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02/08/1996 PENSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE CITY OF CLEARWATER February 8, 1996 Present: Rita Garvey Acting Chair/Mayor Richard Breest Committee Member Fred Ratley Committee Member J. B. Johnson Committee Member/Commissioner Robert Clark Committee Member/Commissioner Vacant Seats (2) Pat Greer Committee Member Elect Leslie Dougall-Sides Assistant City Attorney Michael Laursen Human Resources Director Patricia O. Sullivan Board Reporter The Acting 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. ITEM #2 - Approval of Minutes Member Clark moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 25, 1996, as recorded and submitted in written summation to each member. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #3 - Action Items a) Review and action on Employee Requests for Years of Service Pension It was suggested thorough background information regarding each retiree correctly provided to the PAC (Pension Advisory Committee) may not be necessary if the request is not unusual. The full committee will discuss this when all PAC members are seated. The varying amounts of retirement benefits to be paid to employees who had somewhat similar periods of service and salaries were discussed. Human Resources Director Mike Laursen said employees may select from various benefit payment options; all of which are materially impacted by the age of employees and their beneficiaries. He confirmed Steve Metz, an actuary, will address the issue Bob Lockwood previously raised regarding the amount of benefit payments to early retirees. At that meeting, Mr. Metz also can review the selection of options and impact of payments. 1) Richard P. Evans - Fire District Chief, Fire Department - 20 years of service designation - hazardous duty provision Member Johnson moved to approve a Years of Service Pension for Richard P. Evans. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 2) Clarence L. Fails - Solid Waste Equipment Operator, Solid Waste Department - 30 years of service designation Member Clark moved to approve a Years of Service Pension for Clarence L. Fails. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3) Malcolm E. Blankenship - Public Works Supervisor II, Public Works Department - 30 years of service designation Member Johnson moved to approve a Years of Service Pension for Malcolm E. Blankenship. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4) William D. Cantlin, Administrative Support Manager II - Finance Department - 20 years of service designation Member Clark moved to approve a Years of Service Pension for William D. Cantlin. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 5) Charlie Brinson - Public Works Supervisor I, Public Works Department - 30 years of service designation Member Johnson moved to approve a Years of Service Pension for Charlie Brinson. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. b) Approval of New Hires as Plan Members Member Clark moved to accept the following employee(s) into membership in the Pension Plan: Date of Pension Employment Elig. Date. Michele Berman, Public Info. Spec. Gas System 02/06/96 02/06/96 Brian Blanco, Police Recruit Police Department 02/06/95 01/08/96 Keisha Bradley, Police Comm. Oper. Police Department 01/22/96 01/22/96 Albert Craig, Maintenance Worker I Parks & Rec. Dept/Rec 01/22/96 01/22/96 Shawn Meeks, Police Recruit Police Department 01/08/96 01/08/96 Michael Ogliaruso, Police Recruit Police Department 01/08/96 01/08/96 Sherilla Pittman, Staff Assistant I General Services 01/08/96 01/08/96 James Sokol, Electronics Technician Engineering Department 01/08/96 01/08/96 William Whitstine, Police Recruit Police Department 01/08/96 01/08/96 Michael Whittaker, Electronics Tech Engineering Department 01/08/96 01/08/96 The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #4 - Pending Business a) Leo Thompson - Spray Technician, Parks & Recreation Department - Job-connected Disability Pension - Not present - Case pending b) Claim of Kathy Jenkins on behalf of Latisha Renae Carey, a minor, for Survivor Benefits as the daughter of Robert Mouzon, deceased - Not present - Case pending c) Request of Robert Lockwood to review the application of actuarially reduced pensions (early retirement provision) - Not present - Issue will be addressed at the March 14, 1996 meeting. d) Request of Police Sergeant Kenneth Donagan to purchase pension service credit - Sergeant Donagan distributed a chronology of events regarding his resignation and subsequent withdrawal of his resignation: 1) September 2, 1983 - resignation effective; 2) October 31, 1983- withdrew resignation; 3) February 6, 1984 - re-employed after 156 days absence with vacation, sick time, and seniority restored; 4) original employment date adjusted from April 8, 1974, to September 11, 1974; and 5) advised of inability to buy back into pension plan due to his age (39) and required to sign a condition of employment stating same. He had worked for the City for 9½ years prior to his 1983 resignation at which time he withdrew his pension contribution. Sergeant Donagan distributed copies of letters regarding his resignation and subsequent withdrawal of resignation. Assistant City Attorney Leslie Dougall-Sides referred to her February 6, 1996, memorandum regarding Sergeant Donagan's request to "buy back" pension contributions for the period April 8, 1974, through February 6, 1984. She had reviewed the current pension ordinance, PAC Policies and Procedures Manual, previous City Attorney opinions, and related materials regarding the issue of whether City employees are eligible to purchase and accrue pension credit for: 1) past time in City service during which pension contributions were made and contributions were returned to the employee upon separation and 2) time gaps between periods of City service. In Ms. Dougall-Sides' opinion, allowing the employee to make such pension contributions retroactively would not be in accordance with the pension ordinance. She said the Civil Service provision has nothing to do with the Pension Plan. Each case must be reviewed separately as circumstances differ. With the additional information presented today, she will continue to review this case. She said a question needs to be resolved regarding the City's responsibility to pay a contribution to the Pension Plan for time the applicant was not employed, regardless of the length of the gap. Discussion ensued regarding other employees who had resigned their City positions and later returned. In answer to a question, Mr. Laursen said employees are permitted to take a leave of absence up to six months and it is possible to renew the leave. This issue was continued until the March 14, 1996, meeting for further research. Member Breest distributed Dave Krieger's letter asking the PAC to review his request to also purchase pension service credit. ITEM #5 - Director's Reports Counseling requirements Mr. Laursen said the City needs to provide counseling to retiring workers regarding their six pension options. A RFP (request for proposals) for a third party administrator to perform this counseling had been released but was unsuccessful. Until the process is redone, the City has an agreement with Steve Metz, of Cooper and Lybrand, to provide counseling. He noted this is not financial counseling nor are any options recommended. Counseling will clarify to the retiree each available option and calculate the dollars available under each choice. David L. Ford Sr. - Spray Technician, Parks & Recreation Department,- Job-Connected Disability Pension - Mr. Laursen reported the two doctor letters Mr. Ford submitted regarding his disability did not indicate any correlation with a job injury. Mr. Ford was advised to contact the doctors and request they review his injuries for a relationship to his City position. Seventh PAC Member Mr. Laursen reported City employees elected two new PAC members: 1) Pat Greer whose term expires June 30, 1997 and 2) Pat Shepler whose term expires June 30, 1996. The PAC will choose the seventh member once the new members are seated. Acting Chair Garvey reported her nomination of Bob Burwell. Fred Ratley The PAC thanked Mr. Ratley for his service on the committee and bid him best wishes for his retirement. ITEM #6 - Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:33 a.m.