11/03/2025 Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
City of Clearwater
Main Library- Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
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Meeting Minutes
Monday, November 3, 2025
1 :00 PM
Main Library - Council Chambers
Pension Trustees
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
Roll Call
Present 5 - Chair Bruce Rector, Trustee Ryan Cotton, Trustee Michael
Mannino, Trustee David Allbritton, and Trustee Lina Teixeira
Also Present: Jennifer Poirrier— City Manager, Daniel Slaughter—Assistant City
Manager, David Margolis — City Attorney, Nicole Sprague — Deputy
City Clerk, and Tiffany Makras — Human Resources Director
To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
1. Call to Order— Chair Rector
The meeting was called to order at 1:37 p.m.
2. Approval of Minutes
2.1 Approve the minutes of the August 18, 2025 Pension Trustees meeting as submitted
in written summation by the City Clerk.
Trustee Teixeira moved to approve the minutes of the August 18,
2025 Pension Trustees meeting as submitted in written summation
by the City Clerk. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda — None.
4. New Business Items
4.1 Approve the termination of mid-cap growth equity money manager Artisan Partners
and authorize the appropriate officials to execute same.
Artisan Partners was hired as a mid-cap growth equity money manager for the
plan in August 2001. As of June 30, 2025, the market value of the plan's
investment in Artisan's mid-cap growth product totaled $57.2 million, or 4.11%
of the Plan's total investment portfolio.
Artisan's performance has declined in recent years, as detailed below. The
Pension Investment Committee unanimously recommended termination at their
June 5, 2025, quarterly committee meeting.
Performance versus benchmark index as of June 30, 2025:
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
Last year Last 3 years Last 5 years
Net of fees return 14.72% 13.08% 6.57%
Benchmark index 26.49% 21.46% 12.65%
Trustee Allbritton moved to approve the termination of mid-cap
growth equity money manager Artisan Partners and authorize the
appropriate officials to execute same. The motion was duly
seconded and carried unanimously.
4.2 Approve Investment Management Agreement with Northern Trust Investments, Inc.
for a separately managed mid-cap growth equity index investment account and
authorize the appropriate officials to execute same.
The Pension Investment Committee is recommending the addition of a
separately managed mid-cap growth equity index fund. This index account will
be used to replace terminated money manager Artisan Partners if approved by
the Trustees.
The Pension Investment Committee unanimously recommends Northern
Trust's separately managed mid-cap growth index account for an initial
investment of$60 million, or approximately 4.3% of the total plan investment
portfolio.
The addition of this index fund increases the diversification of the mid-cap
equity category by allocating current actively managed monies to a passive
index fund with lower management fees.
Investment manager fees will be 4 basis points (0.04%), versus a previous fee
of 80 basis points (0.80%) for the actively managed account that is being
terminated.
The pension plan's attorney, Klausner, Kaufman, Jensen and Levinson, has
reviewed and approved the Investment Management Agreement.
APPROPRIATION CODE AND AMOUNT:
6467410-530100 $25,000 annually
STRATEGIC PRIORITY:
Trustee Mannino moved to approve Investment Management
Agreement with Northern Trust Investments, Inc. for a separately
managed mid-cap growth equity index investment account and
authorize the appropriate officials to execute same. The motion
was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
4.3 Approve changes to the City of Clearwater Employees' Pension Fund Statement of
Investment Objectives and Guidelines (Investment Policy) to update the fund's
investment benchmark index, to adjust the minimum allocation to fixed income, and
other minor changes as recommended by the Plan's Investment Committee.
The Pension Plan's investment policy was last revised in December of 2023.
The policy was recently reviewed by the Plan's Investment Committee for
recommended revisions as proposed below:
• The Plan's custom benchmark for performance measurement was
updated to more accurately reflect the Plan's asset allocations.
• The minimum allocation to domestic fixed income was reduced from
25% to 20% due to the Plan's diversification into real estate and
infrastructure, and to decrease the potential for noncompliance due to
volatility in the stock market and related allocations to equities.
• Minor change to eliminate a position on the committee (Finance Debt
Manager) due to elimination of the position.
• Minor change to "Investment Return Objectives" to revise "materially
above average" to a more specific "50th percentile or above over a
five-year period".
