02-02-2022 MinutesTHE CITY OF OCOEE POLICE OFFICERS'/FIREFIGHTERS'
RETIREMENT FUND BOARD MEETING — February 2, 2022
Chairman Brown called the meeting of the City of Ocoee Police Officers'/Firefighters' Retirement Trust
Fund to order at 1:00 p.m. in the Commission Chambers of City Hall.
Trustees Present: Chairman Charles Brown, Bryan Pace, Joe May, Trey Littlefield and William
Maxwell
Others present:
Fund Consultant Tim. Nash of AndCo Consulting, Board Attorney Pedro Herrera of Sugarman, and
Susskind, Doug Lozen of Foster and Foster, and Fund Administrator Pete Prior of Benefits USA, Inc and
Livia Giuliani via teleconference.
Call to Order:
Roll call and determination of quorum: The roll was called and a quorum declared present.
Approval of Minutes from Regular Meeting dated November 3, 2021
Chairman Brown asked the board if there were any corrections, deletions, or additions to the minutes.
Hearing and seeing none Trustee Maxwell moved to approve the minutes and Trustee Moy seconded the
motion and the motion passed.
Public Comments:
A member of the fire department asked the board if the union could use the pension board actuary to
prepare an additional study for increase in benefits. The Chairman asked Mr. Lozen if this is a common
procedure. Trustee Moy noted that he does not want to issue a blank check. Trustee Pace suggested
perhaps both plans can do it once every three years for contract negotiations. Attorney Herrera noted that
it is done frequently, but added that if the board paid for it, they should also see a copy of the report which
would necessarily become a public record. Secondly, we should place a checks and balances of how it
should be done, the payment and sharing of the information. The Chairman asked the attorney to provide
a policy for the next meeting for board approval and we can proceed from there. Trustee Maxwell
questioned why the union is not paying for the study. The Chairman said that is something we can add to
the policy. Attorney Herrera said he understood his direction but wanted clarification as to dollar amount.
It was the consensus of the board they should move forward with the policy with the costs and limits.
Trustee Littlefield asked Mr. Lozen what is the usual costs of a study would be to the plans of similar
size. Mr. Lozen said that it would be approximately $10,000 for both plans. It was noted that this item
should be placed on the next agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
Appointment of 5"' Trustee- Joy Moy
The Chairman asked Mr. Moy if he wished to continue serving on the Board as the fifth member. Mr.
Moy replied that he would like to continue to serve on the board. The Chairman asked if there were any
other nominations for consideration. Hearing and seeing none Trustee Pace moved to appoint Joe Moy as
the fifth trustee. Trustee Littlefield seconded the motion and the motion passed.
Presentation of October 1, 2021Actuarial Valuation
Mr. Lozen reviewed the valuation with the board noting the required contribution from the combination
of City and State sources for the year ending September 30, 2023, is 22.35% of the actual payroll. Mr.
Lozen noted that the city has a prepaid contribution of $1,291,849.81 to offset a portion of the stated
requirements for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022.
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Mr. Lozen noted that for the Police Plan, under the default position, the first $223,377.02 received from
the State will offset the City's contribution requirement. Future State Monies received for the Police
Officers in excess of $223,377.02 will be split 50150, to be allocated to the newly established Share Plan,
and as a credit to the City's annual contribution requirements. For the Firefighters, per Mutual Consent
between the City and Firefighter Members, the first $171,631.09 received annually will offset the City's
contribution requirement. Since the Mutual Consent Agreement did not specify the baseline for
determination of excess monies, all future State monies received for the Firefighters portion of the Plan in
excess of $171,631.09 will be allocated as a credit against the Unfunded Liability. If no Unfunded
Liability exists, then Firefighter State Monies in excess will offset the City's annual funding obligation.
Mr. Lozen reported that the Plan had an actuarial gain of 9.71 % which exceeded the 7.25% assumption
rate and more turnover than expected. These gains were offset in part by losses associated an average
salary increased of 7.76% and an unfavorable retirement experience. There were no changes in benefits
since the last valuation. The Board approved reducing the assumption rate 7.25% to 7.00% net of
investment expenses for this valuation. The Board also approved consolidating the Unfunded Liability
into a single base amortized as a level dollar for 15 years.
