09-16-2019CITY OF EDGEWATER
FIREFIGHTERS' PENSION BOARD
QUARTERLY MEETING MINUTES
City Hall Council Chambers
Monday, September 16, 2019 at 4:OOPM
TRUSTEES PRESENT: Herb Epstein
Justin Nickels
David Blair
Ron Hayward
TRUSTEES ABSENT: Richard D. Calabrese Sr.
OTHERS PRESENT: Ken Harrison, Sugarman & Susskind
John Thinnes, AndCo Consulting
David Kelly, Bowen Hanes and Company
Michelle Rodriguez, Foster & Foster
1. Call to Order — Justin Nickels called the meeting to order at 3:59pm.
2. Roll Call — As reflected above.
3. Public Comments — None.
4. Approval of Minutes
The June 10, 2019 quarterly meeting minutes were approved, upon motion by Herb Epstein and
second by Ron Hayward; motion carried 4-0.
5. New Business
a. New City Appointed Trustee
L Michelle Rodriguez notified the board Richard Calabrese's council appointed term
expired on October 02, 2019, and he had decided to not serve another term.
Michelle advised the board she had notified the City Clerk and asked to have
anyone interested in serving on the board to contact her for information.
b. Secretary Election
i. Herb Epstein was nominated as Secretary and accepted the nomination. The
board agreed by consensus that Herb Epstein should serve as Secretary.
c. Proposed Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget
i. Michelle Rodriguez reviewed the budget requirement under SB 172. Ken Harrison
commented the [ME fee category was increased in anticipation of any disability
retirement applications. Ken Harrison advised the board there were no auditor
fees listed because the City's Auditor conducts the pension board audits. The
board discussed increasing the Fiduciary Liability Policy to $6,000. Ken Harrison
encouraged the trustees to attend schools and conferences and recommended
increasing the school, travel and dues category to $15,000.
The board approved the 2019-2020 proposed budget with recommended changes, upon motion by
David Blair and second by Herb Epstein, motion carried 4-0.
6. Old Business
a. Justin Nickels asked Ken Harrison if he had heard anything about the 300 Hour Overtime
decision from the Attorney General. Ken stated he had heard the Attorney General did not
intend to respond and that he made contact with the City last week and was told they had
not heard anything either. Justin Nickels asked for Ken to follow up on the issue.
Reports
a. Bowen Hanes Investment, David Kelly, Investment Manager
i. Investment Summary, June 30, 2019
1. David Kelly reviewed the current portfolio's performance over the last
quarter.
2. The market value of the fund was $15,204,409 as of September 12, 2019.
Fiscal year-to-date earnings were 4.7%. David Kelly commented bonds
were the big winners in the current market climate.
3. David Kelly reviewed the annualized returns over the last ten years and
commented the plan's portfolio consistently experienced higher returns
than the Florida Retirement System and Investment Metric's Public Plan
Database.
The board accepted the quarterly report as presented, upon motion by Herb Epstein and second by
David Blair: motion carried 4-0.
AndCo, John Thinnes, Investment Consultant
i. June 30, 2019, Quarterly Report
1. John Thinnes reviewed the current market environment and commented
the global economy is slowing down and the Federal Reserve is cutting
interest rates. John stated although this portfolio had more equity than
most of its peers, he was comfortable with the mix since the returns had
been so good. John added this was a great quarter and the plan was in
the second percentile among its peers. John warned the board the plan's
performance might trail the benchmark over the next quarter.
2. The market value assets as of June 30, 2019, were $10,944,998.
3. The quarter -to -date total fund net performance was 4.03%, outperforming
the policy benchmark of 3.84%. The 1, 3, and 5 -year trailing returns were
9.05°/x, 10.61°/x, and 7.00%, respectively. Since inception (1211101), the
net return was 5.85%, underperforming the benchmark of 6.77°/x.
The board voted to approve the AndCo report as presented, upon motion by David Blair and second
by Herb Epstein, motion carried 4-0.
John Thinnes commented that the State recommended investment consultants
charge a flat fee and since there had not been a fee increase for the last three
years, he was asking for one now. He stated he would bring a written proposal to
the next meeting for the board to review.
