Taxpayers and PERS (Public Employees Retirement System) rank-and-file membership should be outraged at the recent disclosure of unethical conduct by retired public officials of the city of Anaheim and seven other cities.
The PERS retirement benefit formulas already clearly favor administrative positions at the expense of the rank-and-file worker. But these generous benefits weren't enough for Anaheim's former city manager (William O.) Talley and former fire chief (Bob) Simpson. They wanted more. So they purposely padded their last year's compensation to unfairly increase their own pensions. In doing this, they knowingly cheated the retirement system, rank-and-file workers, and the taxpayers of the city of Anaheim. Their unscrupulous actions also cast a shadow of doubt over the integrity of other city employees and breeds contempt for government in general.
