HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-10-1997 Minutes MINUTES OF THE CITY OF OCOEE GENERAL EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT
TRUST FUND (PENSION BOARD) MEETING HELD FEBRUARY 10, 1997
Chairperson Dabbs called the meeting of the City of Ocoee General Employees' Retirement
Trust Fund to order at 9:15 a.m. in the Commission Chambers Conference Room of City Hall.
The roll was called and a quorum declared present.
PRESENT: Chairperson Dabbs, Trustees carter(arrived late), Grafton, Murphy, and Oliver.
Also present were Attorney Dehner, Actuary Garrett, and Trust Investment
Officer Bellew.
ABSENT: None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
When the Minutes of the December 11, 1996 meeting were presented for approval,the following
corrections were made:
1) Page 1 - under the heading of Discuss/Approve Benefit Improvements to the Plan -the
wording in the last sentence of the first paragraph as follows: "Members were employed and
covered under the Plan on the date the improvement was adopted and future employees who
would come into the Plan would be covered by the benefit improvement." (Chairperson Dabbs)
2) Page 1 -third paragraph under the above heading - "Attorney Dehner advised the Board that
they should make a recommendation which would be in the best interest of all parties Plan
members." (Attorney Dehner)
3) Page 2 - first paragraph- "Chairperson Dabbs asked how the Board planned to notify
members of their its decision, and that whether the recommendation would be submitted to the
City Commission. Attorney Dehner said that it was appropriate for the Board to take it to the
membership, and Actuary Foster suggested the preparation of an announcement that could be
included in the member's paycheck envelope. Member Murphy, seconded by Member Oliver,
moved to have a meeting on February 10, 1997, from 11:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. opened to all
General Employees,...." (Chairperson Dabbs)
4) Page 2,third paragraph-the spelling of Dean bier Witter, (Trustee Murphy)
5) Page 2, last paragraph- "Chairperson Dabbs said that it had come to their the members'
attention that this may be the last meeting that is covered by Clerk Stenographer Lewis."
(Chairperson Dabbs)
Trustee Murphy, seconded by Trustee Oliver, moved to approve the Minutes of
the December 11, 1996 General Employees' Retirement Trust Fund meeting as
amended. Motion carried 4-0. (Trustee Carter was not present.)
Ocoee General Employees' Retirement Trust Fund Minutes
February 10, 1997
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS FROM AUDIENCE
There were no comments.
DISCUSSION/ADOPTION OF REVISIONS TO SUMMARY PLAN DESCRIPTION
In reviewing the Summary Plan Description provided by Attorney Dehner and date stamped
Received January 17, 1997, Trustee Murphy asked that the second sentence in the second
paragraph on the page titled "Introduction" be changed as follows: "If you need further
information on any of the topics presented in this booklet,please contact fiber-of the
Board of Trustees." He noted also that any upgrades to the Plan, such as the requested change in
the 2%multiplier(on page 2) to 2.25 % would, upon adoption by the Ocoee City Commission,
cause the page to be changed to indicate the current information.
Actuary Garrett advised that two lines in Exhibit B (attached to the Summary Plan Description)
should be corrected and that immediately upon returning to his office he would send a new
Exhibit B.
Trustee Oliver, seconded by Chairperson Dabbs, moved to adopt the Summary
Plan Description with the change noted above incorporated and also to include the
firro corrected Exhibit B. Motion carried 4-0. (Trustee Carter was not present.)
DISCUSSION/ADOPTION OF REVISIONS TO OPERATING RULES AND
PROCEDURES
Trustee Carter arrived during this discussion.
In reviewing the Operating Rules and Procedures provided by Attorney Denner and date stamped
Received February 3, 1997 the following changes were proposed:
Page 1 - Rule 1.4- ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICES (last line) - Strike Treasurer.
(Chairperson Dabbs)
Page 2 - Rule 1.4 - (last paragraph) Strike both references to Treasurer. (Secretary Grafton)
Page 3 - Rule 1.7 - ELECTION PROCEDURES §A. General Employee Trustees. "...If no
candidate receives a majority vote, a run-off election between the two top vote recipients shall be
held at the earliest practical date. Tie vote will be decided by a coin toss...." (Sec. Grafton)
"...Ballots shall be distributed with the first pay check in September and shall be returned,—in a
sealed envelope - - - : • _ - - :- '- - - - - a - : • • -, to the office of the Director of
Personnel by 5:00 p.m. the Wednesday immediately following the first payday in September...."
