State lawmakers have move forward with an audit of the San Jose Pension system, as the Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted to approve a request by 8 lawmakers.
The audit, which was also marked as a priority, should begin within a couple of weeks and take no longer than 6 months to complete. When announcing their intention to seek the audit, lawmakers said that they wanted to independently verify pension figures being touted by the City as part of its push for pension reform.
The call for an audit has been labeled by some at the City as being politically motivated, as many of the members who called for the audit have received significant support from labor during their careers. It isn’t the audit that they’ve objected to, more it’s the meddling and politicking in local affairs.
The audit should cost state taxpayers less than $200,000 to perform.
From the Contra Costa Times:
The state will audit San Jose’s finances amid employee unions’ accusations that city officials overstated the cost of the pension system to build support for a June ballot measure reducing retirement benefits.
The Joint Legislative Audit Committee on Wednesday approved the state audit, requested by seven Democratic lawmakers, on a bipartisan 10-3 vote. The committee also directed the auditor to give it priority status on a 12-1 vote. Committee member Chris Norby, R-Fullerton, did not vote.
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