Mr. Lozen reported on the participant data noting that the total membership was 275 with 146 actives, 60
service retirees. 4 beneficiaries, 6 DROP retirees, 7 disabilities and 52 vested terminated employees. That
being said, Chairman Brown entertained a motion to approve the actuary's report. Trustee Maxwell
moved to approve the October 1, 2021 valuation as presented and Trustee Moy seconded the motion and
the motion passed. A second motion was in order to approve the rate of return, for this year, next several
years and the long term. Trustee Littlefield to approve the expected rate of return for current, next year
and future years and Trustee Maxwell seconded the motion and the motion passed.
Trustee Littlefield noted that the fire union has completed its negotiations and wanted to know about the
excess 175 monies. The Chairman stated it would go into a share plan. Mr. Littlefield also noted that there
is a disability change as well. Mr. Lozen said he will have to prepare an impact statement for the
ordinance and would like a copy of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Chairman asked Attorney
Herrera if he would assist in this and said yes, he will prepare the Ordinance.
Detail of Administrative Expenses
The Administrator reported that the detail of administrative expenses for fiscal year 9/30/2021 was
$164,569 and did not exceed the Budget of $192,805. She said this was just for informational purposes
and no action was needed.
Benefits USA request for fee increase
Mr. Prior addressed the Board noting that the fee was increased by $400 making the monthly fee
$2,500.00 effective March 1, 2022. That being said, Trustee Pace moved to approve the Benefits USA,
fee increase and Trustee Littlefield seconded the motion and it passed.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
Andco Fee Increase
Mr. Nash reported that that AndCo is requesting a fee increase of $28,000 retainer per year effective
January 1, 2022 and would include all components of their consulting service. The exiting fee was 5.50
basis points or (0.055%) of the total plan assets and the new fee will be 3.70 basis points or (0.370%).
This new fee will be guaranteed for 3 years. That being said, Trustee Pace moved to approve the AndCo
Consulting Fee and Trustee Littlefield seconded the motion and it passed.
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Foster and Foster Portal
After much discussion regarding this issue Trustee Littlefield moved to approve the portal minus 10% and
Trustee Moy seconded the motion and the motion passed.
Quarterly Investments Update: Q/E 12 /31/2021
Mr. Nash reported that he invited Garcia Hamilton to the meeting to explain their return for the 3-year
period.
Mr. Gilbert Garcia and Ms. Janna Hamilton addressed the board via zoom. They provided a review of the
company noting that half of the firm contracted Covid but everyone is fine as of now. Mr. Garcia reported
that the CPI increased from 6.2% to 6.8% during the quarter, the largest increase since 1982. The quarter
also saw an increase in the spread of COVID, due largely to the Omicron variant, to the highest levels
since the pandemic first began (+400,000 7-day average of new cases vs. a previous Q 12021 peak of
roughly 250,000). Fortunately, the Omicron variant was less severe than the previous ones. The
Bloomberg US Aggregate Index posted a total return this quarter of 0.01% for. Treasury rates rose 44
basis points to a 0.73% yield, the 5-year increased to a 1.26% yield and the 30-year yield fell to a 1.90%
level. For the quarter the Fund returned -0.10% vs. the aggregate index of 0.01%; for the 1, 3 and 5-year
periods the Fund returned-2.22%, 4.27% and 3.48% vs. the index of-1.54%, 4.79% and 3.57%
respectively. Finally, Ms. Hamilton provided an update noting that with interest rates trending higher into
this quarter, the Fixed Income markets were down, but the account is doing better than the index for the
month of January posting a return of -1.44% versus the benchmark-2.15%. Mr. Nash reported that GHA
transitioned early based on their philosophy and was rewarded in January of this year. Mr. Nash also
stated that his firm understands what and why they did what they did and is not suggesting any changes
with them.
Mr. Nash reviewed the Investment Policy Statement briefly, noting that the changes that were made were
just housekeeping nature. Trustee Moy moved to approve the Investment Policy changes and Trustee
Pace seconded the motion and the motion passed.
