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10/12/2000PENSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING CITY OF CLEARWATER October 12, 2000 Present: J. B. Johnson Vice Chair/Commissioner – departed 9:35 a.m. Pat Greer Committee Member – arrived 9:04 a.m. Ed Hart Committee Member/Commissioner John Schmalzbauer Committee Member John Lee Committee Member Absent: Brian Aungst Chair/Mayor Dick Fitzgerald Committee Member Also Present: Paul O’Rourke Human Resources Administrator Margie Simmons Financial Services Administrator Scott Christiansen Pension Advisory Committee Attorney Debbie Ford Human Resources Analyst Brenda Moses Board Reporter The Vice 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 Lee moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of September 14, 2000, as 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 Request for Years of Service Pension 1. Donn Githens, Police Officer – Police Department 2. Patrick Adamson, Police Officer, Police Department Member Hart moved to approve the request by Donn Githens and Patrick Adamson for a Years of Service Pension. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Review and Action on Employee Requests to Vest Pensions 1. Dolores Hofer, Gas Department Member Hart moved to approve the request by Dolores Hofer to vest her Pension. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. c) Approval of New Hires as Pension Plan Members As of October 4, 2000, the City had 1684.2 FTEs and 1,795.6 budgeted positions. Member Lee moved to accept the following employees into membership in the Pension Plan: Date of Pension Employment Elig. Date Jennifer Howard, Library Assistant Library 05/31/94 08/26/00* Scott McGrail, Sr. Marine Lifeguard Marine 09/11/00 09/11/00 Richard Martin, Dev. Review Tech. I Plan./Dev Serv. 09/18/00 09/18/00 Patricia Rooks, Police Info. Tech. I Police 09/25/00 09/25/00 Brian Craig, Recreation Supervisor Parks & Rec. 09/23/00 09/23/00 Ronald Rice, Survey Assistant I Public Works 09/25/00 09/25/00 Joseph Smith, Lead Parking Attendant Public Works 08/28/00 09/23/00* Christine Parker, Police Svc. Tech. I Police 09/25/00 09/25/00 Paul Burger, Gas Tech. I Gas 09/25/00 09/25/00 * Originally hired as part-time; status changed to full-time and pension eligible as of 08/26/00 **Originally hired as part-time; status changed to full-time and pension eligible as of 09/23/00 The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. Mr. Christiansen said the interrogatories were sent to Linda Konga and once they are returned, the process can continue to move forward with respect to her disability claim. Interrogatories have been received from Neil Arfmann. Mr. O’Rourke explained that these two employees are injured Police Officers filing for disability pensions. Both claims are considered work-related. It was requested that staff review the data provided regarding the number of FTEs. Mr. O’Rourke said that reconciling new hires and terminated employees has been difficult as different dates were used to balance the numbers. In the future, dates of payroll periods will be used for more accurate accounting. ITEM 5 - Pending/New Business a. Request of Police Chief Sid Klein and Deputy Chief Bill Baird to Join Pension Plan Human Resources Administrator Paul O’Rourke said as Attorney Steve Cypen of Cypen & Cypen was unable to attend today’s meeting, this item will be postponed to a future meeting in November or December. All parties have been notified. In response to a question, Mr. O’Rourke said Mr. Dehner also will render an opinion on Fire Marshall/Emergency Management Coordinator Randy Hinder’s request for eligibility into the supplemental pension plan, as he is not in the General Employees Pension fund. Pension Advisory Board Attorney Scott Christiansen said the Pension Trustees Board makes the final decision regarding these pension matters. Mr. Christiansen said generally, there are no personal liability issues by the PAC (Pension Advisory Committee) or the Pension Trustees Advisory Board on such matters. b. Contract with Putnam Investments and Invesco Global Asset Management Cash and Investment Manager Steve Moskun said the Pension Trustees previously authorized Callan and Associates to conduct a search for a non-U.S. equity manager. Callan recommended to the Investment Committee the following equity managers: Capital Guardian Trust Company, Invesco Global Asset Management (N.A.), Inc., Putnam Investments, Sit/Kim International Investment Associates, Inc., Dresdner RCM Global Investors, LLC, and Lazard Asset Management. After reviewing information provided on these managers, the Investment Committee ranked the managers and conducted interviews with the top four. The Investment Committee recommends to the Trustees that they add 2 non-U.S. equity managers, Invesco and Putnam, to the Employee’s Pension Plan. Invesco is a value-oriented non-U.S. equity manager and Putnam is a growth-oriented non-U.S. equity manager. By adding non-U.S. equities to the portfolio, the Trustees are reducing the level of risk in it. By further diversifying between growth and value non-U.S. equities, the risk level is further reduced. The Investment Committee recommends that each manager be funded with up to $25 million for a total non-U.S. equity funding of up to $50 million, which represents slightly less than 10% of the current portfolio. The ordinance and investment policy allows for a 10% funding (at cost) in non-U.S. investments. The funds will be taken from growth-style domestic equity managers. Invesco’s management fee is .6 of 1% or $150,000 on $25 million per year. Putnam’s management fee is .8 of 1% or $200,000 on $25 million per year. Member Greer moved to approve the contracts with Putnam Investments and Invesco Global Asset Management (N.A.), Inc., as non-U.S. equity managers for the Employee’s Pension Plan. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. c. Rate Increase from Christiansen & Dehner Mr. O’Rourke said as the City’s Pension attorneys, Christiansen & Dehner, P.A. have not increased their rates for some time, staff recommends approval of their request to increase rates effective January 1, 2001, to $210 per hour. He said the increased fee is slightly below the norm for pension attorneys. Mr. Christiansen said he felt the fees are inevitable due to the cost of living increases and operating costs. His firm is only charging half of its hourly rate for travel time. Many other firms charge their full rate for travel time because they are losing business that could be spent servicing clients. It was requested that consideration be given to moving the Pension Trustees meeting ahead of the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) on the Commission’s agenda. Member Lee moved to approve the rate increase request from Christiansen & Dehner to $210 per hour and $105 per hour for travel time respectively effective January 1, 2001. The motion was duly seconded. Upon the vote being taken, Vice Chair Johnson and Members Hart, Greer, and Lee voted “aye”; Member Schmalzbauer voted “nay”. Motion carried. d. Part-time to Full-time Buy Back Requests Mr. O’Rourke said the PAC had requested that staff poll employees to determine if those employees who were originally employed by the City as permanent part-time employees but that had worked full-time are eligible for pension participation. The CWA Collective Bargaining Agreement that expired in 1977 stipulated that part-time employees who worked full-time hours should be granted full-time benefits. The Legal Department has determined that from a statutory perspective, the City is only obligated for a period of five years after expiration of that CWA contract. The City is not reimbursing the medical costs that those employees would have received under full-time status, however, as those employees were not properly classified, they should be given the opportunity for inclusion in the Pension Plan. It was remarked that interpreting such matters that date back twenty years sets a bad precedent. Mr. O’Rourke said the City is not legally obligated to allow these employees into the Pension Plan, but rather feels this action corrects a wrong. Staff does not anticipate future requests. Five of 19 employees have asked that they be allowed to receive service credit for their respective employment periods. Mr. O’Rourke said not since 1995 has there been a reoccurrence of using part-time employees on a full-time basis. Mr. Christiansen said that this technically is not a “buy back”. Human Resources is simply reclassifying specific employees as full-time employees during the specific periods that they worked full-time. Five employees being reclassified would be eligible for the Employee’s Pension Plan upon contributing the required contributions plus 5% interest. The amount owed by each employee as of October 31, 2000, is as follows: Birgit Dowd - $1,219.34; Lawrence Dowd - $2,637.17; Mark Goheen - $1,072.87; Alphonso Hinson - $1,033.57; and Carol Harvey - $1,076.06. In response to a question, Mr. Christiansen said anyone can file a lawsuit for any reason, but he did not feel the PAC had any liability as Human Resources made this decision. His firm is merely applying the provisions of the Pension Plan to those employees after reclassification. Member Greer moved to approve the request that Birgitt Dowd, Lawrence Dowd, Mark Goheen, Alphonso Hinson, and Carol Harvey be entitled to service credit and inclusion in the Employee’s Pension Plan upon payment of required contributions with 5% interest. The motion was duly seconded. Upon the vote being taken, Vice Chair Johnson and Members Greer, Schmalzbauer, and Lee voted “aye”; Member Hart voted “nay”. Motion carried. ITEM 6 - Director's Reports Finance Director Margie Simmons said the City received the actuarial report for the Employee’s Pension Plan beginning January 1, 2000. The report indicates a City contribution of $1,722,874 is required this year. However, the City Ordinance governing the Pension Plan requires that the City contribute at least 7% of the compensation of all employees participating in the Plan (estimated at $3,565,618). The difference between the required contribution of $3,565,618 and the actuarial determined contribution of $1,722,874 will be added to the existing credit balance, currently at $12,442,498. The low contribution requirement is primarily due to phasing in of prior asset gains and the excellent investment returns realized in 2000. The Employee’s Pension Plan experienced a fifth consecutive year of excellent investment performance. The market value basis performance for the last five years (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, and 1999, respectively) has been 23.36%, 14.80%, 17.49%, 16.74%, and 18.61%. The funded status of the plan decreased from 174% at January 1, 1999 to 162% at January 1, 2000, primarily due to the Plan amendment, which increased the Plan’s actuarial accrued liabilities by nearly $53 million. This amendment added a 1.5% annual cost of living increase and additional normal retirement age of 65 with 10 years of service, plus additional eligibility and benefits for Police and Firefighters as required by 175/185 legislation. Staff will provide a copy of the final actuary report to the PAC after approval by the Pension Trustees. Member Lee moved to accept the Actuary’s Report for the Employee’s Pension Plan for the plan year beginning January 1, 2000. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM 7 - Committee Members to be Heard Member Hart expressed concern that Pension Trustees and PAC meetings are scheduled the same day as Work Sessions rather than on Commission meeting days. He feels more people would be aware of proceedings if scheduled on Commission meeting days. Mr. O’Rourke said Commission agenda items require items be submitted by a specific date. There also could be a conflict with the Pension attorneys’ calendars. Staff will research if the PAC and Pension Trustees meetings and/or the entire process can be streamlined. Mr. Christiansen said as the Employee’s Pension Plan provides that new employees are allowed in the Plan as a condition of employment, it is merely a matter of information whereby a formal approval by the PAC and the Trustees is given. Member Schmalzbauer asked if PAC members unable to attend meetings could vote via proxy. Mr. Christiansen said there is some authority allowing members’ attendance via conference call, but proxy voting is not permitted under public records-type arrangements. It was remarked members who know they will be unable to attend meetings could contact the PAC Chair to request a deferral of an item. In some instances time is of the essence. ITEM 8 - Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:52 a.m.