• Various other minor wordsmithing changes
In response to a question, Finance Director Jay Ravins said the
Investment Committee reviews the statement of investment objectives and
guidelines annually, recommending substantive changes as needed.
Trustee Cotton moved to approve changes to the City of Clearwater
Employees' Pension Fund Statement of Investment Objectives and
Guidelines (Investment Policy) to update the fund's investment
benchmark index, to adjust the minimum allocation to fixed
income, and other minor changes as recommended by the Plan's
Investment Committee. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
4.4 Approve the new hires for acceptance into the Pension Plan as listed.
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
Pension Eligibility
Name/Job Classification/Department
Date
Gabriel Timberlake, Aquatics Coordinator, Parks & Recreation 06/14/2025
Aulden Lloyd, Risk Management Specialist I, Finance & Budget 06/16/2025
Brandon Nault, Customer Service Rep I, Utility Customer Service 06/16/2025
Celeste Casillas, Police Cadet, Police Department 06/16/2025
Holden Midkiff, Police Cadet, Police Department 06/16/2025
Samuel Miller, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 06/16/2025
Skyler Belloise, Engineering Specialist I, Public Utilities 06/16/2025
Thomas Glick, Police Cadet, Police Department 06/16/2025
Yan Ramirez-Figueroa, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 06/16/2025
Alexandra Vakos, Police Officer, Police Department 06/30/2025
Bryce Miller, Police Officer, Police Department 06/30/2025
Courtney Davis, Parks Service Technician I, Parks & Recreation 06/30/2025
Crystal Flores, Network Analyst I, Information Technology 06/30/2025
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
Dehvan Truckenmiller, Police Officer, Police Department 06/30/2025
Jack Donahue, Public Info Coordinator I, Public Communications 06/30/2025
Joseph Phillips, Parks Service Technician I, Parks & Recreation 06/30/2025
Kyle Pauze, Network Analyst I, Information Technology 06/30/2025
Markus Jalaber, Water Distribution Operator Trainee, Public Utilities 06/30/2025
Regina Bavington, Account Collector I, Utility Customer Service 06/30/2025
Aaron Head, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 07/14/2025
Aidan Coyne, Parks Service Technician III, Parks & Recreation 07/14/2025
Caden Skaggs, Gas Tech Apprentice, Gas System 07/14/2025
Cage Gregory, Gas Technician II, Gas System 07/14/2025
Cassidy Gordon, Customer Service Rep I, Utility Customer Service 07/14/2025
Laura Daniels, Accounting Tech I, Parks & Recreation 07/14/2025
Timothy Huse, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 07/14/2025
Tyler Hileman, Parks Service Technician I, Parks & Recreation 07/14/2025
Kristopher Williams, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 07/26/2025
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
Adam Singer, Parking, Fac& Sec Aide, Marine &Aviation 07/28/2025
Anthony Walker-Collins, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 07/28/2025
David Wells, Streets & Sidewalks Tech I, Public Works 07/28/2025
Gabriel Greco Gilreath, Meter reader I, Utility Customer Service 07/28/2025
Jason Mckoy, Industrial Electrician, Public Utilities 07/28/2025
Marques Alexander, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 07/28/2025
Ramona Hunter, CRA Coordinator, Community Redevelopment Agency 07/28/2025
Wade Brockman, Streets & Sidewalks Tech I, Public Works 07/28/2025
Aaron Cornwell, Scada Specialist, Public Utilities 08/11/2025
Jayce Ortiz, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 08/11/2025
Kenyatta Anderson, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 08/11/2025
Rashad Banks, Solid Waste Worker I, Solid Waste & Recycling 08/11/2025
Trustee Teixeira moved to approve the new hires for acceptance
into the Pension Plan as listed. The motion was duly seconded and
carried unanimously.
4.5 Approve the following request of employee Michael Morea, Police Department, to vest
his pension as provided by Section 2.419 of the Employees' Pension Plan.
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
Micheal Morea, Police Officer, Police Department, was employed by the City
on January 9, 2006, and his pension service credit is effective on that date. Mr.
Morea terminated from city employment on June 11, 2025.
