City of Saratoga - California Grand Jury Reports

Note: Missing finding numbers detected: F2

Findings and Recommendations 2 findings

F1 Page 1

In spite of public opinion, there are situations that warrant rehiring pensioners and often it makes good business sense to do so. All managers interviewed follow existing procedures, which allow rehiring of pensioners. The City agrees. The City has found it useful to hire pensioners on a short term basis to provide interim services on several occasions.

Related Recommendations (1)

R1

Page 1

If the County or the City/Town of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale desire to end the practice of rehiring pensioners, they should make that official by means of a policy decision. The recommendation has been implemented. The City does not desire to end the practice of rehiring pensioners and so will not be adopting a policy to end that practice.

F3 Page 2

The fifteen towns and cities—Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale—and the County may be inadvertently creating a demand to rehire pensioners because the public sector retirement age is relatively young at 50 (police and fire) or 55 (administrative positions). The City agrees. The City has been working with its employee groups to explore options for increasing the retirement age.

Related Recommendations (1)

R3

Page 2

The fifteen towns and cities-Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale—and the County should continue to pursue a higher retirement age with its public sector unions and associations. The recommendation has been implemented. The City is pursuing a higher retirement age with its public sector unions and associations. The Saratoga Management Organization and Saratoga Employees Association have agreed that for employees hired after the City completes the PERS- required process, the retirement plan will be a second tier plan of 2% at age 60 plan using a three-year average compensation to determine retirement benefits (CalPERS does not offer a pension formula requiring a higher retirement age). The City has made a similar policy decision with respect to benefits offered to future unrepresented employees (e.g., the City Manager and Human Resources Director) and hopes to reach a similar agreement with the one remaining employee group. Thank you for your consideration of this response. Sincerely, Mayor, City of Saratoga Cc: Members of the Saratoga City Council City Manager City Attorney

Agency Responses 3

Government agencies' official responses to this report's findings and recommendations. Click on a response to see the structured breakdown.

City of Saratoga

September 30, 2011 • 2 pages • 2 responses • Score: +2 (+2, 0, 0) View Details ▾

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2 responses to findings and recommendations

F1

In spite of public opinion, there are situations that warrant rehiring pensioners and often it makes good business sense to do so. All managers interviewed follow existing procedures, which allow rehiring of pensioners. The City agrees. The City has found it useful to hire pensioners on a short term basis to provide interim services on several occasions.

Response: Agree Score: +1

Dispatch consolidation would result in more cost-effective and efficient emergency response and should be implemented throughout Santa Clara County. The City agrees. Recommendation 1: Jurisdictions which maintain their own dispatching centers - Campbell, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, the City of Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale - and all jurisdictions which use Santa Clara County Communications for dispatch-Cupertino, Los Altos Hills, and Saratoga-should consolidate dispatch with neighboring jurisdictions and, where appropri...

R1

If the County or the City/Town of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale desire to end the practice of rehiring pensioners, they should make that official by means of a policy decision. The recommendation has been implemented. The City does not desire to end the practice of rehiring pensioners and so will not be adopting a policy to end that practice.

Response: Will Implement

Score: +1

Jurisdictions which maintain their own dispatching centers - Campbell, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, the City of Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale - and all jurisdictions which use Santa Clara County Communications for dispatch-Cupertino, Los Altos Hills, and Saratoga-should consolidate dispatch with neighboring jurisdictions and, where appropriate, should issue RFPs to do so. The City will implement the recommendation to the extent practicable given that the City does not operate a police or fire department. The Santa Clara Co...

City of Saratoga

August 31, 2011 • 2 pages • 4 responses • Score: +2 (+2, 2, 0) View Details ▾

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4 responses to findings and recommendations

F1

In spite of public opinion, there are situations that warrant rehiring pensioners and often it makes good business sense to do so. All managers interviewed follow existing procedures, which allow rehiring of pensioners. The City agrees. The City has found it useful to hire pensioners on a short term basis to provide interim services on several occasions.

