/2013 05:23:00 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO — An 11-page framework for spending, which lawyers challenging the city’s bankruptcy eligibility have often said lacks critical details and explanations, has been replaced by a proposed 75-page line-item budget the City Council will study Monday.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/09/2013 05:56:46 PM PDT
Special Section: San Bernardino
RIVERSIDE — Nearly a year after filing for an emergency bankruptcy instead of passing a budget on time, the city will present a fiscal plan Monday that restarts payments to the country’s largest pension fund – payments it’s controversially skipped since August – its bankruptcy attorney said in court Tuesday.
By Daniel Borenstein, staff columnist
Posted: 04/05/2013 03:00:00 PM PDT
Updated: 04/07/2013 05:29:06 AM PDT
A bankruptcy judge’s ruling last week declaring the city of Stockton insolvent sets the stage for a possible legal showdown over whether financially destitute municipalities can alter employee pension benefits.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, April 8, 2013
While ruling Stockton eligible for bankruptcy last week, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein told losing bond insurer attorneys they can continue to pursue a cut in CalPERS debt, mentioning a rollback of pension “spiking.”
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Friday, Apr. 5, 2013 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
At first blush, federal bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein appeared to give Stockton and its legal ally, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, a major victory this week.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 04/01/2013 12:57:24 PM PDT
Stockton became the largest city in the nation to be approved for bankruptcy protection on Monday, a ruling that some say could spark a rush of cities across California to file for bankruptcy protection.
By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH
Published: April 1, 2013
A federal bankruptcy judge ruled on Monday that the city of Stockton, Calif., was eligible for court protection from its creditors, clearing the way for a battle over whether public workers’ pensions can be cut when the city they work for goes bankrupt.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, April 1, 2013
If a federal judge rules today that Stockton is eligible for bankruptcy, bond insurers facing big losses may wonder if they should have taken a harder look at how the city’s CalPERS debt could be cut.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 03/27/2013 01:06:14 PM PDT
San Bernardino is suing the state to prevent the Department of Finance from carrying through with a threat to withhold more than $15 million in taxes to make up for low- and moderate-income housing funds the city allegedly owes.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2013 – 12:00 am
Last Modified: Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2013 – 6:10 am
Ostensibly, the trial that opened Monday in a federal courtroom was about whether Stockton is eligible to file for bankruptcy.
But the real issue – what one attorney called “the 800-pound gorilla in the room” – is whether public employees’ pensions, long thought to be legally untouchable, could be reduced via bankruptcy.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, March 4, 2013
A federal judge suggested last week that pension cuts in the Stockton bankruptcy may not be a key issue until the city tries to negotiate a debt-cutting “plan of adjustment” with creditors, a step awaiting an eligibility ruling after a trial later this month.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/12/2013 06:20:54 PM PST
The San Bernardino police union will ask U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside to lift a stay and allow them to sue the city because it believes the way the city imposed a contract on the union violated state laws, the union’s lawyer said in court Tuesday.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 02/11/2013 07:46:23 PM PST
San Bernardino and its creditors will meet in court again today, with agreement on the topic of the day – the scheduling of another hearing – but backed by sharply disagreeing legal filings.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/29/2013 07:39:24 PM PST
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO – Relations between the city and its employees are strained, most of those involved in Monday’s decision to impose cuts on several unions said Tuesday, but they see no viable choice.
Police, fire departments included in decision
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/28/2013 07:09:41 PM PST
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO – Contract negotiations with seven city employee groups ended Monday as the City Council voted to accept new contracts that cut nearly $26million in pay and benefits, in some cases without agreement from those unions.
Staff
Posted: 01/24/2013 06:36:23 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – Mediation between the city and its police and fire unions broke down after only one meeting, leading the City Council to call a special meeting for Monday.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/20/2013 05:32:15 PM PST
The unions representing San Bernardino’s police and firefighters have agreed to nonbinding mediation with the city as part of its bankruptcy process, after months of stalled contract negotiations.
By Ed Mendel
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Bond insurers who want CalPERS to share the financial pain of the Stockton bankruptcy do not answer a key question in lengthy court filings: How would “bloated” and “overly rich” pensions be cut?
