The $215,000 Man

What valuable piece of manpower is worth paying over $200,000 per annum not to do anything?

I'm your man...

If you guessed former Fullerton Police Chief Patrick McKinley you’d be right on the money. If there was ever a poster boy for out of control police pensions it would be Chief McKinley. See, the big guy pulls down a cool $96K a year from his old job at the LAPD that he’s been collecting since he left 17 years ago; then there’s the $118,000 he now rakes in from CalPERS, presumably from his time as Fullerton’s top cop.

Yipes! $215,000 a year in pension receipts; or about $18,000 a month; or $4100 every single week. More than he ever earned actually working. For the rest of his freaking life. If he lives another 20 years that’ll add up to $4,300,000 on top of what he’s already got, not counting cost of living increases.

Why is this important, apart from the obvious illustration of public safety pensions run amok? Because the word on Commonwealth Avenue is that Mr. McKinley is being promoted for City Council appointment to replace Shawn Nelson by Don Bankhead and Dick Jones – two other public pensioneers, one of whom is also a former cop.

In the RINO world of Bankhead and Jones this sort of thing is just hunky-dory. But for a lot of people – liberals and conservatives alike, the thought of this massive double dipper making pension decisions that affect Fullerton taxpayers is reminiscent of the fox guarding the hen house.

And of course we also remember McKinley as the police vest carney and vocal backer of the hideous Linda Ackerwoman creature.

Sorry guys. No sale.

71 Replies to “The $215,000 Man”

  1. Ridiculous! Arrogant bastards raking this kind of damn money while we, taxpayers, are busting our asses just to make a living.

    1. He busted his ass probably longer than you have been alive all the while working weekends, holidays and nights away from his family. Take a look at his resume and see how much good this man has done throughout his life and then compare it to your whiny P.O.S ass. Why don’t you strap on a gun and try something noble for once.

      1. Maybe he busted his ass and he definately got paid for it.

        The problem is that he’s done busting his ass, we’re supposed to be done paying, and yet we aren’t because OUR ELECTEDS WERE DECIEVED AND PROMISED TOO MUCH.

  2. not fair for those whose 401K pensions dissolved into nothing last year or those out of work due to their jobs sent to other states or overseas.

    1. Military service men and women have been doing this for years!. They retire with 20 years on and start another career. LAPD has there own retirement system. After serving 17 years with LAPD, he went to work for Fullerton that has CAL PERS. He did nothing wrong!

  3. Never forget that McKinley got exactly what the City Council, including our Mayor, Don Bankhead, gave him.

    If McKinley was appointed by the council, that would mean we would have 4 public employees (or retirees thereof) deciding how our tax dollars are going to be spent. Worse yet, the council could easily continue to raise fees, making Fullerton that much more inhospitable to residents and businesses.

  4. He is also the fave of ‘pug pusher Ed Royce because:

    1) he’s registered as a Republican

    2) he’s not a woman Dem

    3) he’s old and not going anywhere

    1. Probably true Rudy. Would Baugh and the Central Committee go for him? Will they keep endorsing Bankhead?

  5. Really need some “Fresh blood”, for our local politics… Damn shame that Eddie(Haskell) Royce ran unopposed last election

  6. No question: McKinley will be beholden to the police and fire unions, despite whatever phony “conservative” garbage pours from his mouth.

    Anybody up for another pension spike?

  7. Why would any of them care? They will be dead and long gone sticking all of us with the bill when we are BK. This is why we MUST get rid of these old guys you just don’t really give a shit.

      1. Take a look at the surrounding area and its inhabitants to answer your stupid ass question. Then maybe you can vote to get some more cops on the street to help out a little. Any given night in this city of 140,000 + people you have about 10-15 cops working……gee I wonder why crime is up?

        1. Nonsense. That’s like saying “the haystack is on fire. Throw on more hay.”

          BTW crime is down.

  8. Not McKinley’s fault. Fullerton is like every other community. There are good people and bad people. It will always require time, attention, and money to keep things up and running.

