THE 
WEBB-MARTIN GROUP 
THE 
WEBB-MARTIN GROUP 
SATURDAY, APRIL 24, 2021 
broker lic. #01514230 | source: CoreLogic, Freddie Mac, Bankrate 

SPREAD THE WORD! 

YOU CAN SAVE BIG $$ 

ON PROPERTY TAXES 

55+ 


When Proposition 19 went into full effect on 
April 1st, California homeowners aged 55+, severely 
disabled Or victims of wildfire or natural disaster 
are now able to move... 

Anywhere in California 

To any home, regardless of price* 

Up to three times 

Without incurring a property tax hike!* 

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For more information, visit prop19.car.org 

The information contained here is intended to provide general 
information and is not intended as a substitute for individual legal advice. 
Consult a qualified real estate or estate planning attorney with questions 
pertaining to a specific situation. 

*Purchasing a more expensive replacement property will result in an 
adjusted property tax increase based on the original Prop 13 tax basis. 

SOLD $187,000 OVER LIST PRICE 
AT $1,337,500 IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS 

446 Theresa Lane 3 Beds | 2 Baths | 1,700 sf 
Sierra Madre, 91024 446TheresaLane.com 


Your Story. Your Home. Your Team. 

Together Stronger. 

Jan Greteman 626.975.4033 

jan@jangreteman.com 
jangreteman.com #01943630 

Judy Webb-Martin 626.688.2273 

jwmartin@dppre.com #00541631 

Katie Orth 626.688.0418 

korth@dppre.com #00942500 

We are active and doing business 
safely and successfully. Call us today 
if you are looking to buy or sell! 
We're still here for you! We can 
show you homes and meet with you 
over video. 

PAYING IT FORWARD: 

SIERRA MADRE TO PREPAY 
$1.5 MILLION TO CALPERS TO 
REDUCE PENSION COSTS 

Over the past few years, the City of Sierra Madre has seen pension 
costs rise and, as a result, has been in search of viable options to help 
stabilize and reduce them, while protecting future benefits for past, 
present and future employees. 

In a presentation to the Council during the regular meeting on 
April 13, Hillary Guirola-Leon, Finance Director, and Sophia 
Kownatzki, Management Analyst, summarized their recommended 
plan of making an Unfunded Accrued Liability (UAL) prepayment 
to CalPERS in the amount of $1.5 million. This prepayment plan is 
estimated to result in an 88.1% funded ratio for the Miscellaneous 
Plan and 88.9% in Safety, while generating savings in an estimated 
amount of $1.9 million. 

As of June 30, 2019, the CalPERS valuation indicates the miscellaneous 
plan is funded at 79.6% and the Safety plan is funded at 83.4%. The 
total UAL across all pension plans is $10,064,397. This valuation does 
not include current year returns. The most recent returns reported byCalPERS for FY 2019-2020 were 4.7%, which is substantially less than 
the 7% return target established by CalPERS. In total, Sierra Madre’s 
liability increased by approximately $600,000 due to returns that were 
so far below the projection by CalPERS. 

In addition to the prepayment option, the City Council will establish 
a trust fund under California Employers’ Pension Prefunding Trust 
(CEPPT). The Section 115 fund is expected to grow assets for future 
pension contributions and create a contingency reserve for those 
future payments.
Back on July 24, 2018, City Council authorized the creation of the 
Section 115 trust fund. This fund, when created, would allow the City 

This move will protect the pensions of city employees who work 

hard taking care of Sierra Madre without adding any financial 

burdens on the city. 

to invest assets to fund future pensions and Other Post-Employment 
Benefits’ (OPEB) contributions over a shorter period than a regular 
pension fund. There is also a chance for better yields than other 
alternatives, such as the Local Agency Investment Fund. 

Staff found that CalPERS provided the most cost-effective option 
providing the City with the best value. The CEPPT plan is a self-
funding, not-for-profit trust in which employers pay for all expenses 
through a participation fee equivalent to $2,500 for each $1 million 
in managed assets. In addition, the CEPPT option does not have a 
minimum contribution or required annual contribution amount, 
though it recommends a contribution of $500,000, which City Council 
agreed to pay for a one-time fee. Furthermore, the agreement includes 
annual funding of up to $100,000 for the next five fiscal years. 