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Ocoee General Employees' Retirement Trust Fund Minutes
February 10, 1997
(Chairperson Dabbs)
Page 10 - Rule 6.1 - FIDUCIARY INSURANCE "The Trustees are authorized by law to and
shall purchase fiduciary insurance to insure members of the Board for errors and omissions at the
expense of the Fund,..." (Trustee Murphy)
As Chairperson Dabbs objected to the election amendment providing for resolving a tie vote with
a coin toss, the vote on the procedures was divided into two motions.
Trustee Oliver, seconded by Trustee Carter, moved to adopt the election
procedures as amended. Motion carried 4-1 with Chairperson Dabbs voting no.
Secretary Grafton, seconded by Trustee Oliver, moved to adopt all the changes
to the Operating Rules and Procedures listed above as discussed. Motion carried
5-0.
Attorney Dehner noted that the following paragraphs and sub-paragraphs had been excerpted
from the Operating Rules and Procedures in the past to compile the Selected Provisions to be
distributed to the membership, and that any changes in the Operating Rules and Procedures
would be reflected in this list as well:
§1.7a- Election Procedures
§2.2 - Agendas and Other Meeting Materials
§2.4 - Appearance Before the Board
§3.1 - Legal Effect
§3.2 - Adoption Procedures
§9.2 - Dissolution of Marriage
§11.5 -Actuarial Studies for Individual Plan Members
§14.1 - Personnel Director
§14.2 - Documents to be Distributed upon Employment by Personnel Director.
Secretary Grafton clarified that Attorney Denner would send the revised Summary Plan
Description, Operating Rules and Procedures and Selected Provisions (excerpts taken from the
Operating Rules and Procedures to be distributed to the membership)to her office and upon
verifying that the changes approved this date were incorporated in the documents, she would be
authorized to provide those documents for the Personnel Department to distribute to the
membership and new employees.
AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF BILLS
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Ocoee General Employees' Retirement Trust Fund Minutes
February 10, 1997
Secretary Grafton presented the following bills for authorization to pay:
Christiansen and Dehner $2,220.80
City of Ocoee 7.66
Judie Lewis 68.67
Trustee Oliver, seconded by Trustee Murphy, moved to authorize payment of
the bills as presented. Motion carried 5-0.
Secretary Grafton reported: (1)that Richard Ross (DOH 10/8/92)resigned January 24, 1997
and on February 8 had asked that his contributions be returned to him($3,907.64); (2) Laura
Haskell (DOH 6/9/85)resigned Friday, February 7 and will be making a decision about how to
handle her contributions soon; (3) Ray Brenner(DOH 5/19/88, Resigned 5/12/95)has decided to
draw early retirement and has asked for the papers to be forwarded to him.
Trustee Oliver, seconded by Chairperson Dabbs, moved to authorize the refund
of contributions and process the early retirement as requested providing the
necessary papers are in order. Motion carried 5-0.
ACTUARY REPORT
Actuary Garrett said that as he only had a Performance Monitor Report, his report should
follow the Money Manager's report.
MONEY MANAGER REPORT
Money Manager Bellew distributed a handout showing the S&P 500 Index from 1963 to the
present and reported generally about the stock market and the bond market. There was
discussion regarding the international market. Mr. Bellew then presented his report on the
General Employee's Fund which is on file and available for review. The report showed that the
fund has reached a book value of $2,105,219.68, (and market value of$2,650,227.57) for the
period ending December 31, 1996. The rate of return for the last quarter was 4.3%,the last year
11.97%, and the last two years 18.15%. He also distributed another handout showing the STI
Classic International Equity Fund Description of the Top 10 Holding as of December 31, 1996.