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/15/2013 11:06:31 AM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – San Bernardino County officials have dumped an attempt to sue the city over more than $2million in unpaid landfill services fees, according to court records.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/13/2013 03:33:11 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – New taxes might be the only way for the city to pay for more than a bare-bones budget and eventually move away from the brink, city officials say, but they’re not planning to ask residents to reach into their pockets anytime soon.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 01/07/2013 07:46:50 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – The first City Council meeting of the year flew by in only two hours Monday, after starting about an hour and a half late.
The delay was to privately discuss the city’s bankruptcy case with attorneys.
FROM STAFF REPORTS
December 28, 2012; 03:41 PM
COUNTY CORRUPTION
A San Bernardino County corruption case that prosecutors call the most far-reaching in county history will keep making its way through the courts in 2013, though it is not known when it will go to trial.
To read story in The Press Enterprise, click here.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, December 25, 2012
RIVERSIDE — A federal judge last week rejected a CalPERS request to sue bankrupt San Bernardino for a growing unpaid bill, but gave preliminary support to the argument that the bill must be paid in full before the city can leave bankruptcy.
Saturday, December 22, 2012 – 08:30 a.m.
San Bernardino received a reprieve in U.S. Bankruptcy proceedings yesterday. Even though a temporary one.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Judge ruled the city, for the time being, can’t be sued for past due and ongoing obligations it owes its pension fund, the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS).
Saturday, December 22, 2012 – 08:00 a.m.
The bankruptcy saga of San Bernardino, California continues to have an unusual twist.
That being the city’s woe-is-me excuse for not paying its post-bankruptcy creditor and pension obligations.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/21/2012 12:08:19 PM PST
RIVERSIDE – San Bernardino scored a victory in bankruptcy court Friday, as Judge Meredith Jury refused a motion by CalPERS that would have allowed the pension giant to sue in state court for millions of dollars in payments the city has stopped making.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/20/2012 09:36:57 PM PST
After months of trading increasingly sharp legal filings, a pitched battle between San Bernardino and the nation’s largest pension system will take place in bankruptcy court on Friday – with each warning that the other’s victory could mean defeat for the little guy all across the state.
December 20, 2012; 05:18 PM
The city of San Bernardino will face a crucial test in its request for bankruptcy protection Friday, Dec. 21, as it battles with its largest creditor over whether it qualifies for relief.
To read story by Imran Ghori in The Press Enterprise, click here.
By Ed Mendel
Thursday, December 20, 2012
CalPERS accuses San Bernardino of halting payments to the big pension fund in a plan to use bankruptcy to cut pensions owed workers. But the city says it’s simply unable to pay now and wants to work out a way to repay CalPERS over time.
By Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/17/2012 07:36:35 PM PST
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO — The city is prepared for a major hearing in bankruptcy court Friday and strongly rejects claims by its top creditor that its bankruptcy is a “sham,” City Attorney James F. Penman said at Monday’s City Council meeting.
Tim Reid and Jim Christie, Reuters
Posted: 12/16/2012 03:31:33 PM PST
Special Section: San Bernardino
A high-stakes legal battle has intensified as the largest U.S. pension fund filed court papers denouncing the financially troubled city of San Bernardino for what it called a “sham” bankruptcy and accused the city of “criminal behavior” in withholding payments to the pension plan.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 1A
Last Modified: Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 – 7:09 am
The bland bureaucracy that dispenses pension checks to half a million Californians has taken on a new identity: fierce and unyielding champion of government retirees.
December 13, 2012; 04:16 PM
The city of San Bernardino will be taking its trash elsewhere as it ends its contract with San Bernardino County while owing about $2.5 million in unpaid landfill fees.
To read story by Imran Ghori in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Published: Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 6B
The insolvent city of San Bernardino warned of dire consequences if it’s forced to pay the millions it owes CalPERS.
By Dale Kasler
dkasler@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 6B
Last Modified: Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012 – 9:31 am
CalPERS must now confront a powerful group of foes in its multimillion-dollar fight with bankrupt San Bernardino: the city’s bondholders.