The CEPPT option is also a less risky option and less expensive than 
the PARS Pension Rate Stabilization Program that was also considered. 

“The plan that we have been doing has been great,” said Council 
Member Edward Garcia. “We are in a position unlike and municipalityin our area. I want our community to rest assured that this plan is a 
good plan, the way we’ve been paying this down. We are not askingfor debt like some of our neighboring communities. We are doing it in 
a responsible manner thanks to our city management,” Garcia stated. 

The $1.5M additional prepayment will be funded as follows: 

General Fund: $1,150,000

Water fund: $140,000

Sewer Fund: $112,000

ISF Personnel and Risk: $98,000.
The $500,000 initial funding of CEPPT will be funding as follows: 

General Fund: $425,000

Water fund: $30,000

Sewer Fund: $24,000

ISF Personnel and Risk: $21,000Total All Funds 

General Fund: $1,575,000

Water Fund: $ 170,000

Sewer Fund: $ 136,000

ISF Personnel and Risk: $ 119,000. 

Despite the extra prepayment of $1.5 million, the city is expected to 
end the year with a budget surplus. 

The motion to make the prepayment and join CEPPT carried 
unanimously and with broad enthusiasm from Council Members. 
Congratulations were given to the city's finance staff and the CityManager for their excellent management of the city's finances. 

Copies of the report can be accessed on the City’s website at 

www.cityofsierramadre.com. 

Kevin McGuire/MVNews 

VOLUME 15 NO. 17 

SIERRA MADRE REOPENING EXCITED 
MORE THAN JUST THE RESIDENTS 

Mayor Rachelle Arizmendi wasn't the only one excited about city 
services reopening on Monday. Rexy might have been the first 
one to bring her book to the counter for check out. Library hours 
for the public are now Monday - Thursday 11:00 am - 6:00 pm;
Saturday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The library is closed on Sunday. 
(Note: Rexy, like the Mayor is wearing a mask which is required, 
but she had to move it in order to check out!) 

USE OF JOHNSON & JOHNSON 
VACCINE TO RESUME IN 
LOS ANGELES COUNTY 

After a thorough safety review by 
the Food and Drug Administration 
(FDA) and the Centers for Disease 
Control and Prevention (CDC), 
they determined that the pause in 
the use of the Janssen (Johnson 
& Johnson) vaccine can be lifted 
and that use of the vaccine should 
resume. Vaccine providers in LA 
County with doses of the Janssen 
vaccine can resume administration 
of the vaccine tomorrow, provided 
they distribute the updated Janssen 
fact sheets to any recipients of 
the vaccine. Public Health will be 
posting updated safety information 
about the Janssen vaccine shortly.

As for the City of Sierra Madre,
According to City Manager Gabe 
Engeland says, "Sierra Madre will 
work with the county to try to get 
more vaccination clinics scheduled". 

The decision comes after CDC’s independent 
Advisory Committee on 
Immunization Practices reviewed 

data related to the recent reports 
of a rare and severe type of blood 
clot that occurred in individuals 
after receiving the vaccine. Based 
on their review of all available data,
both the CDC and the FDA determined 
that the vaccine is safe and 
effective in preventing COVID-19. 
We are grateful to the scientists and 
clinicians conducting this thorough 
review and are confident movingforward in distributing and administering 
the vaccine. 

The three vaccines that are currently 
available through the FDA’s EmergencyUse Authorization (EUA) remain the 
most powerful tools we have in reducing 
transmission, preventing serious illness 
and death, and eventually ending the 
COVID-19 pandemic that has claimed 
the lives of almost 24,000 people in LA 
County. We encourage anyone eligible to 
make an appointment as soon as they can 
by visiting www.VaccinateLACounty.com 
(English) and www.VacunateLosAngeles.
com (Spanish). 

Walter Cailleteau, DVM

 Free Exam! 

927 N. Michillinda Ave.

 For New Clients

 Bring this coupon to save!

Pasadena, CA 91107

(626) 351-8863