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Report on Investigation Report on Investigation The City of San Diego, California’s Disclosures of Obligation to Fund the San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System and Related Disclosure Practices 1996-2004 with Recommended Procedures and Changes to the Municipal Code September 16, 2004 Paul S. Maco Richard C. Sauer Vinson & Elkins L.L.P. Washington, D.C. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction and Executive Summary .............................................................................................1 I. Introduction............................................................................................................. 1 II. Executive Summary................................................................................................ 4 Part I 9 The City of San Diego ...................................................................................................................10 I. The City of San Diego and the Related Authorities ............................................. 10 A. The City of San Diego .............................................................................. 10 B. Organization and Structure of the City..................................................... 11 C. The Related Authorities ............................................................................ 12 II. The Issuance Process ............................................................................................ 15 Organization and Structure of the San Diego City Employees’ Retirement System.....................19 I. History and structure............................................................................................. 19 A. Participating employers ............................................................................ 19 B. Role of the City in SDCERS..................................................................... 19 II. Applicable law ...................................................................................................... 20 III. Board of Administration ....................................................................................... 20 A. Administrative functions........................................................................... 20 B. Investments ............................................................................................... 21 C. Fiduciary duties......................................................................................... 21 IV. Members and benefits........................................................................................... 22 A. Members ................................................................................................... 22 B. Benefits ..................................................................................................... 23 1. Service retirement ......................................................................... 23 2. Disability....................................................................................... 24 3. Death............................................................................................. 25 4. Retiree health ................................................................................ 25 5. Other related benefits.................................................................... 26 V. Contributions and Funding ................................................................................... 27 A. Contributions............................................................................................. 27 i B. Funding status ........................................................................................... 28 C. Future of contributions and funding status ............................................... 29 Part II .............................................................................................................................................30 The Evolution of the SDCERS Funding Deficit............................................................................31 I. The Snake in the Garden of SDCERS: the seductive concept of “Surplus Earnings”............................................................................................................... 31 II. The Andrews litigation ......................................................................................... 34 III. The Post-retirement healthcare benefit ................................................................. 36 IV. SDCERS changes its actuarial methodology........................................................ 38 V. The City seeks additional contribution relief from SDCERS............................... 40 VI. Manager’s Proposal 1 (“MP1”) ............................................................................ 41 A. The City proposes additional benefits in exchange for contribution relief .......................................................................................................... 41 B. The opinions of SDCERS’ actuary and fiduciary counsel........................ 47 C. The intended application of surplus earnings to the contribution shortfall created by Manager’s Proposal 1................................................ 53 D. Modifications to the post-retirement healthcare benefit under Manager’s Proposal 1 ............................................................................... 57 E. The impact of Manager’s Proposal 1 on the retirement system................ 61 F. The City’s public disclosure concerning Manager’s Proposal 1 .............. 62 VII. Additional burdens placed on SDCERS’ surplus earnings, 1998-2000 ............... 68 A. The Employee Contribution Rate Increase Reserve and the Supplemental COLA Reserve................................................................... 68 B. The Corbett Settlement ............................................................................. 71 VIII. The Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee.................................................................. 76 IX. Manager’s Proposal 2 ........................................................................................... 79 A. The first approach ..................................................................................... 79 B. SDCERS’ fiduciary counsel and actuary recommend against the first iteration of MP2................................................................................. 84 C. Further iterations of the second Manager’s proposal................................ 88 D. The final positions of SDCERS’ fiduciary counsel and actuary on MP2........................................................................................................... 92 E. Disclosure failures relating to MP2 .......................................................... 95 X. The Gleason Litigation ......................................................................................... 97 ii XI. The SDCERS Report to the Rules Committee of the City Council in February 2003 ....................................................................................................... 99 XII. The analysis of SDCERS’ funding by Public Financial Management ............... 105 XIII. The January 27, 2004 Voluntary Disclosure....................................................... 112 A. The City’s disclosure comes under scrutiny........................................... 112 B. The discovery of multiple errors in the footnotes to the FY 2002 financial statements................................................................................. 114 C. Bond counsel insists upon additional disclosure .................................... 117 D. Differing views on the materiality of the footnote errors ....................... 119 E. The Voluntary Disclosure....................................................................... 120 Part III ..........................................................................................................................................123 Disclosure Process and Deficiencies ...........................................................................................124 I. Financing Services.............................................................................................. 124 II. The City Manager’s Office................................................................................. 128 A. Structure and Responsibilities of the City Manager’s Office ................. 128 B. Working Style and Roles of Recent City Managers ............................... 129 C. The Director of Human Resources ......................................................... 131 D. The City Financial Management Director .............................................. 132 III. Auditor and Comptroller..................................................................................... 132 IV. City Attorney ...................................................................................................... 134 V. Independent Auditor ........................................................................................... 136 VI. City Council........................................................................................................ 137 A. Representations, Warranties and Certifications by the City to its investors .................................................................................................. 142 Part IV..........................................................................................................................................145 Federal Securities Laws and the City’s Disclosures....................................................................146
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