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Americans For Prosperity – Oregon
AFP Pension Reform TV Ad Focuses on DMV Official Whose Agency Cost Taxpayers $70 Million in Cost Overruns for Computer System that Couldn’t Be Used
Sublimity – With States across America reforming the way government employees are compensated, AFP-Oregon today continued its ten-week television ad project to educate Oregonians about problems with the State’s Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) and to urge reform of the system during the 2011 Legislative Session. The series will highlight some of the public officials who have cost taxpayers millions in cost overruns on public projects or lawsuit settlements, or have been accused of self-dealing, and are now eligible for generous pensions – all financed by the hard-working families of Oregon. Viewers are encouraged to visit this website [2] to learn more, and to contact their Legislators to demand reform of the troubled retirement system.
The fourth ad in this series, which begins running today, features former State Legislator Jane Cease. Cease had served 13 years in the State Legislature when she was appointed to run the State’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). During her tenure, Cease approved spending more than $70 million in cost overruns on a new computer system for the Agency. The system never worked [3], and the cost ballooned from an original $50 million price tag to $123 million, and was eventually scrapped – a total loss for taxpayers [4]. Despite this epic failure, Cease requested and was given another high-paying government job [5]. Under Oregon law, Ms. Cease’s 13 years in the Legislature will be credited as though she were paid at her highest three-year government salary during that time.
“Taxpayers in our state are struggling under a growing burden from PERS,” noted AFP-Oregon State Director Jeff Kropf. “For too long, the Legislature and the Governor have failed to act to curb double-dipping and self-dealing. It’s time for strong action that will remove Legislators, the Governor and Oregon Judges from PERS, and require all government employees to pay at least 6 percent of their salaries into their ownretirement plans. Without these and other steps, PERS will continue to be an albatross around the neck of Oregon’s private sector.”
The AFP-Oregon [2] ads are running in media markets across the State.