This just came over the transom from the Lincoln Club of Orange County:

Lincoln Club Calls on Supervisors to Challenge Pension Gifts

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. (July 25, 2007) – Yesterday, the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Club of Orange County voted to urge county supervisors to file a legal challenge to pension gifts for certain public safety employees.

“Giving a gift of public funds is simply illegal,” said the club's president, Richard K. Wagner. “Every supervisor is obligated to follow the law.”

On Friday, Orange County Supervisor John Moorlach held a press conference outlining why he believes certain retroactive pension plan increases approved by county government in 2001 violate several provisions of California's constitution.  At a July 31 meeting, Moorlach will ask the board to move toward rescinding the pension gifts and to arrange with the county's active public safety employees to bear these costs.

The Lincoln Club has studied the matter and agrees with Moorlach. “It is not as if the pension gifts violate only one section of the constitution, and it’s not as if those violations are not clear. The fact is, the gifts violate three sections, and each of those violations is, in our opinion, beyond question," Wagner said.

While the state constitution makes the retroactive pension benefits illegal, there is no prohibition against having active employees fund the retroactive benefits. “The law is clear,”

Wagner said. “The county can’t pay the benefits, so the active employees should.”

The club's decision was also driven by its concern over the county's looming financial deficit. “The taxpayers of Orange County now owe upwards of $2.3 billion more in pension benefits than they can pay,” Wagner said.  “Our incredibly generous promises could drive us into bankruptcy once again.”

That means vital services – law enforcement, emergency rooms, help for the poor – will suffer, perhaps more than they did during the county’s bankruptcy a decade ago, the club believes.

“Leaving these gifts unchallenged could cost the county money every day – money it doesn’t have,” Wagner said. “Ultimately, these gifts may hurt someone else in the county.  The supervisors have a responsibility to uphold the law.”

Founded in 1962, The Lincoln Club of Orange County is an association of business men and women and professionals who support candidates and causes to limit the size of government, and promote low taxes and pro-business policies.