Following in the footsteps of recent votes to curtail public pension programs in both San Diego and San Jose, Calif., Los Angeles' mayor says he too may be interested in taking the issues to voters in the coming year.

According to Reuters, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told the U.S. Conference of Mayors Thursday that he's made the proposal to L.A.'s city council and that if they can't handle the issue, it will go on a ballot next year.

Villaraigosa's plans include raising the retirement age for workers to 67 and capping pensions at 75 percent of employees' working salaries, as well as dropping the cost-of-living adjustments on existing pensions.

Not all of California's mayors are on the same page on the pension reform issue. John Marchand, mayor of Bay Area community Livermore, told Reuters that he felt his city and its unions could settle their problems without a public vote.

"That's a little heavy handed," Marchand said. "We prefer to work it out with our employees. We all understand something needs to be done."

Read the full story here.

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L.A. mayor ponders referendum on pension reform

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