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08/10/1992 TRUSTEES OF THE EMPLOYEES' PENSION FUND MEETING August 10, 1992 The City Commission, meeting as the Board of Trustees of the Employees Pension Fund, met in regular session at City Hall, Monday, August 10, 1992 at 1:02 P.M., with the following members present: Richard Fitzgerald Trustee Lee Regulski Trustee Sue Berfield Trustee Arthur X. Deegan, II Trustee Absent: Rita Garvey Chairperson Also Present were: Michael J. Wright City Manager Milton A. Galbraith, Jr. City Attorney Cynthia E. Goudeau City Clerk ITEM #2 - Minutes: Trustee Regulski moved to approve the minutes of the July 13, 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) Margaret Schultz b) Dolores Schopper Trustee Regulski moved to accept the recommendation of the Pension Advisory Committee. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #4 - Request for Pension: The City Manager presented the recommendation of the Pension Advisory Committee that Josephine M. Robinson be granted a non-job-connected disability pension under Section 26.34 of the Employees' Pension Plan. Josephine M. Robinson was employed by the City on November 13, 1967 and began participating in the Pension Plan on that date. She suffers from ulcerative colitis which resulted in her application for a job-connected disability pension. Ms. Robinson had submitted letters from Dr. F. Byron Smitherman (dated 1/30/92) and Dr. Yael Y Ellis (dated 5/12/92) in support of her request for a job-connected disability pension. Ms. Robinson's disability pension was approved by the PAC at its meeting of June 24, 1992. This matter came before the Trustees of the Employees' Pension Fund on July 13, 1992. Upon consideration of this request, the Trustees determined the issue of job-relatedness was not sufficiently documented with a reasonable degree of medical certainty. Therefore, they remanded this to the PAC for consideration of a non-job-connected disability. At its meeting held on July 15, 1992, the PAC reconsidered the request of Ms. Robinson. Upon review of the medical documentation, the Committee unanimously moved to grant Ms. Robinson a non-job-connected disability pension with the provision that she may come back at a later time with additional information to support her claim that her condition is job-connected. Trustee Berfield moved to accept the recommendation of the Pension Advisory Committee. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #5 - Pension(s) to be Vested: The City Manager presented the recommendation of the Pension Advisory Committee that the employee(s) below be allowed to vest their pensions under the provisions of Section 26.49 of the Employees' Pension Plan. a) Warren H. Scott Mr. Scott was employed by the City on January 15, 1973 and has been a participant in the Pension Plan since his date of hire. He resigned from City employment effective July 19, 1992. As of his resignation in July, Mr. Scott will have 19 years and 6 months of service and pension participation. The Employees' Pension Plan provides that should an employee cease to be an employee of the City of Clearwater after completing ten or more years of creditable service, then such employee shall acquire a vested interest in the retirement benefits. Vested pension payments commence at the time the employee normally would have been eligible for retirement. Mr. Scott would have completed 20 years of hazardous duty service on January 15, 1993. Mr. Scott's vested pension benefits will be scheduled to begin on that date. Pension will be paid based on 19 years and 6 months of service, utilizing the following formula: years of service times average salary for last five years of service times 2.5 percent. b) Lori Metzner Ms. Metzner was employed by the City on October 25, 1982 and has been a participant in the Pension Plan since her date of hire. Ms. Metzner will resign from City employment effective October 30, 1992. As of her resignation in October, Ms. Metzner will have 10 years of service and pension participation. The Employees' Pension Plan provides that should an employee cease to be an employee of the City of Clearwater after completing ten or more years of creditable service, then such employee shall acquire a vested interest in the retirement benefits. Vested pension payments commence at the time the employee normally would have been eligible for retirement. Ms. Metzner would have completed 27 years and 2 month's of service and be 55 years of age on January 1, 2010. Ms. Metzner's vested pension benefits will be scheduled to begin on that date. Pension will be paid based on 10 years of service, utilizing the following formula: years of service times average salary for last five years of service times 2.5 percent. Trustee Regulski moved to accept the recommendation of the Pension Advisory Committee. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #6 - Extension of temporary amendment to PAC Policies and Procedures Manual to allow a quorum of the PAC to vote on disability pensions The PAC consists of three employees who are elected by a majority of the City employees covered by City pension. The PAC Policies and Procedures Manual contains a provision in the policy for "Processing Disability Pension Requests" which states all three members of the Committee must be present when the Committee votes on disability pension requests. The PAC Policies and Procedures Manual was approved by the PAC and the Trustees. The pension ordinance itself does not contain any language relating to a requirement that all PAC members be present when they vote on a disability pension request. Due to the incapacity of John Nicholson, Chairman of the PAC, on May 4, 1992, the Trustees approved a temporary amendment to the policy to allow a quorum to vote on disability pensions. This change was effective for 90 days, which expired August 4, 1992. The medical situation continues to incapacitate Mr. Nicholson. The Committee passed a motion at its meeting of July 15, 1992, to ask the Trustees to extend this temporary amendment until the first meeting in September (9/2/92). In response to a question, H. M. Laursen, Human Resources Director, indicated he did not believe Mr. Nicholson would be able to return to work. Mr. Nicholson is scheduled for another examination by a doctor at which time a final determination should be made. Trustee Regulski moved to approve an extension, until September 2, 1992, of the temporary amendment to the PAC Policies and Procedures Manual to allow a quorum of the PAC to vote on disability pensions. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Mr. Laursen indicated he has discussed the Trustees' recommendation that a support group be formed to assist the PAC in order to involve more people in the process. The PAC is receptive to the suggestion and has referred it to the unions for input. ITEM #7 - Other Business: - None. ITEM #8 - Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 1:09 p.m.