Response: Agree Score: +1

In spite of public opinion, there are situations that warrant rehiring pensioners and often it makes good business sense to do so. All managers interviewed follow existing procedures, which allow rehiring of pensioners. The City agrees. The City has found it useful to hire pensioners on a short term basis to provide interim services on several occasions. Recommendation 1: If the County or the City/Town of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale desire to end t...

R1

If the County or the City/Town of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale desire to end the practice of rehiring pensioners, they should make that official by means of a policy decision. The recommendation has been implemented. The City does not desire to end the practice of rehiring pensioners and so will not be adopting a policy to end that practice.

Response: Implemented

Score: 0

If the County or the City/Town of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale desire to end the practice of rehiring pensioners, they should make that official by means of a policy decision. The recommendation has been implemented. The City does not desire to end the practice of rehiring pensioners and so will not be adopting a policy to end that practice. Finding 3: The fifteen towns and cities-Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, ...

F3

The fifteen towns and cities—Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale—and the County may be inadvertently creating a demand to rehire pensioners because the public sector retirement age is relatively young at 50 (police and fire) or 55 (administrative positions). The City agrees. The City has been working with its employee groups to explore options for increasing t...

Response: Agree Score: +1

The fifteen towns and cities-Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale-and the County may be inadvertently creating a demand to rehire pensioners because the public sector retirement age is relatively young at 50 (police and fire) or 55 (administrative positions). The City agrees. The City has been working with its employee groups to explore options for increasing the retirement age. Recommendation 3: The fifteen towns and cities-Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los...

R3

The fifteen towns and cities-Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale—and the County should continue to pursue a higher retirement age with its public sector unions and associations. The recommendation has been implemented. The City is pursuing a higher retirement age with its public sector unions and associations. The Saratoga Management Organization and Saratoga ...

Response: Implemented

Score: 0

The fifteen towns and cities-Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale-and the County should continue to pursue a higher retirement age with its public sector unions and associations. The recommendation has been implemented. The City is pursuing a higher retirement age with its public sector unions and associations. The Saratoga Management Organization and Saratoga Employees Association have agreed that for employees hired after the City completes the PERSrequired...

City of Saratoga

August 31, 2011 • 2 pages • 2 responses • Score: 0 (+1, 0, -1) View Details ▾

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2 responses to findings and recommendations

F1

In spite of public opinion, there are situations that warrant rehiring pensioners and often it makes good business sense to do so. All managers interviewed follow existing procedures, which allow rehiring of pensioners. The City agrees. The City has found it useful to hire pensioners on a short term basis to provide interim services on several occasions.

Response: Disagree Score: -1

It is extremely costly to equip a fire department for only the occasional fire response; the County and fifteen towns/cities have not been proactive in challenging fire departments to adopt changes that are more cost effective and that better serve their communities. Further, unions are more interested in job preservation than in providing the right mix of capabilities at a reasonable cost, using scare tactics to influence the public and fostering firefighter unwillingness to collaborate with EMS. The City disagrees based on lack of information to make a determination on this finding for fire ...

F3

The fifteen towns and cities—Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale—and the County may be inadvertently creating a demand to rehire pensioners because the public sector retirement age is relatively young at 50 (police and fire) or 55 (administrative positions). The City agrees. The City has been working with its employee groups to explore options for increasing t...

Response: Agree Score: +1

Whether the emergency responder is a firefighter-paramedic or an EMS paramedic matters little to the person with the medical emergency; using firefighter-paramedics in firefighting equipment as first responders to all non-police emergencies is unnecessarily costly when less expensive paramedics on ambulances possess the skills needed to address the 96% of calls that are not fire related. The City agrees that whether the emergency responder is a firefighter-paramedic or an EMS paramedic matters little to the person with the medical emergency. The City disagrees with the remainder of the finding...

City of Saratoga*

Findings and Recommendations 2 findings

Agency Responses 3