PERFORMANCE MONITOR REPORT
Actuary Garrett presented the Performance Monitor Report indicating that the 4.3%rate of
return for the quarter ending December 31, 1996 failed to outperform the composite index of
market indicators used for comparison which registered a return of 5.6%. The Total Fund also
underperformed the composite index (12.0%vs. 12.5%) and ranked in the 41st percentile of the
Cadence Universe of investment managers for the one year period ended December 31, 1996.
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February 10, 1997
The report is on file. Mr. Garret said that he would send the Client Ranking in the mail, and he
presented the statement in the amount of$1,445.00 from Foster& Foster for consideration.
Trustee Oliver, seconded by Trustee Carter, moved to authorize payment of the
Foster & Foster statement in the amount of$1,445.00 as presented. Motion
carried 5-0.
ATTORNEY REPORT
Attorney Dehner reported that the legislature passed an amendment to Chapter 112.312 F. S.
last session regarding food and beverage, removing the phrase "other than that consumed at a
single sitting or event," and he cautioned Trustees to be aware that, accordingly, they should not
accept meals or beverages from consultants.
RECESS 11:11 A.M. TO 11:15 A.M.
MEETING WITH THE MEMBERSHIP
The meeting reconvened in the Commission Chambers with six employees present in the
audience. Chairperson Dabbs reviewed the changes made to the Summary Plan Description
and Operating Rules and Procedures in the earlier portion of the meeting as well as the proposed
benefit changes and asked for responses from the employees.
Trustee Murphy stated for the record that an employee had contacted him requesting that the
multiplier be raised to 2.5%.
Mrs. Fran Gosnell raised a question regarding the difference between the benefits in the General
Employees' Fund and the Police/Fire Fund. It was explained that the vote was to be counted
later in the day regarding the survey the Police/Fire Board had conducted on the question to the
Police/Fire membership regarding the members' willingness to contribute more to the Fund in
order to share with the City the expense of raising the multiplier. Attorney Dehner explained
that the state law and public policies since 1938 provide that both police and fire work involve a
higher risk than other types of employment. Therefore,to encourage lower retirement age and to
provide a practical way for police officers and firefighters to retire sooner, insurance premium
rebate monies are funneled to police/fire pension funds. He said it would be a violation of the
state law if the benefits of the General Employee Plan and the Police/Fire Plan were equal.
Actuary Garrett explained that the General Employee Plan, with a 2% multiplier, is in line with
other general employee plans, while the 2.25%requested will put this plan ahead of the other
plans. On the other hand,the Police/Fire Plan has been behind other police/fire plans and their
requested increase will bring their plan in line with other police/fire plans. Mrs. Gosnell noted
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that the police/fire membership is very aggressive with their plan and she asked what can be done
to stimulate the interest of the general employees, as she would be willing to contribute more to
the plan in order to raise the benefits.
Ms. Janet Resnik expressed appreciation for the Board's efforts and asked at what point in the
plan's existence it would be possible to come up with an earlier retirement policy. Actuary
Garrett explained that the current .25% increase requested would benefit all employees who
retire after it is adopted by increasing their retirement by 12.5% and those who are vested will
receive that benefit upon retirement whether they remain employed by the City or not.
Mrs. Ellen King stated for the record that she is in favor of increasing the multiplier to 2.25%
and using the best of three years instead of the best of five years for the calculation. She asked
how the $100 payment would benefit the plan. Chairperson Dabbs explained that it was an
opportunity to make an effort to take care of those who had retired earlier and he had hoped it
would send the message to the membership that this Board would continue to look out for the
interest of all the employees even after retirement. Actuary Garrett explained that the $100
supplement was typically given to retirees to offset the cost of health insurance, but was not
labeled as such because doing so would require that it be funded in a certain manner.
Mrs. Gosnell stated for the record that she was in favor of the increase and asked when the
increase would be presented to administration. Chairperson Dabbs said that it would be
presented in time for the next fiscal year budget consideration.
Mr. Ernie Kovacs asked who managed the Plan investments and asked for a copy of the
statements. He was advised that SunTrust Investments (STI) managed the funds and the
statements were on file in the City Clerk's office and available to be read or copied.
