Costa Mesa pension consultant present at Tuesday meeting

Costa Mesa residents will be able to question city staff and pension experts at a special meeting Tuesday afternoon about the city’s future retirement obligations.

The City Council is holding a budgetary briefing study session to go over how the latest projections of California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) are expected to impact the city’s budget, according to a city news release.

The city has hired CalPERS expert John Bartel as a consultant to help Costa Mesa estimate its obligations over the next five years, the release said.

Bartel will receive $8,000 to give the city his assessment of Costa Mesa’s annual pension costs over the next five fiscal years. He will also review and give advice about Costa Mesa’s unfunded pension liabilities, according to an e-mail from city spokesman William Lobdell.

Bartel’s payment is coming from the $200,000 in consultant fees the council approved earlier this year, Lobdell wrote.

The latest projections for the city’s pension costs for fiscal years 2014-15 and 2015-16 are lower than the city originally projected in February.

Bartel will give a presentation at the meeting along with CalPERS senior pension actuarial Rick Santos, who will provide additional information.

There will also be a detailed overview of the city’s reserves, background on how next year’s budget is drafted, and information on how the city makes its revenue projections for the next year.

Residents will be able to ask questions after each presentation.

The 4:30 p.m. meeting is in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.

—Britney Barnes