09-14-2015 CITY OF EDGEWATER
FIREFIGHTERS' PENSION BOARD
QUARTERLY MEETING MINUTES
City Hall Conference Room
Monday September 14, 2015, at 5:OOPM
TRUSTEES PRESENT: Dominick Fede
Justin Nickels
Scott Hopkins
TRUSTEES ABSENT: Gary Butt
OTHERS PRESENT: Ferrell Jenne, Foster &Foster
Ken Harrison, Sugarman &Susskind
John Thinnes, The Bogdahn Group
1. Call to Order Dominick Fede called the meeting to order at 5:OOPM.
2. Roll Call As reflected above.
3. Public Comments None.
4. Approval of Minutes
The minutes from the June 15 2015 quarterly meeting were approved upon motion by
Justin Nickels and second by Scott Hopkins motion carried 3-0.
5. New Business
a. Ferrell Jenne informed the board that Scott Hopkins was reappointed to another
two year term by City Council.
b. Election of Offices.
i. Ferrell Jenne informed the board that according to the operating rules &
procedures, elections need to be done annually. The last election was
held on June 16, 2014.
Justin Nickels nominated Dominick Fede for Chairman second by Scott Hopkins, motion
carried 3-0.
Scott Hopkins nominated Justin Nickels for Secretary, second by Dominick Fede, motion
carried 3-0.
c. Discussion of cashing in lump sums for DROP participants.
i. Ken Harrison stated that not all hours accrued should be considered
pensionable. For example, if a member had 300 hours on the books and
held 100 hours to be used while in the DROP, only 200 hours would be
considered pensionable. The board agreed with this interpretation.
d. Discussion of adding the option to finance prior service or military time.
i. Ken Harrison reviewed the option to finance prior service or military time
and provided sample language from other plans. Dominick Fede stated
he would take the sample language to the Union. The board decided to
table the discussion until the next meeting so they had time to review.
e. Discussion of IRC Section 415 limits on DROP.
i. Ken Harrison briefly reviewed his letter to the board, dated July 17, 2015,
which stated that the IRC Section 415 limits would have no impact on the
plan.
f. Globe Tax documents from Salem Trust.
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i. Ferrell Jenne stated she had confirmed with Salem Trust that no fees
would be assessed by their firm in conjunction with the plan's
participation in Globe Tax.
ii. Ferrell Jenne directed the board to forms in the agenda packet requiring
their execution. Ken Harrison stated he had reviewed the documents and
was fine with the board signing them.
The board voted to authorize Dominick Fede's execution of Form 8802 upon motion by
Scott Hopkins and second by Justin Nickels, motion carried 3-0.
6. Old Business
a. Update on IRS Determination Letter.
i. Ken Harrison informed the board he had filed the application and was
waiting to hear back from the IRS.
7. Reports
a. The Bogdahn Group, John Thinnes, Investment Consultant.
i. Quarterly Report as of June 30, 2015.
1. John Thinnes briefly reviewed historical market pullbacks and the
market environment during the quarter.
2. Current market value of the fund was approximately $10.6M.
3. Net earnings for the quarter were-0.34%, outperforming the policy
benchmark of-0.50% by 0.16%.
4. FYTD earnings were 5.48%, outperforming the benchmark of 4.34%
by 1.14%.
5. Since inception (12/1/2001) net earnings were 5.37%,
underperforming the policy benchmark of 6.46% by-1.09%.
6. Justin Nickels asked John Thinnes about his opinion of Bowen
Hanes and their investing style. John Thinnes stated he liked
Bowen Hanes and the board needed to be comfortable being 70%
invested in equities, understanding it adds more risk to the portfolio.
7. John Thinnes commented that other plans similar to the Edgewater
Fire Plan, have investments in real estate and have a dedicated
international manager.
8. John Thinnes recommended having a discussion in the future on
asset classes and managers for informational purposes.
9. Ken Harrison asked about rebalancing. John Thinnes stated no
rebalancing needed to be done at this time.
10. John Thinnes briefly reviewed the compliance check list.
b. Sugarman Susskind, Ken Harrison, Board Attorney.
i. Legislative Update.
1. House Bill 1309 mandates all local law plans to utilize the FRS
mortality tables, effective January 1, 2016. The new mortality table
will be incorporated into the October 1, 2016 valuation report and
since this table is more conservative, it will most likely have a
funding impact on the plan.
2. Senate Bill 172 deals with the allocation of excess State Monies.
Per statutory provision an attempt should be made to reach an
agreement of allocations between the sponsor and the plan. If there
is no agreement, 50%will go to the City and 50% to the pension
fund. The share plan needs to be amended into the Ordinance by
October 1, 2015 or the expiration of the CBA agreement. A
proposed budget for fiscal year 2015-2016 must be presented and
approved.
ii. Presentation of proposed fiscal year 2015-2016 budget.
1. Ferrell Jenne described how the proposed budget amounts were
derived. The board directed Ferrell to increase the
school/travel/dues budget amount to $5,000, the miscellaneous
budget amount to$1,500, and add an expenditure line for the IRS
determination letter in the amount of$11,000. John Thinnes also
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requested that the investment consultant budget amount be
increased to $17,500 to allow for possible future fee increases.
The board voted to approve the proposed budget for fiscal year 2015-2016 with discussed
amendments upon motion by Justin Nickels second by Scott Hopkins, motion carried 3-0.
8. Consent Agenda
The board voted to approve the consent agenda as presented upon motion by Justin
Nickels and second by Scott Hopkins, motion carried 3-0.
9. Staff Reports, Discussion, and Action
a. Fiduciary liability insurance policy.
i. Ferrell Jenne presented the board with the fiduciary liability insurance
policy for review.
The board voted to approve binding the fiduciary liability policy as presented upon motion
by Scott Hopkins and second by Justin Nickels, motion carried 3-0.
b. State Annual Report.
i. Ferrell Jenne informed the board that the State Report was approved on
June 25, 2015 and briefly reviewed the historical State Monies amounts.
The plan received approximately$1,800 more than last year's allocation.
c. Educational opportunity.
i. Ferrell Jenne informed the board that the State conference is in
Kissimmee, FL from November 17-19, 2015.
d. 2016 Meeting dates.
i. Ferrell Jenne presented the proposed 2016 meeting dates for the
board's review. March 14th, June 13th, September 19th, and December
12th
The board voted to approve the 2016 meeting dates as presented upon motion by Scott
Hopkins and second by Justin Nickels, motion carried 3-0.
10. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 6:31 PM.
11. Next Meeting Monday December 14, 2015 at 5:OOPM.
Rwillpectfully su mitted by: Approved by:
F rre Jenne, la AdministratorDominick Fede, Chairman
Date Approved By the Pension Board: � L-1 1 10)1Q 115
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