AOCDS member Artin Baron is running for the position of general member on the OCERS board of directors. This election is extremely important, because all positions on the board directly affect all county employees, including AOCDS members. The incumbent has voted with the anti-pension Lincoln Club appointee to raise your pension costs, not once, but twice. The AOCDS board of directors, including OCERS safety member Roger Hilton, strongly endorses Artin Baron.
The Orange County Registrar of Voters has confirmed that incumbent Roger Hilton has won the OCERS Board of Retirement Safety Member election. The unofficial cumulative report shows that the AOCDS 1st vice president received nearly 64% of the votes. His challenger, OC firefighter Jeremy Vallone, received about 36%.
In the recent Marin and CalFire cases, the appellate court held that there is a vested right only to a “reasonable” pension and that no new comparable benefit must be granted in order for the legislature to reduce benefit calculations. Not only do these rulings undo the “California Rule” that protects our pensions, but they are also vague and leave pensions too easily reduced. Both the Marin and CalFire cases have been appealed and accepted by the California Supreme Court to be ruled on at a later date.
The actuary, Paul Angelo, presented three recommended options to the Board and all of which included changing to generational mortality. AOCDS does not agree with the recommendations, based on a lack of credible data on the new generational mortality rate table and because of the sporadic changes in these rates. We believe we should remain with static mortality tables, but with the most updated version, until generational tables are more accurate on life expectancy and give us a better long-term prediction.
The AOCDS Memorial Fund assists peace officers or the families of officers who are killed or injured in the line of duty, suffering from a serious medical condition, experiencing a catastrophic circumstance, disabled, or retired and in need of assistance. This includes, but is not limited to, sworn deputy sheriffs or peace officers with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, district attorney’s office, probation department and OC Parks. The fund also helps qualifying officers across the state of California and awards annual scholarships to select children of members entering their first year at a college or university, among many other things.
The AOCDS Memorial Fund is a fully recognized 501(c)3 nonprofit organization.
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