    1. Bullshit! It happened before he got to Fullerton and he did nothing to fix it in the 17 years that we paid him hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of dollars as chief.

  9. For 17 years of housewifery and raising seven children I get about 7% (social security) of what the police chief gets for 17 years of chiefery.

    AND I cannot collect this plus social security for whatever I earned on my own after that. One or the other.

    Why can’t housewives get two social security pensions for two consecutive careers?

    1. Maybe you should have been a cop and worked holidays and nights away from your family and then get called to court on your days off for days on end. Then go back to work and get spit on by drunk idiots and picked apart by whiny citizens who think you don’t earn your pay. Jesus Christ all you people whine like fricken babies……Go do the job yourself. Oh that’s right, you’re all too scared and comfortable in your arm chairs.

      1. No one is disputing the wages paid to our policemen for a a job well done. That is not the issue here.

      2. Hey buddy, you just described the life of a cocktail waitress, and they make a lot less, with NO pension.

          1. Miranda. I have to warn you. If you can’t be anything other than a pro-Hairball Sidhu crust-crab we may have to spank you and condemn you site next to “compton” as you both listen to Harry Sidhu introduce his good friend from the Chamber “Todd,” for an eternity!

  10. Anonymous :
    McKinley…………would do a fine job on the Council.

    “A fine job”? For who? The city employees that’s who. Meanwhile the citizens of Fullerton would be in the hands of yet another lifelong public employee who never had to make a payroll without a tax.

  11. And let’s not forget the mess that downtown Fullerton became as Chief turned a blind eye to his misbehaving restaurant/nightclub owning pals.

    Chief was too busy inventing his joke vest that he turned around and sold to FPD.

  12. Well, this is what the law and the rules of his respective pension plans allow. He is probably a very fine person.

    As a CalPERS annuitant, I am prevented from collecting my spousal Social Security benefit, due to the GPO law enacted under the Carter administration, in the late 70’s. Spouses of billionaires like Meg Whitman would be eligible to collect spousal SS benefits if they don’t have their own SS from work or never worked for the government. Believe me, If I were allowed to collect those benefits, I would.

    If double dipping of this sort were to be disallowed, the laws need to be changed, instead of slinging hateful rhetoric at the recipient.

    1. Pensioners are free to take whatever they can get. What they are not entitled to, however, is my vote. And I will not vote for anyone who has excessively sucked from the trough for forty-something years and then pretends to run as a representative of the taxpayer.

      1. Get your public employee metaphors right. One slurps at the trough and sucks at the teat. Gee whiz.

  13. Unfortunately “fine persons” like this used their political leverage to squeeze the rest of us.

    The only way out of this extortion is to declare bankruptcy and let a court renegotiate pensions with retirees.

    This fine person also did a fine job fathering his own nest at our expense.

  14. Taxpayers need to renege on any further funding of these pensions ….. as they’ve been ripped-off long enough.

  15. I am truly at a loss to understand what your complaint is.

    The people of Fullerton promised the man that they would provide him with a certain pension based on the number of years he served the city. He kept his part of the bargain by performing the job the people asked of him. Now when it is time for the people to fulfill their end of the deal by paying the pension they promised, they try to weasel out of the deal by calling their worker greedy.

    I think the roles are a bit reversed here. The chief is the victim is greedy members of the public, who clearly have no intention of paying the benefits they promised when they benefitted from the 17 years of service they took from him.

    1. Haha. The 4 million dollar victim. That’s a good one.

      McKinley’s “bargain” was struck by the idiotic electeds of the past. Now we have a chance to fix this mistake by selecting intelligent, reform-minded individuals who aren’t afraid to challenge the unions. Patrick McUnion is none of the above.

      1. I don’t know that anyone can take away the pensions after the fact. However, we can elect people who care about the use of our tax dollars. My experience with FPD under McKinley was mixed. Most officers were professional but the dispatchers were rude and response was slow. I hope our new chief will change that.

        JD, “4 million dollar victim”… That’s golden!

    2. The people of Fullerton promised the man that they would provide him with a certain pension based on the number of years he served the city.
      ========

      A contract that is made thru fraud-not done at an arms length-is not valid. Nor is one that gives away gigantic wads of cash for no work-as in illegal retro pension increases.

