Modesto pension reforms lead

Modesto voters Tuesday were strongly supporting three nonbinding advisory measures that aim at reforming city pensions.

With nearly three-quarters of the precincts counted, Measure Q had 7,370 "yes" votes, or 58.4 percent, against 5,248 "no" votes, or 41.6 percent.

Measure R had 9,495 "yes" votes, or 74.8 percent, against 3,203 "no" votes, or 25.2 percent; and Measure S had 8,174 "yes" votes, or 64 percent, against 4,605 "no" votes, or 36 percent.

Councilman and mayoral candidate Brad Hawn spearheaded putting the measures on the ballot. But because they are advisory, they don't force the City Council or the city's unions to do anything.

Hawn and others have said the measures are important in gauging public support for pension reform. But opponents have accused Hawn of grandstanding and have said many of the reforms already have been enacted.

Measure Q asks whether the city should replace its defined benefit pensions with defined contribution pensions similar to 401(k) plans, which are the norm for private-sector workers.

Measure R asks whether the city should base employee pensions on the average of their three final years of pay rather than the final year to avoid pension spiking, the practice of boosting final pay by cashing in unused vacation and sick time.

Measure S asks whether the city should raise the retirement age for city employees.

Modesto voters weighed in on two other ballot measures:

Utility users tax

Measure N would decrease the tax on land-line and cell phones from 6 percent to 5.8 percent while allowing the city to tax other telecommunications, such as text and instant messaging, for the first time.

It had 9,545 "yes" votes, or 76.4 percent, against 2,950 "no" votes, or 23.6 percent.

Sewer lines

Measure P is an advisory vote on whether to extend sewer service to the unincorporated Rouse-Colorado neighborhood. It had 7,381 "yes" votes, or 59.1 percent, against 5,111 "no" votes, or 40.9 percent.

The vote was one of the terms in settling a 2004 civil rights lawsuit, which alleged that the city and county had discriminated against Latino-majority neighborhoods.

Bee staff writer Kevin Valine can be reached at kvaline@modbee.com or (209) 578-2316.