By Greg Devereaux
Posted: 12/07/2012 03:16:42 PM PST
Last week, The Sun and the Daily Bulletin published an editorial and a guest column taking the County of San Bernardino to task for seeking payment of substantial debts owed to the county by the cities of San Bernardino and Upland. What the editorial and column failed to grasp is that when a city refuses to pay the county for a service it used or an impact it caused, it pushes the obligation onto the residents and businesses in other cities.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 12/04/2012 06:42:30 PM PST
The judge handling San Bernardino’s bankruptcy likely will not lift a stay so CalPERS can sue over missed pension payments, several attorneys studying the legal battle predicted Tuesday.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/30/2012 02:06:25 PM PST
PDFs: San Bernardino’s court filing | Supporting budget documents
Catch up: San Bernardino
Despite its filing for bankruptcy, San Bernardino is making progress toward a workable budget and has met other requirements for bankruptcy protection, so the court should set aside creditors’ objections, the city’s attorneys argue in a response filed Friday with bankruptcy court.
Bankrupt city struggles to keep residents safe
November 30, 2012 2:09 PM
FROM WEB REPORTS
SAN BERNARDINO • In discussing the city’s bankruptcy and police cuts during a recent town hall meeting, San Bernardino City Attorney Jim Penman told residents to go home, lock their doors and load their guns, because police would not be able to protect them.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/29/2012 08:07:12 PM PST
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO – In a city where nearly every important decision divides officials into two camps, one goal has the passionate support of nearly every policy-maker: Get the court to approve bankruptcy protection.
By Tim Reid and Peter Henderson
LOS ANGELES | Wed Nov 28, 2012 4:31am EST
(Reuters) – America’s biggest public pension moved aggressively against the bankrupt city of San Bernardino, California, on Tuesday night over the city’s decision to halt payments to the fund.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012 – 11:00 a.m.
Is San Bernardino, California on the verge of financial collapse?
It sure looks that way!
The city appears to be unable to pay its bills without affecting its ability to make current payroll. City Attorney James Penman said as much in a story published in the Wednesday edition of The Sun newspaper.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/27/2012 06:35:00 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – The deferred payments to CalPERS and others that make up more than half of the savings in the pendency plan the City Council passed Monday will be paid over a number of years without further cuts being required, officials said Tuesday.
At least that’s the plan.
San Bernardino Bankruptcy
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/26/2012 05:04:27 PM PST
Published: 26 November 2012 – 07:10 PM
The San Bernardino City Council adopted an austerity spending plan on a 5-2 vote Monday, Nov. 26, after an unusual show of unity by the mayor and city attorney and an impassioned argument against the document by Councilman Chas Kelley.
To read story by Jan Sears in The Press Enterprise, click here.
By Phil Willon
November 26, 2012 | 6:30 pm
The City Council of San Bernardino, which is in bankruptcy and facing a $45.8-million budget shortfall, on Monday voted to slash more than $26 million in spending and freeze debt payments as the financially troubled city struggles to stay afloat.
Special Report
Tim Reid, Cezary Podkul and Ryan McNeill, Reuters
Posted: 11/25/2012 04:49:36 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – In 2009, police patrol Lt. Richard Taack retired at age 59 after 37 years of service.
He took home $389,727 that year, including $194,820 in unused sick time and $33,721 for unused vacation time, according to city payroll records.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/21/2012 06:22:17 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – With only days left until a City Council meeting some are treating as a deadline to pass a budget for the next 18 months that must be presented to bankruptcy court, council members have been meeting with administrators to fine-tune the cuts, but they expect passage Monday.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012 – 09:00 a.m.
The elected leaders if San Bernardino, California still just don’t seem to get it!
The city is broke.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012 – 12:01 a.m.
It took bankruptcy filings by the California cities of Stockton and San Bernardino to shed light on just how much a cities solvency, or better yet, insolvency, can strip away the gold plating from public pensions.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/19/2012 09:02:37 PM PST
SAN BERNARDINO – Department heads including the police and fire chiefs gave their approval to a budget including significant cuts Monday, though the City Council delayed a decision until the following Monday.
By Tiffany Hsu, Los Angeles Times
November 20, 2012
Twinkies may live on after all.
Bankrupt Hostess Brands Inc. and its striking union agreed to enter into mediation to try to resolve their differences, putting the baking company’s planned liquidation on hold for now.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/16/2012 08:07:08 PM PST
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO – After months of pressure from skeptical creditors and residents, city officials have prepared a budget plan that could erase a $45.8 million deficit.
Administrator’s Note: This in-depth article was published earlier this week.