The Employees' Pension Plan provides that should an employee cease to be
an employee of the City of Clearwater or change status from full-time to
part-time after completing five or more years (non-hazardous duty) and ten or
more years (hazardous duty) of creditable service (pension participation), such
employee shall acquire a vested interest in the retirement benefits. Vested
pension payments commence on the first of the month following the month in
which the employee normally would have been eligible for retirement.
Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for non-hazardous duty
employees hired prior to the effective date of this reinstatement (1/1/13), a
member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on
which a participant has reached the age of 55 years and completed 20 years of
credited service; the date on which a participant has reached age 65 years and
completed five years of credited service; or the date on which a member has
completed 30 years of service regardless of age. For non-hazardous duty
employees hired on or after the effective date of this restatement, a member
shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on which a
participant has reached the age of 60 years and completed 25 years of
credited service; or the date on which a participant has reached the age of 65
years and completed five years of credited service.
Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for hazardous duty
employees, a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the
date on which the participant has completed 20 years of credited service
regardless of age, or the date on which the participant has reached 55 years
and completed ten years of credited service. Mr. Morea will meet the
hazardous duty criteria and begin collecting a pension in February of 2026.
Trustee Allbritton moved to approve the following request of
employee Michael Morea, Police Department, to vest his pension as
provided by Section 2.419 of the Employees' Pension Plan. The
motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously.
4.6 Approve the following request of Steven Baginski, Police Department, Jevon Graham,
Fire Department, and Sandra Lear, Information Technology Department for a regular
pension as provided by Sections 2.416 and 2.424 of the Employees' Pension Plan.
Steven Baginski, Police Lieutenant, Police Department, was employed by the
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
City on February 6, 1995, and his pension service credit is effective on that
date. His pension will be effective September 1, 2025. Based on an average
salary of approximately $150,847.68 over the past five years, the formula for
computing regular pensions and Mr. Baginski's selection of the 100% Joint and
Survivor Annuity with the 30% partial lump sum, this pension benefit will be
approximately $86,947.32 annually.
Jevon Graham, Fire Division Chief, Fire Department, was employed by the City
on July 19, 1999, and his pension service credit is effective on that date. His
pension will be effective September 1, 2025. Based on an average salary of
approximately $121,962.86 over the past five years, the formula for computing
regular pensions and Mr. Graham's selection of the Single Life Annuity, this
pension benefit will be approximately $88,219.08 annually.
Sandra Lear, Business System Analyst II, Information Technology Department,
was employed by the City on November 10, 1997, and her pension service
credit is effective on that date. Her pension will be effective January 1, 2026.
Based on an average salary of approximately $97,957.74 over the past five
years, the formula for computing regular pensions and Ms. Lear's selection of
the Single Life Annuity, this pension benefit will be approximately $75,779.16
annually.
Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for non-hazardous duty
employees hired prior to the effective date of this reinstatement (1/1/13), a
member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on
which a participant has reached the age of 55 years and completed 20 years of
credited service; the date on which a participant has reached age 65 years and
completed five years of credited service; or the date on which a member has
completed 30 years of service regardless of age. For non-hazardous duty
employees hired on or after the effective date of this restatement, a member
shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on which a
participant has reached the age of 60 years and completed 25 years of
credited service; or the date on which a participant has reached the age of 65
years and completed five years of credited service. Ms. Lear has met the
non-hazardous duty criteria.
Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for hazardous duty
employees, a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the
date on which the participant has completed 20 years of credited service
regardless of age, or the date on which the participant has reached 55 years
and completed ten years of credited service. Mr. Baginski and Mr. Graham
have met the hazardous duty criteria.
Trustee Mannino moved to approve the following request of Steven
Baginski, Police Department, Jevon Graham, Fire Department, and
Sandra Lear, Information Technology Department for a regular
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City of Clearwater
Pension Trustees
Meeting Minutes November 3, 2025
pension as provided by Sections 2.416 and 2.424 of the Employees'
Pension Plan. The motion was duly seconded and carried
unanimously.
5. Director's Report — None.
6. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 1:44 p.m.
Chair
Employees' Pension Plan Trustees
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City of Clearwater