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03-19-2012 Police Pension Board of Trustees Minutes - Quarterly Meeting March 19, 2012 Page 1 of 5 CITY OF EDGEWATER POLICE OFFICERS' PENSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES QUARTERLY MEETING MINUTES Monday, March 19, 2012 CALL TO ORDER/ ROLL CALL/DETERMINATION OF A QUORUM The Edgewater Police Officers' Pension Board held its quarterly meeting on Monday, March 19, 2012 in the City Hall Conference Room at the City of Edgewater, Florida. Members Present: John Tarr Vincent McCauley Lawrence Leaf Ferd Heeb Chad Anderson Members Absent: None Plan Attorney: H. Lee Dehner Plan Administrator: Sheila Hutcheson Consultant: Jack Evatt, The Bogdahn Group Plan Actuary: Doug Lozen, Foster & Foster City Staff: Donna Looney, Personnel Director Tracey Barlow, City Manager Plan Retiree: Gary Conroy Secretary Anderson called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. There was a quorum with all members present. The Board welcomed new Trustee John Tarr. Election of Officers Nominations were taken for each position, as follows: Chairman - Member Heeb nominated Chad Anderson. Secretary - Member Heeb nominated John Tarr There were no other nominations. Accordingly, the new officers are: Chairman Chad Anderson and Secretary John Tarr. The Administrator will distribute a new Board Member list including this information. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Quarterly Meeting - December 12, 2011 Member Tarr made a motion to approve the minutes of the December 12, 2011 quarterly meeting; Member Leaf seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. NEW BUSINESS - None Police Pension Board of Trustees Minutes - Quarterly Meeting March 19, 2012 Page 2 of 5 OLD BUSINESS Discussion/Action: Draft Amendments to the Education section of the Personnel Policy Manual; presentation of proposed policy As far as expenses being handled, Chairman Anderson said that he prefers that the Board have a separate policy from the City's policy. Member Heeb said he does not recommend a frequency of attendance at training that exceeds that mandated by Statute. He noted that he is less concerned about the method of expense payments than about the frequency of attending conferences. Member Tarr expressed his agreement with Chairman Anderson that the Board should specify education attendance. He said that the Board should comply with the Florida statutory provisions in this regard until a procedure is approved by the Board. The Plan Administrator advised that the City policy does not supersede the Board's right to solely authorize attendance with no City approval required. Ms. Hutcheson and Attorney Dehner said expenses can be handled through the Plan Administrator/Principal for payment. The Board's consensus was to rely on the Statute as far as frequency of education but allow reimbursements not restricted to City guidelines. Absent its own policy, the Board is automatically subject to the Statute. The Board can state that the Plan will pay reasonable expenses related to education and associated travel. Attorney Dehner pointed out that this policy is typically included in the Board's Rules Manual, which has been considered in the past but not yet adopted. The Board will review the Rules Manual at the next quarterly meeting. Member Tarr made a motion to continue its current travel and education policies; Member Leaf seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The Plan Administrator advised the Board that the American Express credit card has been canceled, so she will process expense payments through Principal, not through the City; the Board concurred. Consideration of budget for administrative expenses for FY11 /12 Member Heeb reviewed and summarized that the reason for this effort was to monitor the Plan's administrative expenses on an ongoing basis, updated each quarter by the Administrator. Member Heeb made a motion to adopt the expense detail provided by the Administrator (updated to include Ms. Hutcheson's current fees); Member Tarr seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. REPORTS (ATTORNEY /CONSULTANTS) Doug Lozen, Foster& Foster (F &F), Actuary Presentation: October 1, 2011 Actuarial Valuation Mr. Lozen opened the review of the 2011 valuation (on IPad's he issued to the Board), noting that for the year ending September 30, 2012, the City's funding requirement is 42.0% (550,000, compared to about $548,000 for the year ending September 30, 2011) and for the year ending September 30, 2013, the City's cost will be 52.0% (about $700,000). The City has used a portion of the excess contribution, but there is about $385,000 remaining that the City can use whenever it wants to help defray its pension costs. He discussed the mechanics of the funding requirements and when the costs will level off. Member Heeb asked how the City's cost for our Plan compares to that of other Plans; Mr. Lozen said it is somewhat high but a number of factors have to be considered. For example, for the past four Police Pension Board of Trustees Minutes - Quarterly Meeting March 19, 2012 Page 3 of 5 years, the average salary has decreased which is not the case with many Police plans. The funding requirement for our plan has increased a lot in the last four years, as it has for many Police/Fire plans. Member Heeb made a motion to approve the 2011 Valuation; Member Tarr seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Declaration of returns The Attorney explained the statutory requirement that the Board declare the expected returns based on advice from its investment consultants in conjunction with the valuation. In this regard, Jack Evatt, Performance Consultant with The Bogdahn Group, was asked to provide his recommendation, which was that it is reasonable that the 7.5% actuarial assumption will be reached in the next year, over the next several years, and over the long term. Member Heeb made a motion to accept the consultant's recommendation for the declaration of returns: that the 7. 