By Tim Reid and Cezary Podkul and Ryan McNeill
SAN BERNARDINO, California | Tue Nov 13, 2012 7:58am EST
(Reuters) – When this sun-drenched exurb east of Los Angeles filed for bankruptcy protection in August, the city attorney suggested fraudulent accounting was the root of the problem.
The mayor blamed a dysfunctional city council and greedy police and fire unions. The unions blamed the mayor. Even now, there is little agreement on how the city got into this crisis or how it can extricate itself.
By Ryan Hagen
Posted: 11/05/2012 12:16:45 PM PST
At their second hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Riverside, attorneys for San Bernardino and creditors agreed to an extended timeline in the process of deciding whether the city is eligible for bankruptcy protection.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Nov. 5, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
As financially troubled cities suspend their payments to California’s pension fund, federal bankruptcy judges may have the final word on the long-assumed inviolability of retirement benefits.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 11/03/2012 01:01:30 PM PDT
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO – City representatives and their major creditors will meet in court for the second time Monday morning after CalPERS and others objected that the city didn’t qualify for bankruptcy protection.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/27/2012 05:42:59 PM PDT
Developer Scot Spencer’s affiliation with San Bernardino International Airport should be a thing of the past within the next two weeks, the airport’s interim executive director said Friday.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/24/2012 08:23:54 PM PDT
Document: San Bernardino Public Employee Association’s Objection (.pdf file)
The city of San Bernardino is not eligible for bankruptcy protection, argue court papers filed Wednesday by CalPERS and other creditors.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/24/2012 12:00:00 AM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – Today is the deadline for any of the city’s thousands of creditors to file papers arguing the city is not eligible for bankruptcy protection, a battle that added months and millions of dollars to the bankruptcy proceedings in Vallejo and is expected to do the same in Stockton.
City officials – and the judge handling the case, Meredith Jury – have said they expect objections.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/21/2012 12:38:03 PM PDT
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO – City officials were somewhat puzzled by national media attention after CalPERS’ announcement last week that the city hadn’t made any of its required payments to the state pension system since filing for bankruptcy in August.
Joe Nelson, Staff Writer
Posted: 10/19/2012 03:13:04 PM PDT
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge on Friday evicted embattled San Bernardino International Airport developer Scot Spencer from his remaining hangar and office space after Spencer let the liability insurance policies on his companies lapse.
Published: 15 October 2012 – 05:39 PM
Scot Spencer’s companies could be evicted from San Bernardino International Airport as early as Friday, based on a bankruptcy judge’s ruling Monday afternoon.
To read story by Kimberly Pierceall in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Published: 05 October 2012 – 07:50 PM
It hasn’t been easy keeping track of the myriad companies Scot Spencer has managed at San Bernardino International Airport.
Now there may be another to add to the list.
To read story by Kimberly Pierceall in The Press Enterprise, click here.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/24/2012 09:16:19 PM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – With more than 100 layoffs already authorized and more cuts necessary to erase what started as a $45.8 million deficit, no one knows how much the city still needs to cut from its budget.
By Ed Mendel
Monday, September 24, 2012
Bond insurers arguing that Stockton is ineligible for bankruptcy because it did not attempt to negotiate a pension debt reduction with CalPERS, among other failings, may get their day in court in January.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/16/2012 03:15:53 PM PDT
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO -Two very different proposals for how to cut spending in the Fire Department will be on the table Monday, one of several items on the agenda that has fueled controversy at past meetings.
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
Published: Monday, Sep. 17, 2012 – 12:00 am | Page 3A
The public pension reform legislation that the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown adopted very carefully avoided any changes of current pensioners’ benefits and those of future recipients now on state and local payrolls.
Josh Dulaney, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/06/2012 06:55:05 PM PDT
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO – Oldtimers in this once-thriving town can gripe long about its decline from an All-American City designation to a national spectacle mired in bankruptcy.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/05/2012 11:35:54 AM PDT
SAN BERNARDINO – Deep cuts to most city services were approved Wednesday in a compromise that delays proposed cuts to the Fire Department and makes other changes to the city manager’s budget plan that were developed over the course of three marathon City Council meetings.
Ryan Hagen, Staff Writer
Posted: 09/02/2012 12:33:45 PM PDT
Special Section: San Bernardino
SAN BERNARDINO – A plan cutting well more than 100 positions and making major changes at City Hall might be passed Tuesday, cutting $22.4 million of the city’s $45.8 million deficit.
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