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02/11/1999PENSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING CITY OF CLEARWATER February 11, 1999 Present: Rita Garvey Chair/Mayor J. B. Johnson Vice Chair/Commissioner Robert Clark Committee Member/Commissioner Dick Fitzgerald Committee Member Pat Shepler Committee Member Pat Greer Committee Member John Scacca Committee Member Also Present: Leslie Dougall-Sides Assistant City Attorney Debbie Ford Administrative Analyst Patricia O. Sullivan Board Reporter The 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 Johnson moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 14, 1999, as recorded and submitted in written summation to each board member. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #3 - Employees to be Heard - None. ITEM #4 - Action Items a) Review and Action on Employee Requests for Years of Service Pensions: 1. Peter C. St. Martin - Firefighter, Fire Department 2. Alton W. Brown, Jr. - Driver/Operator, Fire Department 3. Steven S. Kelly - Building Construction Inspector, Planning & Development Services 4. John M. Downs - Firefighter/Driver Operator, Fire Department Member Fitzgerald moved to approve Years of Service Pensions for Peter C. St. Martin, Alton W. Brown, Jr., Steven S. Kelly, and John M. Downs. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. b) Approval of New Hires as Pension Plan Members As of February 4, 1999, the City has 1,637.9 FTEs and 1,735.5 budgeted positions. Yvette Poisson, originally hired part-time on March 2, 1998, was changed to full-time on January 2, 1999. Member Greer moved to accept the following employees into membership in the Pension Plan: Date of Pension Employment Elig. Date Yvette Poisson, Human Resources Tech. Finance 03/02/98 01/02/99 Ami Dicataldo, Customer Service Rep. Clearwater Gas System 01/19/99 01/19/99 Jean M. Peeke, Customer Service Rep. Clearwater Gas System 01/19/99 01/19/99 Jason Barlet, Meter Reader I Customer Service 12/16/98 12/16/98 Miglena Moseley, Sys. Analyst/Progrmr II Clearwater Gas System 01/19/99 01/19/99 Erin Driscoll, Customer Service Rep. Planning & Dev. Svcs. 01/04/99 01/04/99 The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #5 - Pending/New Business a) Request for Non-job-connected Disability Pension Waiver of Occupational Assessment 1. James Berry Administrative Analyst Debbie Ford requested the PAC (Pension Advisory Committee) formally waive the policy requiring an occupational assessment for James Berry. An IME (Independent Medical Examination) has indicated he is permanently disabled and cannot work. Assistant City Attorney Leslie Dougall-Sides will issue the necessary interrogatories. Mr. Berry had worked for the City for more than 11 years in the Nursery Division of the Parks & Recreation Department. Member Shepler moved to approve the request for a non-job-connected disability pension waiver of an occupational assessment. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. b) Appointment of Committee Members Ms. Ford reported a 5-member election committee needs to be appointed for a Spring PAC election of employees. Member Shepler nominated Larry Browett. Member Greer nominated Diane FitzGerald. Additional nominations will be submitted to Ms. Ford. In response to a request, Ms. Ford will report on the expiration dates of current Commissioner terms. c) Pension Credit Buy Back 1. Kenneth Donagan In her January 29, 1999, letter, Andra Dreyfus, representing Kenneth Donagan, stated the City had hired him on April 8, 1974. After 9.5 years, Sgt. Donagan resigned and withdrew $10,614.81 of his pension funds. Within 6 months, he withdrew his resignation and returned to work. At that time, he was 39 years old and all of his employee benefits, except his pension benefits, were restored, including credit for unused sick leave, reinstatement in the appropriate pay step, etc. Though he had sought to repay the full amount of his pension benefit, Assistant City Manager Gerald Weimer’s November 9, 1983, memorandum to the City Manager indicates Sgt. Donagan was not permitted to do so. Subsequently, Sgt. Donagan has made repeated attempts to regain his position within the Pension Plan. He again requests to repay the Plan $10,614.81 and gain immediate credit for his full term of employment dating from his original date of hire. Ms. Dreyfus said the City’s offer to allow Sgt. Donagan to buy back his pension credit for $247,000 as calculated by an actuary was unfair and unreasonable. She said Sgt. Donagan was treated unfairly in 1983 when his pension should have been reinstated in full according to plan rules in effect at that time. She said the Assistant City Manager had acted arbitrarily. She said the case is similar to that of Jeffrey Harper who was permitted to repay the plan his contribution without consideration of the actuarial equivalent. Ms. Dougall-Sides reported Sgt. Donagan had waived his right to pension benefits for prior service when he signed the August 22, 1983, agreement related to his return to work. Ms. Dreyfus said he could not have challenged the order to sign the agreement without facing punitive administrative action. Member Johnson moved to recommend approval of reestablishing Sgt. Donogan’s Pension Plan credit for a total of 24.5 years of service with repayment of the $10,614.81 he had withdrawn previously. The motion was duly seconded. In response to a question, Ms. Dougall-Sides said the business relationship between Ms. Dreyfus and Member Clark’s printing business did not constitute a conflict of interest. Upon the vote being taken, the motion carried unanimously. ITEM #6 - Director's Reports - None. The next PAC meeting is scheduled for March 11, 1999. ITEM #7 - Board Members to be Heard It was recommended sensitive information related to employee health issues should be secure when sent through inter-office mail. It was requested sensitive information he forwarded in double envelopes. In response to a question, Ms. Dougall-Sides said the State’s previous law related to hiring employees who were older than 39 years old was struck down. She said the City is protected if job duties outline an employee’s right to make decisions. She said there could be a problem if decisions are made outside the arena covered by job duties. In response to a question, Ms. Dougall-Sides said the City will provide an attorney should any member receive a subpoena. It was recommended these types of issues be referred to the Legal Department. ITEM #8 - Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:39 a.m.