07/18/2022 Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022
City of Clearwater
Main Library- Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
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Meeting Minutes
Monday, July 18, 2022
9:00 AM
Special Meeting
Main Library - Council Chambers
Pension Trustees
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022
Rollcall
Present 5 - Chair Frank Hibbard, Trustee Kathleen Beckman, Trustee Mark Bunker,
Trustee David Allbritton, and Trustee Lina Teixeira
Also Present—Jon Jennings—City Manager, Micah Maxwell — Assistant City
Manager, Michael Delk — Assistant City Manager, David Margolis -
City Attorney, Rosemarie Call — City Clerk, Nicole Sprague —
Deputy 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 Hibbard
The meeting was called to order at 9:59 a.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the minutes of the June 13, 2022 Pension Trustees Meeting as submitted in
written summation by the City Clerk.
Trustee Bunker moved to Approve the minutes of the June 13,
2022 Pension Trustees Meeting 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 Authorize the City Attorney to hire the law firm of Banker, Lopez, Gassler, P.A. to
represent the City's executive branch of government in connection with matters pertaining
to disability pension claims heard before the Pension Advisory Committee (PAC),
approve a legal services agreement on behalf of the Pension Trustees, and authorize the
appropriate officials to execute same.
In the City of Clearwater, the five members of the City Council serve as trustees
of the City of Clearwater Employees' Pension Fund. The board of trustees is
authorized, pursuant to Clearwater Code of Ordinances Section 2.413(c), Plan
administration, to retain professional and technical expertise necessary to fulfill
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022
the trustees' fiduciary responsibilities. Additionally, Section 2.413(h) authorizes
the trustees to appoint legal counsel when desirable in connection with the
administration of the plan, and to pay for said counsel from the pension fund.
The City Attorney serves as a neutral, independent advisor to the board of
trustees. In addition, the City Attorney can serve as a neutral, independent
advisor to the Pension Advisory Committee (PAC) established under Section
2.413(d). The PAC is tasked, by ordinance, with evaluating employee
applications for disability pensions.
While the City Attorney can serve as a neutral advisor to the PAC, state law and
attorney ethics prohibit the City Attorney from simultaneously representing the
executive branch of government before the same quasi-judicial board or
committee to which the City Attorney is serving as a neutral advisor. Therefore,
it is necessary to appoint an attorney outside the City Attorney's Office to
represent the Human Resources director and other executive branch officials in
disability pension claims.
The law firm of Banker, Lopez, Gassler, P.A. is being recommended due to
their longstanding service to the City of Clearwater in worker's compensation
matters. Worker's compensation claims relate closely to disability applications,
and the law firm of Banker, Lopez, Gassler, P.A. will already be familiar with the
medical and procedural history of each disability applicant.
The firm has agreed to an hourly rate of$165.00 per hour for services
performed by Mark E. Hungate, Esq. or another shareholder, $120.00 per hour
for legal services by associate attorneys, and $95.00 for paralegal services.
These rates will automatically increase to $180.00, $130.00 and $105.00 for
shareholders, associate attorneys and paralegals, respectively, effective
January 1, 2023.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
Funds are available in the Pension Fund professional services,
6467410-530100, to fund this contract.
In response to questions, the City Attorney said the Pension Advisory
Committee meetings are open to the public. He said he is a neutral
advisor for the PAC and he would inform each councilmember as to what
happens at the meetings. In order to be eligible for disability pension, the
employee must submit to a public process by which the PAC will discuss
medical information. He said not all information provided by the
employee may be accessible to the public.
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees
5. Adjourn
Attest
Meeting Minutes July 18, 2022
Trustee Teixeira moved to authorize the City Attorney to hire the
law firm of Banker, Lopez, Gassier, P.A. to represent the City's
executive branch of government in connection with matters
pertaining to disability pension claims heard before the Pension
Advisory Committee (PAC), approve a legal services agreement
on behalf of the Pension Trustees, and authorize the appropriate
officials to execute same. The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
The meeting adjourned at 10:06 a.m.
City of Clearwater
Employees' Pension Plan Trustees
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