5% actuarial assumption will be reached in the next year, over the next several years, and over the long term thereafter; Member Tarr seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The Administrator said she had the letter in this regard for execution and distribution to the State Division of Retirement, City Manager, and Actuary. The Bogdahn Group, Performance Consultant - Quarterly report - December 31, 2011 Jack Evatt opened by discussing the market environment for the quarter, as outlined in the report he distributed to the Board. He then discussed the performance for the quarter: 6.27% which out- performed the index. The fund's assets were $7,561,734 as of December 31, 2011, compared to $7,299,113 on September 30, 2011. The fund was at +$8million as of the end of February. Discussion: investment options with Principal; rebalancing of assets Mr. Evatt distributed information on current investments and recommended investment options with Principal, as follows: Asset Allocation Changes Asset Class Current Weight Proposed Target Proposed Weight Domestic Equity 42.8% 45.0% 45.0% International Equity 9.6% 15.0% 15.0% Domestic Fixed Income 43.7% 35.0% 36.1 % Real Estate 3.9% 5.0% 3.9% Contribution Changes Asset Class Current Weight Proposed Weight Domestic Equity 31.6% 45.0% Intemational Equity 8.4% 15.0% Domestic Fixed Income 60.0% 40.0% Real Estate 0.0% 0.0% He discussed both the reallocation of the current fund and the allocation of future contributions. The change in some of the investments should result in positive performance in relation to the benchmarks, by reducing the fixed income exposure and increasing the equity investments. Mr. Evatt detailed the information and his recommendations for change. Mr. Evatt pointed out that the allocation is for a Police Pension Board of Trustees Minutes - Quarterly Meeting March 19, 2012 Page 4 of 5 long - term investment strategy, not just looking at the current environment. The Bogdahn Group recommends a 60 %/40% allocation in stocks and fixed income investments, respectively. Chairman Anderson made a motion to rebalance the portfolio in accordance with the recommendations from The Bogdahn Group dated March 19, 2012; Member McCauley seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. H. Lee Dehner, Plan Attorney Legislative update Mr. Dehner reported that the legislative session adjourned March 9, 2012 and there was no pension legislation that would affect our Plan. He reminded the Trustees to file their annual Financial Disclosure Forms by July 1. 2012; the Administrator will email the form to the Board. The Attorney recommended that Trustees either hand - deliver the forms to the Supervisor of Elections Office in Volusia County or mail it with a return receipt requested to document that it was timely filed. Status Report - Issues with Principal Attorney Dehner summarized relevant information for the Board regarding the issues with Principal and the status of settlement negotiations in this regard. He will keep the Board apprised of the status of negotiations. Sheila Hutcheson, Plan Administrator Ms. Hutcheson reported the following items: • Appointment of fifth member, Larry Leaf (for a term until March 17, 2014) Member Heeb made a motion to appoint Larry Leaf as the fifth member for a term until March 17, 2014; Member McCauley seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. The Administrator will forward the appointment to the City Clerk for submittal to the City Council for their ratification as a ministerial duty. • Elected Trustee Chad Anderson's term ends on June 5, 2012 - a notice and election will be coordinated • Tax withholding on after -tax member refunds in conjunction with retirement The Administrator reported that Principal continues its inconsistency in withholding tax from refunds of member contributions to retirees who elect the refund with a correspondingly lower monthly retirement benefit. This is reported for the Board's information. We do not recommend that the Board specify a position, as we are not tax professionals. It may be appropriate when the plan is separated from Principal to eliminate this option and have a PLOP instead, which does not involve the tax issues. Ms. Hutcheson also reported that she has advised two former employees that they are ineligible to apply for disability as they are no longer active members of the Plan. Police Pension Board of Trustees Minutes - Quarterly Meeting March 19, 2012 Page 5 of 5 PROCESSED DISBURSEMENTS/RETURN OF CONTRIBUTIONS and DEPOSITS • DISBURSEMENTS 1. Christiansen & Dehner, professional legal fees - $1,058.16, $270.40 2. Sheila Hutcheson, plan administration fees - $4,500.00 ($1500 /month); mileage expense - $11.00 3. The Bogdahn Group, performance consultant fees, 4 quarter, 2011 - $3,625.00 4. FPPTA membership dues, 2012 - $600.00 5. Per Diem/mileage expenses for Larry Leaf for FPPTA Trustees School (Feb. 5 -8, 2012) - registration: $450.00; lodging: $537.00; per diem: $86.00; mileage: $120.99; hotel surcharge: $5.37; parking: $45.00 6. FPPTA 2011 recertification fee - Trustee Larry Leaf - $30.00 7. Principal, GASB 40 statement - $150.00 (deducted from assets) 8. Foster & Foster, actuarial services - $19,611.00 DEPOSITS 1. American Express credit refund - $11.25; credit adjustment for fee paid upon card cancellation - $10.00 (deposited by Mr. Conroy but City cannot document for deposit to pension fund) Member Anderson made a motion to approve the processed disbursements /return of contributions and deposits; Member Tarr seconded the motion, which passed unanimously, upon a roll call vote. STAFF REPORTS, DISCUSSION, and ACTION/TRUSTEES' REPORTS, DISCUSSION and ACTION; REQUESTS FROM THE PUBLIC/EMPLOYEES PRESENT Member Heeb asked Attorney Dehner to address records retention by individual Board members; Mr. Dehner said that the retention of records is only for the records of the Board in its entirety and this is handled by the Administrator. Individual Trustees do not have to retain Plan records they may have. ADJOURNMENT There was no further business, and the Chairman adjourned the meeting at 3:43 p. m. Respectfully Submitted: Approved: Sheila Hutcheson 41-1't., Chairman Plan Administrator