Finally, Mr. Nash thanked the Board for their business and noted that he has enjoyed working for this
Board and all parties involved for the past 13 years and that he will miss working with everyone. He
reported that he decided to move back to investments and will be working for Intercontinental. Mr. Nash
introduced Brad Hess who will be replacing him.
Mr. Hess provided a brief report on his background noting that he has over 18 years of experience in the
industry. His responsibilities include coordinating consulting initiatives, optimizing investment portfolios,
preparing investment manager due diligence reviews, selecting investment managers, developing
investment policy guidelines, and preparing performance -monitoring reports. He is based out of the
Orlando, FL headquarters. Mr. Hess started with AndCo as a Senior Research Analyst and has extensive
experience conducting independent investment manager research. Prior to joining AndCo, Mr. Hess was
a Research Analyst at Lockwood Advisors and at FIS Group, where he specialized in finding emerging
managers for clients such as CALPERS and the NY State Common Fund. Mr. Hess was also a member of
FIS Group's Investment Committee and has the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts in Economics,
Ursinus College; Master of Business Administration, Cornell University; CFAV Charter holder and a
Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor Designee.
Mr. Hess reported on the economy noting that the GDP rose from 4% to 7% for the quarter. The US
labor market is almost near full employment with the unemployment rate of 3.9%; however, the job
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growth was slow during the quarter with a 3-month average of 365,000. US equities rose during the
quarter and international lagged behind their counterparts.
The S&P returned 11.0% for the quarter vs. 6.4% for mid cap and 2.1% for small cap. The SAFE index
returned 2.7% while the emerging markets index declined by -1.3%. The S&P large cap index led the
equity market for the 1-year period returning 28.7%; the Russell 2000 small cap returned 14.8%.
Mr. Hess reported on the performance noting that the fund returned 3.95% for the quarter vs. the policy of
5.18%. The total equity fund returned 5.60% vs. 7.41%; domestic equity returned 7.78% vs. 9.28%.
Brandywine and DePrince returned 5.72% and 9.00% respectively vs. the Russell 1000 Value index of
7.77%. Alger and Mar Vista returned 5.62% and 8.35% respectively vs. the Russell 1.000 Growth index
of l l.64%. Vanguard returned 9.16% vs. 8.65%. American Funds Euro Pacific returned -1.13 vs. the
MSCI AC World ex USA index of 1.88%. For the fixed income, Garcia Hamilton returned -0.08% vs.
the Barclays Aggregate of 0.01%. The Global fixed income returned -0.21% vs. the policy of-1.10%;
PIMCO Diversified and PIMCO Global returned 0.04% and 0.48% respectively vs. the Global fixed
income index of 0.69%. American Realty returned 8.81% outperforming the ODCE of 7.70%.
CONSENT AGENDA:
For Approval: Warrant #223
Benefits USA, Inc. (Flat Monthly Fee for February 2022)
$2,100.00
Brandywine Global (Q4-2021 Mgmt Fee -Inv #BW5521dated /19/2022)
$6,813.92
Fiduciary Trust (Q4-2021 Custodian Fee -Brandywine; Invoice dated 1/19/2022
$775.54
Fiduciary Trust (Q4-2021 Custodian Fee-DRZ; Invoice dated 1/1.9/2022)
$826.26
Fiduciary Trust (Q4-2021 Custodian Fee-GHA; Invoice dated 1/19/2022)
$2,493.09
Fiduciary Trust (Q4-2021 Custodian Fee -Mar Vista Invoice dated 1/19/2022)
$784.37
Fiduciary Trust (Q4-2021 Custodian Fee -R&D Invoice dated 1/19/2022)
$4,024.49
Foster & Foster (Services Rendered; Invoice #22559 dated 1/24/2022)
$19,991.00
Joe Moy (Parking & Mileage and for FPPTA Trustees School)
$111.21
Total
$37,919.88
For Ratification: Warrants #218-222
Charles Brown (Mileage Expense for FPPTA Trustees School 276 miles x .56) $154.56
