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01/13/2000PENSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING CITY OF CLEARWATER January 13, 2000 Present: Brian Aungst Chair/Mayor J. B. Johnson Vice Chair/Commissioner Pat Greer Committee Member Dick Fitzgerald Committee Member Ed Hart Committee Member/Commissioner John Schmalzbauer Committee Member Also Present: Paul O’Rourke Human Resources Administrator Margie Simmons Financial Services Administrator Lee Dehner Pension Advisory Committee Attorney Patricia O. Sullivan Board Reporter Absent: Pat Shepler Committee Member 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 Fitzgerald moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of December 9, 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. Janice White, Police Officer – Police Department 2. Sue C. Creamer, Police Service Technician – Police Department 3. Jay M. Love, Firefighter – Fire Department Member Johnson moved to approve employee requests to Years of Service Pensions for Janice White, Sue C. Creamer, and Jay M. Love. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. b) Review and Action on Employee Requests to Vest Pensions: 1. Thomas Mudano, Neighborhood Manager – Planning & Development Thomas Mudano has resigned his position after being employed by the City for more than 13 years. He will qualify to receive his pension beginning January 1, 2016. AND 2. Bryan C. Makowski, Police Officer– Police Department Bryan Makowski has resigned his position after being employed by the City for more than 10 years. He will qualify to receive his pension beginning December 1, 2008. AND 3. Charles J. Esposito, Police Officer– Police Department Charles Esposito has resigned his position after being employed by the City for more than 13 years. He will qualify to receive his pension beginning September 1, 2006. In response to a question, Human Resources Administrator Paul O’Rourke said pensions for vested employees will be based on the pension plan formula and their years of service. Member Greer moved to approve the requests by Thomas Mudano, Bryan C. Makowski, and Charles Esposito to vest their Pensions. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. c) Approval of New Hires as Pension Plan Members As of January 6, 2000, the City had 1,691.6 FTEs and 1,778.8 budgeted positions. Linda Weglarz was hired as part-time on May 24, 1999, and changed to full-time and pension eligible on November 22 1999. Robert Warnken was hired as part-time on June 27, 1999, and changed to full-time and pension eligible on November 22 1999. Member Hart moved to accept the following employees into membership in the Pension Plan: Date of Pension Employment Elig. Date Christina M. Buyers, Police Comm. Oper. Police Department 11/22/99 11/22/99 Brian Frank, Police Comm. Operator Police Department 11/22/99 11/22/99 Norine Borrow, Police Social Svcs Spec. Police Department 11/22/99 11/22/99 Linda Weglarz, Police Aide Police Department 05/24/99 11/22/99 Robert Warnken, Police Aide Police Department 06/27/99 11/22/99 Shawn Helms, Parks Service Technician I Parks & Recreation 11/22/99 11/22/99 Judy Beaman, Staff Assistant I Planning & Dev. 12/06/99 12/06/99 Mason Merryman, Police Comm. Oper. Police Department 11/22/99 11/22/99 Floyd Thurman, Mechanic II General Support 12/06/99 12/06/99 Brian Barker, Engineer II Public Works 12/06/99 12/06/99 Richard Rispoli, Parks Service Technician I Parks & Recreation 12/06/99 12/06/99 Allison Griffiths, Police Recruit Police Department 12/20/99 12/20/99 Gordon Ross, Parks Service Technician I Parks & Recreation 12/20/99 12/20/99 Kimmie Brooks, Parks Service Tech. I Parks & Recreation 12/20/99 12/20/99 James Newman, Senior Marine Lifeguard Marine Department 12/18/99 12/18/99 Paul San Giovanni, Parks Service Tech. I Parks & Recreation 12/20/99 12/20/99 Thomas M. Coyle, Police Recruit Police Department 12/20/99 12/20/99 Stephanie Vilar, Police Recruit Police Department 12/20/99 12/20/99 The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM 5 - Pending/New Business a) Francis Wilson – Set Date for Hearing for Job-connected Disability Request Consensus was to schedule the hearing date for February 10, 2000. Mr. O’Rourke will distribute a summary prior to the hearing. Staff is considering ways to streamline the time consuming process to better accommodate the needs of the City and individuals. In response to questions, Mr. O’Rourke will report if Mr. Wilson receives a Veterans Administration disability and when he filed for worker’s compensation. ITEM 6 - Director's Reports Mr. O’Rourke reviewed approved FTE (full-time equivalent) positions since 1989 and the percentage of FTE positions filled since April 1998. In 10 years, the number of positions has increased by 10%. The City now has 95.2% of its positions filled. Concern was expressed the number of employees has crept upward. It was recommended the City Commission consider if services have been improved, In response to a question, Mr. O’Rourke reviewed the history of contract employees. The City no longer hires independent contractors. In February, the City Manager will bring forward a recommendation to change the remaining 2 contract positions to FTEs. If not approved, the positions will end when the contracts expire. Finance Administrator Margie Simmons reported the City has treated all contract staff as employees for tax purposes. The City can hire temporary employees for up to 2 years and emergency staff for up to 180 days. Mr. O’Rourke reviewed differences between contract and regular employees and indicated he will distribute the 20-point test used to determine an employee’s status. Discussion ensued regarding independent contractors. Ms. Simmons estimated annual costs to implement new legislation related to Section 175/185 will be $7,000 for police and $5,000 for fire. PAC Attorney Lee Dehner will bring forward proposed changes to the Plan related to the legislation. Mr. Dehner indicated he will provide an opinion regarding the Brink’s case. The next meeting is scheduled for February 10, 2000, at 9:00 a.m. ITEM 7 - Committee Members to be Heard – None. ITEM 8 - Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:25 a.m.