      So your claim that there was a “promise” is simply inocrrect. The Moorlach lawsuit is based on this principle.

  16. $215K annually? So, he’ll be self-funding his campaign? With what message? BTW: Chaffee could run to his right on a pension-control campaign.

  17. “Fullerton Flatfoot”… Has it right…

    The only way out of this extortion is to declare bankruptcy and let a court renegotiate pensions with retirees.

    This is the ONLY answer… Ca. BANKRUPTCY!!! Forget Meg… I AM ready to vote BROWN!!! Screw these BS artists!!!

  18. You defenders of public pension recipients seem to ignorant of the problem, its not the fact that the public wants to annul the agreement, its the reality that a body politic is logically unable to restrain any demand that their “employees” make when the people who virtually elect them ( or oppose their adversaries) through the public employee Unions independent expenditure committees are the same people. The game is rigged and the people have finally wised up that the politicians eat from the hand that feeds them. And when your “employees” have the power to fire you, the business will go bankrupt.

  19. You bankruptcy fans: Please keep current on things, will you! You should have learned by now that the State of CA cannot claim bankruptcy, and for cities and counties, bankrupty is no magic route to disbanding pensions. The only three entities in the State to ever go bankrupt, Desert Hot Springs, Orange County, and Vallejo still have fourishing public employee pension plans. Otherwise, Vallejo is still in the dump overall and will be for years to come. Any citizen wishing to see their own entity go bankrupt should be tried and found guilty of sedition.

  20. I don’t live in Fullerton and have no voice in the election, but if I were this man, I would not run, because it doesn’t look like you want him. He has plenty enough money to do what he wants to do with his life from this point on.

    1. I live in Fullerton and I know McKinley. If he runs he will get my vote because I know that he is a good man. I can tell you that those writing the negative comments don’t know him at all.

      1. We need somebody who will look after the interests of taxpayers – whether or not they are a “good man” isn’t even relevant.

        1. I think being a god man does mean something and is relevant in MY opinion of candidates. Why do you think he won’t look after the interest of the taxpayer? Have you spoken to him? My guess is that you haven’t and you just jump on any bandwagon you are steered towards.

          1. Well then please steer me on to the McKinley bandwagon. Has McKinley promissed pension reform yet?

          2. Travis you seem to have all the answers about all city issues for every department from the city attorney to the finance department so why should I steer you or anyone towards any candidate, Everyone should make their own decisions on who they support and what’s important to them. For you, I can tell it’s anything anti public service employees is important. In the near future, I’m sure you will be telling all the masses of “friends” who they should support. Can’t wait!

  21. I think the biggest problem here is that public employees themselves don’t want to understand what’s happening. Their pension benefits are not sancrosanct rights guaranteed by God. At this point if the pensioners were willing to make some modest cuts I think the state could easily provide benefits comparable to at least 70-80% of what they are getting already. Unfortunately the sheer obstinance and short sightedness of pensioners will only insure that they get nothing. At some point the checks aren’t going to arrive,or if they do arrive they’ll be quite late. Cities must continue some level of service or else people will simply leave. It’s better to take a huge loss on your home than live in a place without utilities,police or fire service. Losing inequity in your home is one thing, having no services is a far more serious matter. At this point the public employees could do the right thing accept some moderate cuts and still collect most of their benefits. Unfortunately I have my doubts about whether or not this will happen. As old Bible saying goes:
    “So the wind reap the whirlwind.”

  22. Gilligan :
    Travis you seem to have all the answers about all city issues for every department from the city attorney to the finance department so why should I steer you or anyone towards any candidate, Everyone should make their own decisions on who they support and what’s important to them. For you, I can tell it’s anything anti public service employees is important. In the near future, I’m sure you will be telling all the masses of “friends” who they should support. Can’t wait!

    I’m glad somebody has some answers. The last City manager couldn’t find his ass in the dark. And he’s going to pull down an annual pension even bigger than McKinley’s.

