10/14/2019
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019
City of Clearwater
Main Library - Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
Meeting Minutes
Monday, October 14, 2019
9:00 AM
Main Library - Council Chambers
Pension Trustees
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019
Roll Call
Present 3 - Chair George N. Cretekos, Trustee Bob Cundiff, and Trustee David
Allbritton
Absent 2 - Trustee Hoyt Hamilton, and Trustee Jay Polglaze
Also Present – William B. Horne II – City Manager, Micah Maxwell – Assistant
City Manager, Michael Delk – Assistant City Manager, Pamela
K. Akin – City Attorney, Rosemarie Call – City Clerk, and
Jennifer Poirrier – Human Resources Director
To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
1. Call to Order – Chair Cretekos
The meeting was called to order at 9:14 a.m. in Council Chambers at the
Main Library.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the September 16, 2019 Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes as submitted in
written summation by the City Clerk.
Trustee Cundiff moved to approve the September 16, 2019 Pension
Trustees Meeting Minutes as submitted in written summation by the
City Clerk. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda – None.
4. New Business Items
4.1 Approve the new hires for acceptance into the Pension Plan as listed.
Name/Job Classification/Department Pension Eligibility Date
Kellie Cramer, Customer Service Representative, Customer Service 08/05/2019
Dion Jones, Field Service Representative I, Customer Service 08/05/2019
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019
Jacob Horn, Parks Service Technician I, Parks & Recreation 08/05/2019
Trevor Dorman, Parks Service Technician I, Parks & Recreation 08/05/2019
Darrell Ford, Customer Service Representative, Customer Service 08/19/2019
Samantha Flagler, Customer Service Representative, Customer Service 08/19/2019
Jeh Mohr, Senior Auditor, City Auditor/Finance 08/19/2019
Charlene Peaslee, Gas Sales Representative, Gas 08/19/2019
Brenton Conley, Parks Service Technician I, Parks & Recreation 08/19/2019
Vinod Kadu, Senior Planner, Planning & Development Services 08/19/2019
Matthew Hall, Recreation Specialist, Parks & Recreation 08/19/2019
Charles Kordick II, Gas Technician II, Gas 08/19/2019
Trustee Allbritton moved to approve the new hires for acceptance
into the Pension Plan as listed. The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
4.2 Approve the following request of employees Duanne Anderson, Fire Department, Debra
Faison, Parks and Recreation Department and Michael Ward, Fire Department, for a
regular pension as provided by Sections 2.416 and 2.424 of the Employees’ Pension
Plan.
Duanne Anderson, Fire Prevention Inspector, Fire Department, was employed
by the City on July 7, 1997, and his pension service credit is effective on that
date. His pension will be effective August 1, 2016. Based on an average salary
of approximately $73,577.05 over the past five years, the formula for computing
regular pensions and Mr. Anderson’s selection of the 100% Joint and Survivor
Annuity, this pension benefit will be approximately $37,344.72 annually.
Debra Faison, Parks Service Technician II, Parks and Recreation Department,
was employed by the City on October 18, 1992, and her pension service credit
is effective on that date. Her pension will be effective September 1, 2019.
Based on an average salary of approximately $43,664.06 over the past five
years, the formula for computing regular pensions and Ms. Faison’s selection of
the 10 Year Certain and Life Annuity, this pension benefit will be approximately
$42,432.24 annually.
Michael Ward, Firefighter, Fire Department, was employed by the City on May 5,
2003, and his pension service credit is effective on that date. His pension will
be effective September 1, 2019.
Based on an average salary of approximately $64,924.84 over the past five
years, the formula for computing regular pensions and Mr. Ward’s selection of
the 100% Joint and Survivor Annuity, this pension benefit will be approximately
$28,197.48 annually.
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019
Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for non-hazardous duty
employees hired prior to the effective date of this reinstatement (January 1,
2013), a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date
on which a participant has reached the age of fifty-five years and completed
twenty years of credited service; the date on which a participant has reached
age sixty-five years and completed ten years of credited service; or the date on
which a member has completed thirty years of service regardless of age. For
non-hazardous duty employees hired on or after the effective date of this
restatement, a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the
date on which a participant has reached the age of sixty years and completed
twenty-five years of credited service; or the date on which a participant has
reached the age of sixty-five years and completed ten years of credited service.
Ms. Faison has met the non-hazardous duty criteria.
Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for hazardous duty
employees, a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the
date on which the participant has completed twenty years of credited service
regardless of age, or the date on which the participant has reached fifty-five
years and completed ten years of credited service. Mr. Anderson and Mr. Ward
have met the hazardous duty criteria.
Trustee Cundiff moved to approve the following request of
employees Duanne Anderson, Fire Department, Debra Faison,
Parks and Recreation Department and Michael Ward, Fire
Department, for a regular pension as provided by Sections 2.416
and 2.424 of the Employees’ Pension Plan. The motion was duly
seconded and carried unanimously.
4.3 Approve pension plan expenditures for fiscal year 2020 totaling not-to-exceed $380,700.
The Employees’ Pension Plan does not have a legally required budget, however
all expenditures must be approved by the Trustees. The following are routine
administrative expenditures that staff is requesting approval of for administrative
efficiency.
The recommended expenditures for fiscal year 2020 reflect a $29,100, or 8.3%
increase over the approved fiscal 2019 expenditures, per attached. This
increase is primarily due to a $25,000 increase in actuary consulting fees in
anticipation of pension negotiations with bargaining units. The balance of the
increase is due to salary increases for City employees providing administrative
support for the plan.
Training and travel are the estimated costs of pension training and related
travel, including fiduciary training for the Trustees and Pension Advisory
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019
Committee (PAC) members. This is a not-to-exceed amount given uncertainty
regarding the number of Trustees and PAC members that may elect to pursue
training.
Reimbursements to the General Fund and Central Insurance Fund are for the
cost of oversight and administration of the Plan. The reimbursements are for
services provided by Human Resources, Payroll, and Finance personnel, along
with related operating expenditures.
The firm of Klausner, Kaufman, Jensen and Levinson currently serve as the
Plan’s pension attorneys. Annual attorney fees also include medical bills for
medical services authorized by the PAC, as well as attorney fees for disability
cases and hearings.
Money manager, performance measurement consulting, custodial/safekeeping,
and actuary fees (other than actuary hourly consulting) are all governed by
contracts separately approved by the Trustees and are not included in this
agenda item total.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
646xxxx-5xxxxx (various pension plan expenditure codes)
In response to a question, Finance Director Jay Ravins said the
expenditures outlined by categories provide a not to exceed amount
since the Plan does not have a budget.
Trustee Allbritton moved to approve pension plan expenditures for
fiscal year 2020 totaling not-to-exceed $380,700. The motion was
duly seconded and carried unanimously.
4.4 Approve new fee schedule with the pension plan’s investment custodian, Northern Trust,
for an annual fixed fee of $85,000, effective October 1, 2019, and authorize the
appropriate officials to execute same.
Northern Trust has been the plan’s custodian for safekeeping of investments
since November 2002 and has provided an excellent level of service to the plan.
A pension plan custodian is tasked with the safekeeping of plan investments.
Additionally, Northern Trust provides extensive reporting capabilities for the
plan’s investments (by money manager and by individual holding), provides all
required regulatory and annual external audit reporting, and files claims on
behalf of the plan for all class action lawsuits involving plan investment holdings
held by any of the money managers.
Northern Trust was selected via a competitive process and has not raised their
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees
Meeting Minutes October 14, 2019
original fixed fee of $85,000 annually since they were hired. In the meantime, the
plan has grown from an investment portfolio of $400 million managed by 10
money managers to a portfolio of $1.1 billion managed by 21 money managers.
Northern Trust is seeking a 14.7% increase in their annual fixed fee from
$87,000 to $97,500. This increase is equivalent to a less than 1% (0.81%)
annual inflation adjustment over the past 17 years.
Staff recommends approval due to the exceptional level of service that Northern
Trust has provided the plan and the nominal increase this represents for the
services provided, given the significant increase in plan assets and money
managers, with no corresponding fee increases, over the past 17 years.
The plan's pension attorney has reviewed and approved the fee schedule
agreement for execution.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
6467410-530100
Trustee Cundiff moved to approve new fee schedule with the
pension plan's investment custodian, Northern Trust, for an annual
fixed fee of $85,000, effective October 1, 2019, and authorize the
appropriate officials to execute same. The motion was duly
seconded and carried unanimously.
5. Director's Report — None.
6. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 9:21 a.m.
City of Clearwater
•-• crimetvretki9)
Chair
Employees' Pension Plan Trustees
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