William Maxwell (Mileage Expense for FPPTA Trustees School 280 miles x .56) $156.80
Sugarman & Susskind (Legal Fees -Invoice #163099 dated 10/29/2021)
$510.00
Total
$821.36
Benefits USA, Inc. (Flat Monthly Fee for December 2021)
$2,100.00
FPPTA (2022 Membership Renewal)
$750.00
FPPTA (Winter School Registration for Charles Brown)
$850.00
FPPTA (Winter School Registration for Trey Littlefield)
$850.00
FPPTA (Winter School Registration for William Maxwell)
$850.00
FPPTA (Winter School Registration for Joe Moy)
$850.00
FPPTA (2021 Re -Certification. Fee for Brown, Littlefield, Maxwell, Moy & Pace)
$155.00
FPPTA (2022 Re -Certification Fee for Brown, Littlefield, Maxwell, Moy & Pace)
$155.00
Trey Littlefield (Hotel & Per diem for FPPTA WTS 1/23-1/26/22)
$911.63
Total
7,471.63
Sugarman & Susskind (Legal Fees -Invoice #164814 dated 12/15/2021)
$1,190.00
Total
$1,190.00
AndCo (Q4-21 Consulting Fee -Invoice #40063 dated 12/31/2021)
$6,250.00
Benefits USA, Inc. (Flat Monthly Fee for January 2022)
$2,100.00
Garcia Hamilton (Q4-21 Mgmt. Fee -Invoice #35098 dated 1/5/2022)
$12,517.78
William Maxwell (Hotel & Per Diem for Winter Trustees School)
$844.13
Joe Moy (Hotel & Per Diem for Winter Trustees School)
$844.13
Total
$22,556.04
Charles Brown (Hotel & Per Diem for Winter Trustees School) $911.63
DePrince, Race & Zollo (Q4-2021 Mgmt Fee -Inv #202104032 dated 1/12/2022) $7,436.00
Mar Vista (Q4-2021 Mgmt Fee -Invoice #10175 dated 1/12/2022) $7,063.63
Total $15,411.26
Pension payments:
Jonathan Mieras (Monthly Benefit payments effective 1/1/2022) $1,387.91
Earl Edwin Youman (Early Retirement Benefit effective 12/1/2021) $2,143.35
Earl Edwin Youman (Partial Lump Sum -Rollover) $69,179.14
Total $72,710.40
Refunds of Contributions:
Cortney Cliff (Refund of Contributions) $13,861.12
Lindsey Ellison (Refund of Contributions) $7,246.69
Mariah Holmes (Refund of Contributions) $3,672.65
Total Refunds $24,780.46
Trustee Moy moved to approve the consent agenda as presented and Trustee Littlefield seconded the
motion and the motion passed.
Attorney's Report:
Attorney Herrera reported that there is only one pending legislation regarding FL public pensions at this
time. He reported on the COVID-19 bill which similar to the cancer presumption from a few years ago, it
will be presumed job related for all public safety officers who contract COVID-19 for purposes of
disability or pre -retirement death benefits. There is a vaccine requirement, but not under this bill as it
already exists in the legislature.
Attorney Herrera reported on Educational Opportunities noting that the FPPTA will host their summer
conference on June 26-29, 2022 at the Hilton in Bonnet Creek and the State will not have its school in
middle to late May.
Administrator's Report:
The Administrator had nothing further to report.
Miscellaneous Correspondence:
No action was needed.
Comments from Trustees:
Trustee Moy commented on the issue regarding members files noting that all the records are currently
being held at the Fire station and since Benefits USA is the Administrator, they should have the files.
Trustee Moy moved to have the personnel records moved to Benefits USA and Trustee Maxwell
seconded the motion for discussion. Trustee Maxwell also noted that they should make the files digital
and the Chairman agreed. After much discussion it was agreed that Mr. Prior would meet with Trustee
Moy after the next meeting in May to get the files.
Next Regular Meeting date: Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 1:00 pm.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 4:48 pm.
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Respectfully submitted by,
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Chairman
Contact the City Clerk's Office to listen to an electronic copy of the complete minutes.
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