Vallejo List Largest Claims

Vallejo, which filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in May, filed a list of its 20 largest unsecured retiree health-care benefit claims this week.

Unfunded retiree health care promises were the city’s biggest debt — $135.4 million — at the time of its last actuarial study in January 2007.

The city has commissioned a new report so that it will be able to give the court a clearer picture of its current unfunded retiree health benefit liability.

The filing late last week showed that Vallejo owed $853,500 in health benefits to a single retired police officer, Richard Sarro. It also owed more than $500,000 to 10 different retirees.

Vallejo had to disclose the list of its biggest retiree health liabilities because the city and its unions disagree over who should represent the retirees in bankruptcy court.

The city’s unions asked Judge Michael McManus to appoint them to represent retirees, but McManus declined the request, saying that current and retired employees may have conflicting interests in the case and that retirees had not been polled to find out whom they wanted to represent them.

In its bankruptcy filing, Vallejo listed the California Public Employees’ Retirement System as the creditor for retiree pension and health care claims, but CalPERS told the court that the retirees, not the pension fund, are the city’s creditors.

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