THE BENEFITS OF MEMORY LOSS

You want to know why being a politician is such a great job? 

Because the consequences of so many decisions are only felt long after you’ve mismanaged your way into oblivion

The Inyo Supervisors paying off a “CalPERS Side Fund” debt at its meeting Tuesday being a case in point.

In 2001, the County decided to increase retirement benefits for the Deputy Sheriff’s Assn. and Law Enforcement Administrators Assn. This affected approximately 40 employees. Instead of getting 2% @ 50, they negotiated for 3% @ 50. So an employee retiring after 30 years would get 30 times 3 or 90% of his top mean salary for the rest of his life versus 30 times 2 or 60%. 

And to pay for it – has been a boondoggle. They’ve had to borrow money for a thirty-year term. And if you run the numbers, the taxpayer will ultimately lay out about $300,000 apiece extra for those 40 employees. 

*The conspiracy theorist in me wants to know which Supervisors in 2001 were related to which affected law enforcement employees. 

From the staff report: “At the beginning of 2013, the County began looking into refinancing options for the Side Fund … At the time, the County’s Safety Plan had about 17 years remaining with an outstanding balance of $3.95 million. Under private placement with Umpqua Bank, the Side Fund was re-funded with a new par (loan) in the amount of $4.045 million, including a fixed interest rate of 5.5% for a maximum of ten years.

The Side Fund fixed rate period has expired, and the loan has now moved into a variable interest rate which is currently at 8.5%.

The County currently has 6.5 years left on the term of the loan, which retires on June 30, 2030. 

Over the last ten years, the County has paid $1.59 million in principal payments and $1.85 million in interest on the note, totaling $3.44 million. If the County continues to pay at the variable rate under the current agreement in addition to the $2.46 million in principal payments due, the County will incur over $700,000 in additional estimated interest.”

So on Tuesday, the County decided to pay off the loan early. Using some one-time “free” money from one of those ubiquitous acronyms – LATCF (Local Assistance and Tribal Consistency Fund). 

*Translation: This is Covid bailout money which the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the “fab forty” will have to pay back someday. 

Check out the language from the U.S. Treasury’s published “Guidance” for the LATCF. 

“Under this program, recipients have broad discretion on use of funds. Specifically, recipients may use these funds on any governmental purpose other than a lobbying activity. Recipients may maintain or expand public services – such as health, educational, housing and public safety services. Recipients may also invest in infrastructure – from roads and bridges to water infrastructure – to facilitate economic development, improve health outcomes or transition their communities to clean energy. Recipients may also invest in restoring and bolstering government capacity (I.e. creating more taxeaters) … “

You get the drift.

But in Inyo County, we use the money for none of the above. We use the money to pay off bad decisions made two decades ago.

But look on the bright side,. Now that we’ve cleared this debt, that gives the current Board the green light to borrow money for the next stupid idea. 

Some drama at the Snowcreek Athletic Club this week. Apparently, there was a premeditated attack which one patron made against another inside the men’s locker room. 

Story I heard was a witness managed to escape the room during the incident and get help. 

And Snowcreek trainer Bodhi Silva was able to subdue the attacker before police arrived.

Vick Wyatt Johansen, 47, of Mammoth Lakes has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon. He was arraigned Thursday and currently remains in custody. 

The rumors are true. A week and a half ago, an A-Frame employee sold a $20 Year of the Dragon scratcher card to a Mammoth local —a frequenter of the establishment.

The winner came into A-Frame between the hours of 9 and 10 at night and bought the ticket on a whim. 

“There’s some kind of energy coming up from that counter,” said Ricky Barrett, a counterman at the establishment. “No one’s ever won that big up here.” 

The rumored winnings: $5 million. 

I tuned into the Northern Inyo Hospital Board meeting on Wednesday for the financial update. It remains a good new/bad news story.  

Good news is that operationally, NIHD continues to inch closer to break even. Bad news is, you can make all the improvements you want, but if you can’t collect, it’s won’t matter. 

Greg Rollison’s (see Sheet cover story from Jan. 13) preliminary hearing has been set for April 30 in Bridgeport. The number of charges he faces is staggering – the rap sheet now takes four full pages when his case appears on calendar and consists of 273 total charges

Finally, a thought on Klusmire’s column which starts on page 17. 

I’ve been reading Robert Greenfield’s biography of the actor/playwright Sam Shepard. Shepard, born 1943, grew up in Pasadena and then Duarte, Calif., graduating from high school in 1961.

“Concerning her parents’ actual social circle in Duarte, Sandy Rogers (Shepard’s sister) says, ‘All of my friends’ fathers were alcoholics. A lot of it had to do with the war of course, but at that point in time, it was also like the American dream could only go so far and when they hit that wall, it ruined everything for them. I think what frustrated my father the most was that we had everything we needed and wanted and yet it wasn’t enough. Like we’ve got two cars, we’ve got the house, and so what do we do now?”

So in fairness, if many Boomers were raised by parents who were bombed out of their minds or otherwise emotionally absent, I’m willing to cut a bit of slack.