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10/10/2002PENSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING CITY OF CLEARWATER October 10, 2002 Present: Whitney Gray Acting Chair/Commissioner John Lee Committee Member Tom Jensen Committee Member Hoyt P. Hamilton Committee Member/Commissioner Frank Hibbard Committee Member/Commissioner Empty seat Committee Member Absent: John Schmalzbauer Committee Member Also Present: Joseph Roseto Interim Human Resources Director Richard Ebelke Assistant Human Resources Director Lee Dehner Pension Advisory Committee Attorney Cynthia Bender Human Resources Manager Debbie Ford Human Resources Analyst – arrived 9:09 a.m. 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 – Selection of Chair & Vice-Chair (Tabled) ITEM #3 - Approval of Minutes Member Hibbard moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of September 12, 2002, as recorded and submitted in written summation to each board member. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #4 – Employees to be Heard Joseph Egger said he is committed to pursue the seventh member seat on the PAC (Pension Advisory Committee). He said the City does not provide him with materials necessary for him to perform his duty as a board member. He reported a hearing is scheduled for October 31, 2002, regarding the City’s motion to dismiss his lawsuit to retain the seat. ITEM #5 – Action Items a) Review and Action on Employee Requests for Years of Service Pensions. 1. Gary Wooldridge – Mechanic II, Solid Waste/General Support Services 2. Clarence Calloway – Police Officer, Police Department Member Jensen moved to approve Years of Service Pensions for Gary Wooldridge and Clarence Calloway. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. b) Approval of New Hires as Plan Members. As of October 3, 2002, the City had 1733.86 FTEs out of 1834.7 budgeted positions. Robert Pagano originally was employed as part-time; transferred to full-time and pension eligible as of September 23, 2002. Member Lee moved to accept the following employees into membership in the Pension Plan: Date of Pension Employment Elig. Date Nicholas Colton, Sr., Fleet Service Worker Solid Waste/General Svcs 8/26/02 8/26/02 Cindy Protopapadakis, Accounting Tech. Finance 9/9/02 9/9/02 Renata Melo, Systems Analyst Information Technology 9/9/02 9/9/02 Kevin Sievert, Parks Service Technician Parks & Recreation 9/9/02 9/9/02 Allie Fallon, Customer Service Rep. Gas 9/9/02 9/9/02 John Lyons, Field Service Representative Customer Service 9/9/02 9/9/02 Robert Lazzaro, Police Cadet Police Department 9/9/02 9/9/02 Anita Miller, Police Cadet Police Department 9/9/02 9/9/02 Douglas Letwin, Police Cadet Police Department 9/9/02 9/9/02 Marc McCabe, Police Cadet Police Department 9/9/02 9/9/02 Jonathan Maser, Police Cadet Police Department 9/9/02 9/9/02 Robert Pagano, Police Aide Police Department 5/24/99 9/23/02 Christopher Payne, Police Aide Police Department 9/21/02 9/21/02 Roseann Mazurek, Police Service Tech. Police Department 9/23/02 9/23/02 The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #6 – Pending/New Business a) Request for Proposals for Pension Legal Services Finance Director Margie Simmons reported the Pension Trustees had approved the release of a RFP (Request for Proposals) for Pension legal services. She recommended a committee be appointed to review and approve the RFP, screen and rank proposals, and recommend three finalists for presentation to a group meeting of the PAC and Pension Trustees. Ms. Simmons recommended the committee include herself, Interim Human Resources Director Joe Roseto of Human Resources, City Attorney Pam Akin, Assistant City Manager Garry Brumback and a PAC member. She requested PAC members review the previous RFP for Pension legal services and e-mail her with suggested changes. It was suggested the Pension Trustees may want to be represented on the committee. PAC Attorney Lee Dehner said if two members of the PAC serve on the committee, meetings must be advertised and minutes prepared. Member Hamilton moved to appoint Member Jensen to the Pension Legal Services RFP Committee. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. b) Catherine Slack—Set Hearing for Job-connected Disability Pension Human Resources Manager Cynthia Bender said neither Mr. Dehner nor his partner, Scott Christiansen, will be available to attend the November 14, 2002 PAC meeting. She said upon review of the calendars of attorneys, who will participate in the case, the first day possible to schedule the hearing is December 12, 2002. In response to a question, Mr. Dehner said all discovery items must be forwarded to the PAC at least 10 days prior to the meeting. He said if City attorneys feel further discovery is necessary, they may ask the PAC to consider extending the 10-day deadline. Member Jensen moved to schedule a disability Pension hearing for Catherine Slack on December 12, 2002. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. c) Camille Motley—Set Hearing for Non-job-connected Disability Pension Concern was expressed it would be difficult to review all materials necessary to prepare for two pension hearings on the same date. It was noted Camille Motley is in a no-pay status. Other dates were considered but City attorneys were not available. It was indicated Ms. Motley has applied for a job-connected disability pension. Member Jensen moved to schedule a disability Pension hearing for Camille Motley on December 12, 2002. The motion was duly seconded. Members Jensen, Hamilton, Hibbard, and Acting-Chair Gray voted “Aye”; Member Lee voted “Nay.” Motion carried. ITEM #7 – Director’s Reports Mr. Roseto reported staff has made arrangements to provide assistance to Evers Maxie to address alcohol and diabetes issues. He hoped Mr. Maxie will participate in the process and said he will keep the PAC updated. Mr. Dehner stated he had reviewed the October 14, 2002 Pension Trustees meeting agenda and found no legal issues are addressed. He will not attend the meeting. ITEM #8 – Committee Members to be Heard Members Lee and Jensen requested that their agenda packets be mailed to their homes. In response to a question regarding the minutes of the last Pension Trustees meeting, Ms. Simmons said discussions regarding payments of medical bills referenced the administration budget and the concern that medical bills are not paid twice. Mr. Dehner said his office pays for requested records, depositions, and Independent Medical Exams and then requests reimbursement for those costs from the City. His firm does not charge for related paperwork or interest on these cash advances. No cost savings have been attempted for this process. Concern was expressed the process not be delayed. It was requested staff update the committee regarding the Integrated Disability Management study. ITEM #9- Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:34 a.m.