  23. Once again, these employee contracts with the 3% at 50 were approved by city council members Chris Norby and friends. I don’t recall any back lash at the time.

  24. Isn’t it amazing that McKinley had to be CC’ed a copy of the letter to Travis?

    I suppose if you asked for salary records for the 102,000 current employees, the county would waste untold $$$ writing and sending letters to them as well?

  25. All you guys can take the rhetoric and shove it. Pat is a good guy, has certainly been paid well for what he has done, is getting the pension he was promised and yes, he makes too much on a pension if I were king.

    All that is irrelevant. The rubber meets the road on one question. Will he vote to require a minimum 9% of payroll to come out of the police paychecks toward their payroll this fall when it comes up or not? The rest is bull and the answer to this question will be THE answer as to whether or not he is good for Fullerton.

    If his answer is yes, he will require police department employees to pay a minimum 9% of their payroll to help cover the cost of their pension then we have something to talk about. If his answer is no, he is a tool of the unions and an apologist for the very problem that now defines true conservatives from posers. There is no middle ground and it is a yes or no question.

    Well chief, what’s the answer?

  26. #22. Crime is down? What rag do you read besides this one….crime is up in the City of Fullerton you dunderhead.

    1. According to an FBI comparison of Fullerton crimes between 2007 and 2009, crime is down. Violent crimes are up by 12% and property crimes are down by 8%. Since property crimes outnumber violent crimes by nearly 10 to 1, overall crime is down over the last couple of years.

      1. Violent crime is what causes the bulk of the fear, not the petty thefts and property crimes which are really annoying and inconvenient.

  27. I love it, after seeing many signs for Mckinley et al for city council someone put up a sign “no mckinley $215k pension abuse”. Whenever you see candidates supported by police and fire you know who NOT to vote for. The abuse has to stop, we need candidates that will unravel this pension mess and adjust the money downward!

  28. “Pension Reform” is “The New Mantra.”

    During the 1990’s through Early 2000’s, when I attempted to recruit many people for Government Jobs, I was often laughed at because the typical response was, “I can make far more money in the private sector.”

    Well, now that the private sector has experienced an economic downturn, folks within the private sector (who wish to privatize government agencies), are acting as if suddenly government employees are filthy – rich.

    Interestingly, Pat McKinley (who I have great respect for), benefited from two great pension plans (Los Angeles Police Department and Fullerton Police Department),

    Yet, to get elected, suddenly the City of Fullerton’s pension system “needs to be reformed”…………

  29. MajorPain: During the 1990’s through Early 2000’s, when I attempted to recruit many people for Government Jobs, I was often laughed at because the typical response was, “I can make far more money in the private sector.”

    The fact remains the same now as it did in 1995 that once a government employee is hired, it is extremely difficult to fire them. Every agency (and many companies) has its excess baggage that needs to be fired.

    If we were paying 1990s wages, the pensions, even as out of balance as they are, would not be as bad. But, we continue to grant raises at about 3% per year and call them cost-of-living-adjustments. The problem is that we have to budget on a fixed income.

    We will never see property taxes increased by more than 2% per year. The Redevelopment Agency makes matters worse because all of the NEW property tax revenue they might be able to generate will NOT go towards ANY of those pension or salary costs. Together, these two facts make it clear that we must budget based on a fixed income and not anticipated sales tax revenue which is always in flux.

    More than a matter of fairness is the fact that agencies cannot pay someone their salary (or 90% of it) for 70+ years and only receive 30 years of service. Eventually, you will have more people receiving pension checks than employees receiving paychecks. Consequently, ALL of our tax revenue will be spent on FORMER employees who provided us with their services long ago. We will not be able to afford any current employees to provide the services which we all agree a city should have even if through contracts.

    I think the public employee unions are doing to the taxpayers exactly what many private unions did to industry shareholders. Eventually, agencies will have to look at outsourcing jobs to private contractors to avoid bankruptcy.

    One thing is certain: we cannot sit by and do nothing nor can we continue to allow our elected leadership to use the taxpayers’ credit card by approving bonds.

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