Sugarman & Susskind, Ken Harrison, Board Attorney
L Cancer Presumption Bill
1. Ken Harrison reviewed the summary of the amendment to Section
112.1816, Florida Statues. Ken commented there were 21 different types
of cancers that were now presumed to be duty related. Ken explained
there was a $25,000 one-time payout that was provided by the employer,
not the pension board. The disability application process would remain
the same. Justin Nickels would like to distribute the memo to the
membership. Justin asked Ken for his interpretation of the provision that
mentioned being employed in a position that had been proven to create a
higher risk of cancer. Ken commented in these types of applications, the
board would need to look at the applicant's employment history over the
last five years. Since the bill also required five years of employment as a
firefighter, this might be a moot point. Ken commented this bill was
effective July 1, 2019. Herb Epstein commented the State would have a
seminar regarding these new disability provisions. The board discussed
the possibility of someone who opted out of the plan, such as a chief,
being covered under the provision. Ken commented if they were already
receiving a pension with this plan, there would be no other benefits
payable from this pension plan.
2, Ken Harrison reviewed the proposed Ordinance that added language to
the existing disability Ordinance, stating the plan would comply with the
State bill. Ken advised the board the actuary would provide an impact
statement before it was sent to the City for adoption.
The board approved the proposed Ordinance as presented, upon motion by Herb Epstein and
second by David Blair; motion carried 4-0.
ii. Disability Retirement Presentation
1. Ken Harrison provided an educational session on disability retirement
applications and procedures.
iii. Disability Retirement Procedure
1. Ken Harrison reviewed the proposed disability procedure. The board
asked him to change "annually review" to "periodically review." Ron
Hayward asked what the benefit was for a PTSD -related disability and Ken
said all service -related disability retirements were a minimum of 42% of
salary.
The board voted to approve the proposed disability application procedure with discussed changes,
upon motion by David Blair and second bV Herb Epstein', motion carried 4-0.
iv. Disability Forms
1. Ken Harrison reviewed the proposed disability retirement application
forms. Justin Nickels asked if PTSD was an injury or an illness. Ken
commented some applications had more than one illness and the
application tried to determine which one was the disabling one. Justin
asked if Ken had a summary of the PTSD bill as well. Ken stated he would
see if they had one, and, if not, he would provide one. David Blair asked
that "Police Officer" be changed to `Firefighter" throughout the documents,
The board adopted the disability application forms to include the discussed changes, upon motion
by Herb Epstein and second by Ron Hayward: motion carried 4-0.
Justin Nickels advised Ken Harrison member pension contributions were not
correctly deducted from the last pay period. Justin commented the City gave the
firefighters 25 hours of overtime due to the sterm, but pensions were only taken
out of 90 hours instead of 106 regular hours. Justin wanted to make sure all of the
money due to the fund was being deposited and asked Ken Harrison if there was
any law that required pension contributions to be deducted correctly. Ken said the
actuary would need to verify the contributions were being deducted correctly.
Michelle Rodriguez advised the board the City only sent generic salary information
for the actuaries to use in calculations. Michelle commented the salaries were not
broken down into categories nor were the pension contributions listed, so there
was no way for the actuary to determine if the correct pension contribution was
deducted. Ken was not sure if they had the authority to request an audit of payroll
records. Justin explained when he realized not enough pension contributions were
taken out, he went to the finance director, who told him he had a credit because
he had reached his 300 Hour Overtime maximum, however no credits were shown
on his paystubs. Ken advised the administrator should request a breakdown of
one person's pay and if there was a discrepancy, more data should be requested.
Note: The board recessed at 6:19pm
Note: The board resumed of 6:22pm
8. Consent Aqenda
a. Payment ratification
i. Warrant #55, #56, # 57 and #58
b. Fund activity report for June 04, 2019 through September 09, 2019
The board voted to approve the consent agenda as presented, upon motion bV Richard Calabrese
and second bV Herb Epstein; motion carried 4-0.
Staff Reports, Discussion, and Action
a. Foster & Foster, Michelle Rodriguez, Plan Administrator
L Financial Disclosure Forms
1. Michelle Rodriguez confirmed that all trustees had filed the required
financial disclosure form.
J. Reimbursement Procedures
1. Michelle Rodriguez reviewed the travel reimbursement procedures with
the board and reminded them direct deposit was available to them.
iii. Update on State Monies
1. Michelle Rodriguez advised the board their allocation this year was
$154,258.24. Ron Hayward asked if the City took any of the money and
Ken Harrison stated no, the allocation went to the pension plan.
iv. Upcoming Educational Opportunities
1. Michelle Rodriguez reviewed upcoming educational opportunities
available to the board.
10. Trustees' Reports, Discussion, and Action — None.
11. Adjournment — Meeting adjourned at 6:82pm.
12. Next Meeting — December 09, 2019, at 4:OOpm.
Respectfully submitted by:
Michelle Rodriguez; Plan dry nistrr
Date Approved by the Pension Board
Approved by:
/P3ustm Nickels. Chairman
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