Mr. Randy Conyers said that he was in favor of raising the multiplier to 2.50% instead of
2.25%with the City footing the bill. He asked why the General Employee membership was not
given two options to vote on similar to the survey given to the Police/Fire. He said that he would
be interested in increasing the employee contribution if necessary. Attorney Dehner said that,
strategically, if the City funds this increase, the employees may be willing to fund the next
improvement. Actuary Garrett said that an improvement to be considered later may be a cost
of living allowance instead of an increased multiplier.
Mr. Jim Beech thanked the Board and said he appreciates the pension plan and is in favor of the
increase of the multiplier to 2.25%. He suggested that a simplified instrument be prepared and
distributed to the membership to help them understand the plan. (He gave an example: See Spot.
See Spot run. My name is Dick. My name is Jane.) He asked for an actuarial report showing his
(law Page 6 of 8
Ocoee General Employees' Retirement Trust Fund Minutes
February 10, 1997
benefits if he retired March 12, 1997 (day after his 65t'birthday), January 20, 1998 (when he will
have 19.6 years), and June 1998 (when he will have 5 years at full time pay). Actuary Garrett
suggested requesting the first and last of those dates and said that his firm charges $75 per date
calculation. Whether Mr. Beech would be charged for them would depend on whether he has
asked for such a report before, as the Board covers the cost of two such reports for each member
during the member's lifetime.
Mr. Kovacs asked if a future commission can reduce the multiplier. Attorney Dehner
responded that they could not reduce what is in effect now but could change to a lower rate from
a date certain. He encouraged the members to be present when the increase is presented to the
City Commission so that their interest is made known. Secretary Grafton was asked to notify the
membership when the ordinance was to be on the agenda to be presented to the City
Commission.
Secretary Grafton asked for clarification on the calculations for retirement when there have
been increases and decreases in the multiplier and whether a future reduction would affect the
calculations covering the whole term of employment or just that portion from the time the
decrease took effect forward. Attorney Dehner advised that increases were generally retroactive,
but legally decreases could only operate prospectively.
As there were no employees present in the audience for a period of time the Board elected to
break for lunch in the Conference Room.
RECESS 12:15 P.M. TO 12:45 P.M. FOR LUNCH
Upon reconvening Chairperson Dabbs thanked the City Clerk's office for providing the lunch
and recognized an employee who wished to speak.
Mrs. Marian Green said that the proposed increase sounds good as long as employees do not
have to give up another benefit in order to get it. Discussion ensued regarding that likelihood
and Chairperson Dabbs said that was always a budget matter and up to the City Commission to
make the decision about the allocation of funds. Trustee Murphy pointed out that the concern
of this Board is for the welfare of the membership regarding the pension.
Secretary Grafton presented a question asked by James Miller, former employee with only four
years toward vesting, who has been told by his physician that he cannot return to work for health
reasons, and he is aware that drawing out his pension contribution before age 60 would incur a
30% loss due to the 10%penalty. He asked if his wife would experience the same penalty if she
applied for the return of his contribution after his death. She would not reach age 60 for many
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February 10, 1997
years and he has been advised that he has not much time left. Actuary Garrett responded that if
she collected after his death the 20%tax would be deducted for taxes but there would not be the
10%penalty. Mr. Miller could however roll over the funds into a conduit IRA if he wished to
avoid the 10%penalty.
Secretary Grafton advised that this day's mail included a bill from SunTrust in the amount of
$4,969.18 and asked for authorization to pay.
Trustee Oliver, seconded by Trustee Murphy, moved to authorize payment of
the SunTrust bill in the amount of$4,969.18. Motion carried 5-0.
Secretary Grafton, seconded by Trustee Carter, moved to authorize Attorney
Dehner to prepare the proposal of the increase to 2.25% for the multiplier and the
10% benefit to those already retired to go before the City Commission. Motion
carried 5-0.
Attorney Dehner said that he will prepare an ordinance amending the Plan in two respects, send
it to administration, and schedule a meeting with administration, Actuary Garrett, and
Chairperson Dabbs.
Trustee Murphy, seconded by Trustee Oliver, moved to adjourn at 1:00 p.m.
Motion carried 5-0.
1111
Je. Grafton, Secret. ib
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