07/20/2006
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PENSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
CITY OF CLEARWATER
July 20, 2006
Present:
Nathan Hightower
Tom Jensen
John Schmalzbauer
Hoyt P. Hamilton
Carlen Petersen
John Doran
Stephen Sarnoff
Vice-Chair
Committee Member
Committee Member
Committee Member/Councilmember
Committee Member/Councilmember
Committee Member/Councilmember
Committee Member
Also Present:
Joe Roseto
Patricia O. Sullivan
Human Resources Director
Board Reporter
The Vice-Chair called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall.
To provide continuity for research, items are in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
2 - Election of Officers
Member Schmalzbauer moved to appoint Nathan Hightower as Chair. The motion was
duly seconded and carried unanimously.
Member Hamilton moved to appoint Tom Jensen as Vice-Chair. The motion was duly
seconded and carried unanimously.
3 - Approval of Minutes
Member Petersen moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of June 8, 2006,
as submitted in written summation to each board member. The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
4 - Emplovees to be Heard - None.
5 - Action Items:
a. Review and Action on Employee Requests for Regular Pensions:
1. Robert M. Brumback, Solid Waste/General Services
2. Lisa Lyn Hebert, Police
3. Rosanne Beck, Police
Member Hamilton moved to approve the requests for regular pensions for Robert M.
Brumback, Lisa Lyn Hebert, and Rosanne Beck. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
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. b. Review and Action on Employee Requests to Vest Pensions:
1. Henry Propheter, Police
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Henry Propheter, Police, has resigned his position after being employed by the City for
more than 17 years. He will qualify to receive his reduced pension beginning September 1,
2008.
Member Petersen moved to recommend approval of the request by Henry Propheter to
vest his pension. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
c. Approval of New Hires as Plan Members:
Member Schmalzbauer moved to accept the following employees into membership in
the Pension Plan:
Name, Job. Class, & Deot./Div.
Pension Eligible
Hire Date Date
Allan Sychowski, Fire Inspector/Fire 05/15/06
Daniel Crider, Recreation Programmer/Parks & Recreation OS/20/06
Lawrence Downing, Police Officer/Police 05/15/06
Arthur Sarrach, Public Utilities Technician IIPublic Utilities 05/15/06
Raymond Joline, Parks Service Tech I/Parks & Recreation 06/01/06
Douglass Bailey, Police Officer/Police 06/12/06
Jason Lambe, Police Officer/Police 06/12/06
Bradlee Starks, Police Officer/Police 06/12/06
James Hersh, Drafting & Mapping Technician/Engineering 06/12/06
Eric Holmes, Parks Service Technician I/Parks & Recreation 06/12/06
Timothy Booth, Public Utilities Technician I/Public Utilities 06/12/06
Maurice Bryant, Public Service Technician I/Public Services 06/12/06
Gabriel Nunez, Police Officer/Police 06/12/06
William Nahorodny, Police Officer/Police 06/12/06
Timothy McClintick, Recreation Programmer/Parks & Rec 06/12/06
Marcos Valdez, Police Officer/Police 06/12/06
Robert Reedy, Jr., Survey Assistant IIEngineering 06/12/06
Nicholas Niski, Parks Service Technician I/Parks & Recreation 06/12/06
Robert Wells, Solid Waste Worker/Solid Waste 01/23/06
April Troyer, Library Assistant/Library 08/22/05
Jamaar Jackson, Solid Waste Worker/Solid Waste 03/13/06
Michelle Benjamin, Survey Assistant IIEngineering 06/26/06
Chaki Hurdle, Solid Waste Worker/Solid Waste 06/26/06
Harold Godfrey, Gas Technician I/Gas 06/26/06
Ned Pedersen, Human Resource Analyst/Human Resources 06/26/06
Bonnie Potters, Librarian III/Library 06/26/06
Tiffany Adams, Fire Medic/Fire 06/26/06
Guy Carosa, Fire Medic/Fire 06/26/06
Monica Juarbe, Fire Medic/Fire 06/26/06
Aaron Reilly, Fire Medic/Fire 06/26/06
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Jason Samanipour, Fire Medic/Fire
Edward Schultz/Fire Prevention Inspector/Fire
Kristina Ward-Connole, Fire Medic/Fire
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Robert Wells originally was employed as temporary on January 23, 2006; made
permanent and pension eligible as of June 12, 2006. April Troyer originally was employed as
part-time on August 22, 2005; transferred to full-time and pension eligible as of June 10, 2006.
