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08/31/1992 TRUSTEES OF THE EMPLOYEES' PENSION FUND MEETING August 31, 1992 The City Commission, meeting as the Board of Trustees of the Employees Pension Fund, met in regular session at City Hall, Monday, August 31, 1992 at 9:10 A.M., with the following members present: Rita Garvey Chairperson Lee Regulski Trustee Richard Fitzgerald Trustee Sue Berfield Trustee Arthur X. Deegan, II Trustee Also Present were: Michael J. Wright City Manager Milton A. Galbraith, Jr. City Attorney Cynthia E. Goudeau City Clerk ITEM #2 - Minutes: Trustee Berfield moved to approve the minutes of the August 10, 1992, meeting. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #3 - Request for Acceptance into Membership: The City Manager presented the recommendation of the Pension Advisory Committee to approve membership for the employee(s) listed below: a) Gordon Jerrell b) Holly Bradley c) Donald Ford d) Sean Maloney Trustee Fitzgerald moved to accept the recommendation of the Pension Advisory Committee. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Item #4 - Request of Edwooth Boles to return pension contributions to the Employees Pension Plan Edwooth Boles was employed by the City on August 20, 1984. He suffered an on-the-job injury on August 1, 1988, and did not return to work after this injury. On September 24, 1991, he was terminated by the City due to his inability to work. That inability to work was the result of the injury. At the time Mr. Boles was terminated, he did not request a return of his pension contributions. In June, 1992, he went to the Payroll Office to check on an issue other than pension and was advised by someone in the office that if he had not come to the office "the money would have eventually been sent to some sort of unclaimed money account managed by the state". Mr. Boles was advised to withdraw his monies based on the information he received from this individual. He withdrew his money several days later. Thereafter, Mr. Boles found out he was not required to withdraw his contributions. On July 21, 1992, Mr. Boles wrote a letter to H. M. Laursen, Human Resources Director, explaining this situation and asking that he be allowed to return his monies to the plan. Mr. Laursen advised Mr. Boles that this matter would be brought before the PAC for its recommendation. At the regular meeting of the PAC held on August 5, 1992, the Committee discussed Mr. Boles' request. Mr. Laursen advised the Committee he had spoken to Mr. Boles on several occasions and was advised Mr. Boles is considering filing for a job-connected disability pension based on his injury that occurred in 1988. It was reported at the meeting that Leo Schrader, Risk Manager, had tried several times to contact Mr. Boles to suggest to him that he start the process for applying for a disability pension but was unable to reach him. If Mr. Boles is not permitted to return his contributions, he would not be eligible to apply for such a pension. At the conclusion of its discussion, the PAC members agreed Mr. Boles should not suffer because of the erroneous information. The Committee moved to allow Mr. Boles to return his pension contributions to the plan within 30 days of approval of this request by the Trustees. Concerns were expressed that the procedures for withdrawal of pension funds do not provide for approval by reviewing parties or counseling of the former employee regarding their options in connection to their pension funds. Mr. Laursen explained that this case had been ongoing for a number of years and there were several attempts to get Mr. Boles to apply for a disability pension and to counsel him. Trustee Regulski moved to approve the recommendation of the Pension Advisory Committee to allow Edwooth Boles to return his pension contributions to the Employees' Pension Plan within 30 days of today's date. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Discussion resumed regarding standard procedures for terminating employees removing their pension funds. Mr. Laursen indicated all information is verified and the employee's options are reviewed with them. He felt Mr. Boles circumstances were unusual as his case had been ongoing for a number of years and communications with Mr. Boles had been difficult. ITEM #5 - Other Business: None. ITEM #6 - Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 9:29 a.m.