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02/13/2003PENSION ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING CITY OF CLEARWATER February 13, 2003 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 Nathan Hightower Committee Member Absent: John Schmalzbauer Committee Member Also Present: Joe Roseto Human Resources Director Lee Dehner Pension Advisory Committee Attorney Leslie Dougall-Sides Assistant City Attorney Debbie Ford Human Resources Analyst Brenda Moses Board Reporter The Chair called the meeting to order at 9:06 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 Consensus was to postpone election of the Chair and Vice-Chair until all board members are present. ITEM #3 - Approval of Minutes of January 9, 2003 Member Hibbard moved to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 9, 2003, 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 – None. ITEM #5 – Action Items a) Review and Action on Employee Requests for Years of Service Pensions. 1. Gertrude Devers – Development Services 2. Roscoe Dobson – Fire Department 3. Fredrick Fricke – Police Department 4. Melvin Acton – Fire Department 5. Richard Hodge – Solid Waste Department 6. George Johnson – Fire Department 7. John Urban – Fire Department Member Jensen moved to approve Years of Service Pensions for Gertrude Devers, Roscoe Dobson, Fredrick Fricke, Melvin Acton, Richard Hodge, George Johnson, and John Urban. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. b) Approval of New Hires as Plan Members. As of January 30, 2003, the City had 1744.01 FTEs out of 1844.9 budgeted positions. Member Hamilton moved to accept the following employees into membership in the Pension Plan: Pension Elig. Name, Job. Class, & Dept./Div. Hire Date Date James Purdy, TV Production Specialist/Public Communications12/30/02 12/30/02 Mirna Selva, Customer Srv. Representative/Gas 1/13/03 1/13/03 Jason Kinney, Engineer I/Engineering 1/13/03 1/13/03 Sara DeBella, Human Resources Analyst/Human Resources 1/13/03 1/13/03 Brian Davis, Graphics Technician/Public Communications 1/13/03 1/13/03 Carol Anding, Wastewater Trmt. Plant Op. Trainee Pub. Ut. 1/13/03 1/13/03 Stacy Keenan, Staff Assistant/Gas 1/13/03 1/13/03 Dawn Jenkins, Recreation Supervisor I/Parks & Recreation 1/13/03 1/13/03 Andrew Rawlins, Parks Srv. Technician I/Parks & Recreation 1/13/03 1/13/03 Robert Days, Jr., Solid Waste Worker/Solid Waste 1/13/03 1/13/03 Charles McAbee, Solid Waste Worker/Solid Waste 11/12/02 1/13/03* Ann Galluccio, Library Assistant/Library 1/27/03 1/27/03 William Bennett, Public Srv. Technician I/Public Srv. 1/27/03 1/27/03 Joseph Raffo, Public Ut. Technician I/Public Ut. 1/27/03 1/27/03 Michael Hayes, Solid Waste Worker/Solid Waste 1/27/03 1/27/03 Michael Roseto, Field Srv. Representative/Customer Srv. 1/27/03 1/27/03 * Originally hired as temporary; changed to full-time and pension eligible as of 1/13/03. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #6 – Pending/New Business a) Camille Motley – Hearing on Non-job-connected Disability Pension Request Pension Advisory Committee Attorney Lee Dehner said Ms. Motley’s initial claim was for a non-job connected disability, which she changed to a job-connected disability. She has now withdrawn the job-connected disability claim. Kenneth Afienko, Camille Motley’s attorney, has submitted a letter dated January 15, 2003, affirming that Ms. Motley has withdrawn her job-connected disability claim. Mr. Dehner reviewed the three legal standards for review that apply to the proceedings for a non-job connected disability claim: 1) the PAC’s decision must be supported by substantial and competent evidence; 2) the decision must comply with the essential requirements of law by applying the provisions of the Pension Plan and applicable law; and 3) provide due process. The burden of proof on the issue of disability is on the claimant to establish by the greater weight of the evidence that she is disabled within the provision of Section 2397(c) of the Employee’s Pension Plan. Kenneth Afienko, claimant’s attorney, said his client has decided to withdraw her previous claim for a job-connected disability and proceed with the non-job connected disability claim. He said there is supporting documentation that would confirm that Ms. Motley’s condition is permanent and significant. He said the City is unable to offer her a permanent position at this time. Ms. Motley’s condition was based upon a back injury and she was terminated by the City. Assistant City Attorney Leslie Dougall-Sides said Ms. Motley’s separation from service was due to a resignation and settlement agreement, not a termination. The City does not disagree that the non-job connected disability was shown by the file as indicated by the IME (Independent Medical Examination) report and the functional capacity evaluation conducted by Tampa General Hospital indicating that Ms. Motley could only work two to three hours a day in any position. The City does not have any permanent positions that would allow her to only work two to three hours per day in any department. There was an indication in the file that states should Ms. Motley elect surgery in the future, her disability status could change. In response to a question, Mr. Dehner said the criteria for non job-connected disability is whether maximum medical improvement has been reached to a point short of any invasive procedure. “Permanent” is determined as to whether or not the City has a position available for reassignment in a similar classification in which the employee had been working. Disability benefits are not necessarily a lifetime benefit, as they are subject to re-examination annually. In response to a question, Mr. Roseto said the process for re-evaluation of a disability claim involves determining whether there are any jobs within the City that allow the employee to perform successfully. If it is determined via proper medical authority that the employee can return to work, the City has the right to discontinue disability benefits and offer the employee a position. In response to a question, Ms. Dougall-Sides said the December 12, 2002, PAC meeting minutes reflect that there are no other jobs for this claimant. Mr. Roseto said the City has no expectation to create a job for Ms. Motley. Member Lee moved to approve the non-duty related disability claim for Camille Motley. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. ITEM #7 – Director’s Reports Human Resources Director Joe Roseto said two employee-elected PAC members’ terms would expire on June 30, 2003. He said the normal procedure is that employee-elected members form a committee made up of five employee members who are participating in the pension process and the Official Records & Legislative Services office assists them in administering an election 60 days prior to the election. ITEM #8 – Committee Members to be Heard New member Nathan Hightower was welcomed to the board. In response to a question, Mr. Roseto said there are no pending disability cases prepared to be heard by the PAC. Member Jensen requested that the next meeting agenda include discussion of the draft of the Employee Pension Plan that was developed through the PAC attorney for the administration of the Pension Fund. Mr. Roseto reported that the March 13 meeting agenda includes a joint meeting with the Pension Trustees to hear oral presentations from respondents to RFPs (Request for Proposal) for a PAC attorney. The presentations are expected to take an hour or more. In response to a question, Finance Director Margie Simmons said she would provide the PAC with the criteria staff uses to rank the respondents and a copy of the RFPs. Mr. Jensen said the proposed changes to the Pension Plan were never formally approved or reviewed other than by the Benefits Committee. He said the Finance Director had reviewed the changes and revisions and reasons why she was against them. He said there were some inequities in the single employee’s benefits versus married employee’s benefits. Consensus was to convene the PAC meeting at 9:00 a.m. on March 13; convene a joint meeting with the Pension Trustees at 9:15 am; then reconvene the PAC meeting after the presentations and review of the RFPs are completed. ITEM #9- Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:34 a.m.