Jamaar Jackson originally was employed as temporary on March 13, 2006; made permanent
and pension eligible as of June 12, 2006.
The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
6 - Pendina/New Business
a. Edna G. Lee - Job-connected Disability Hearing
Human Resources Director Joe Roseto reviewed Edna Lee's application for a job-
connected disability and reviewed the requirements of the Code. None of the listed exclusions
applies.
Member Petersen moved to accept into evidence the entire file, inclusive of the
personnel file, interrogatories, medical records, and the IME (Independent Medical Exam). The
motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
Mr. Roseto reported the IME had determined that Ms. Lee is totally disabled from
performing the duties of a police officer and is permanently disabled. The City will not contest
the application.
Member Schmalzbauer moved that Edna G. Lee is disabled due to a job-connected
sickness or injury, such disability is likely to be continuous and permanent from a cause other
than those listed as general disability exclusions, and such disability renders the participant
unable to perform any useful, meaningful, and necessary work for the employer in an available
position for which the participant is reasonably qualified or for which the participant may be
reasonably trained to perform. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
Ms. Lee said she had enjoyed working for the City and missed the people she worked
with.
7 - Director's Report
a) Approve a contract with Dahab Associates for $15,000 to perform a small cap equity
manager search and Marquette Associates for $18,000 to perform a mid cap value manager
search and authorize the appropriate officials to execute the same.
Cash & Investments Manager Steve Moskun reviewed the request, previously approved
by the Pension Trustees. Recently the Employee'S Pension Plan performed an asset allocation
study. That study recommended some changes to the asset allocation of the plan. Some of the
recommended changes require changes to the plan's allowable investments. A voter
referendum is scheduled in the near future to approve those changes. However, two of the
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recommended changes can be made at this time. Those changes are the hiring of a small cap
growth manager and a mid cap value manager. To assist with these searches a RFQ (Request
for Qualifications) process was used. The first round of the RFQ involved firms that had
responded to the City's previous RFQ for performance measurement services and consulting
firms that previously had contacted the City.
The second round of the RFQ involved the following eight firms: 1) Dahab Associates -
$15,000; 2) CSG - $15,000; 3) Kalson & Associates - $16,500; 4) Marquette Assoc.- $18,000;
5) Pipich Soucek - $20,000; 6) PFM -$25,000; 7) Mercer - $25,000; and 8) Callan - $28,000.
The selection committee ranked Dahab Associates and Marquette Associates as the top two
firms based on criteria: 1) Organization of the firm; 2) Professional staff; 3) References; 4) Their
manager search process; and 5) Cost.
David Koscielniak, Job-connected Disability Hearing
Mr. Roseto requested that the hearing on David Koscielniak's job-connected disability
request be scheduled for next month. The City has not determined if it will contest the
application.
Member Doran moved to schedule the job-connected disability hearing for David
Koscielniak on August 10, 2006. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
Elizabeth A. Alvarez
Mr. Roseto reviewed the overpayment of benefits to Elizabeth Alvarez, who received
disability benefits after she began working in January 2006 as a Pasco County Sheriff Deputy.
Following Pension Trustees approval of the conversion of Ms. Alvarez's disability pension to an
early retirement pension, staff forwarded to Ms. Alvarez a request to reimburse the City for the
overpayment, which totaled between $800 and $900. The City has not received a response.
Mr. Roseto acknowledged PAC member feelings of betrayal but reported that recovering the
funds would be expensive.
It was requested that PAC Counsel detail remedies available to recover the funds. It
was questioned if the PAC could schedule a forfeiture hearing, and subsequently file a claim in
small claims court. It was questioned if anything would preclude the PAC Counsel from working
on behalf of the Trustees to recover the funds on a pro bono basis or to attempt to collect the
money on a contingency basis. .
In response to a question, Mr. Roseto said the City depends on the integrity of
pensioners to report if they are gainfully employed, while receiving disability benefits.
Recipients are required to notarize certification of their continued disability. The City takes
action if it finds a disability recipient is employed. Closer review would result in significant costs.
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8 - Committee Members to be Heard
Committee members welcomed Steve Sarnoff to the PAC and thanked John Lee for his
many years of service. It was recommended that the committee present a plaque to Mr. Lee as
well as to future, long-serving members.
9 - Adiournment
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The meeting adjourned at 9:30 a.m.
Pension Advisory Committee
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