Parks has highlighted the pension funding problem, particularly as it relates to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's drive to hire more police officers.
In an "urgent message" posted on his website before this week's budget hearings, Parks noted that city revenues are down sharply. "Concurrently, the city's payroll and pension costs have soared. We have reached a breaking point. If significant structural changes are not implemented quickly, the city's financial solvency is at significant risk."
Under the mayor's hiring plan, he wrote, "our pension program will become unsustainable, not only for sworn employees, but for civilian employees as well."
Parks' own pension is nearly 30% more than the next highest recipients from police, fire and general government agencies. Former LAPD Deputy Chief David Gascon and former Los Angeles International Airport General Manager Jack Driscoll receive $206,000 and $205,000 respectively, records show. Figures for the city's quasi-independent Department of Water and Power, which operates a separate pension system, were not immediately available.
Parks collected $18,549 per month, or 90% of his final salary, beginning in 2002, said William S. Raggio, chief management analyst with the police and fire pension fund. Yearly cost-of-living increases have boosted the payment to $22,090.97 per month.
In all, nearly 600 people receive city pensions in excess of $100,000 a year, according to figures obtained from the city by The Times. They were recently prepared in response to public records requests filed by Dean's group. The group previously has called attention to nearly 5,000 other local government and state pensioners collecting six-figure annual payments. Topping that list was former Vernon City Administrator Bruce Malkenhorst Sr., who has been accused of embezzling city funds and collects a $500,000 annual pension.
"It's unfortunate that critics would try to paint a sticker shock on all government workers, which is unfair," said Pat Macht, spokeswoman for CalPERS, the state's public pension fund.
"Our goal is not to single out the average person," Dean said. But he added, "We have to change the laws that determine how pensions are calculated and handed out."
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rich.connell@latimes.com
