HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Fire Pension 071017PALM BEACH GARDENS FIREFIGHTERS’ PENSION FUND
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD
JULY 10, 2017
A meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order at 1:05PM in the Council
Chambers, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Those persons present were:
TRUSTEES OTHERS
Rick Rhodes, Chair Denise McNeill, Administrator
Martin Cohen, Vice Chair Dan Johnson, Investment Consultant
Jon Currier, Secretary Jennifer Gainfort , Investment Consultant
Ed Morejon John McCann, Investment Consultant
Tom Murphy Pedro Herrera, Attorney
Steve Feigilis, ICMA Rep
Christopher Henry, Active Firefighter
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mr. Henry introduced himself and stated that he was here today on behalf of Tracy
Bussey’s, Gary Bussey’s wife. He was inquiring about the beneficiary payment that
would be payable to Mrs. Bussey upon her husband’s death. Mr. Herrera stated that
under the Florida State Statute, if there is no body found, then a person is not presumed
deceased until after 5 years of being missing. If the case is petitioned in court, then they
will be able to move that date up. The Trustees had a very lengthy discussion with the
Plan’s Attorney on this case and what their options are at this point. Mr. Bussey chose
the 50% joint & survivor option when he entered the DROP 5 years ago. He also
submitted his exit DROP forms to separate service earlier in the month and therefore his
first pension check would have been effective August 1, 2017. Mr. Herrera stated that
the Florida State law death or beneficiary payment is payable upon receipt of a death
certificate and in this situation we do not have a death certificate as the member is still
considered missing at this point. The Trustees reviewed their options under the Plan and
the State Law as to whether any benefit is payable to Mrs. Bussey as the member’s
beneficiary, and if so when. The Trustees noted their fiduciary responsibility to protect
the Plan and the members of the Plan, but this is the first time they have come across a
situation like this. In regards to the monthly pension benefit, the Trustees feel that the
spouse should be entitled to her 50% as that is what the member elected 5 years ago when
he entered the DROP.
A motion was made by Tom Murphy to authorize the pension fund to pay Mrs.
Bussey the 50% joint & survivor benefit with no cap as that is what Mr. Bussey
elected when he entered the DROP in 2012. The motion was seconded by Jon
Currier and carried 5-0.
The Trustees stated that they would like to a hold a special meeting in the near future to
discuss Mr. Bussey’s DROP and Share money. His DROP money is over at ICMA and
his Share money remands in the Plan. The special meeting is scheduled for July 19, 2017
at 3:30PM.
MINUTES
The Board reviewed the minutes of the regular meeting held on May 3, 2017. The
Trustees made some revisions.
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A motion was made by Marty Cohen to approve the minutes of the May 3, 2017
regular meeting as amended. The motion was seconded by Ed Morejon and carried
5-0.
ICMA REPORT: (STEVE FEIGILIS)
Mr. Feigilis briefly updated the Board on the DROP Plan and noted that Mr. Bussey was
the only member currently in the self-directed DROP fund with ICMA. There are
currently 12 investment options available in the DROP Plan that a member has to choose
from if they elect to move their money to ICMA. Mr. Feigilis stated that a member has
access to their DROP money when they exit the DROP and are receiving retirement
benefits. ICMA has recently updated their online system and Mr. Feigilis encouraged
members to log on to see all the new information they can review as well as all the new
online transactions that can be completed as well.
INVESTMENT MONITOR REPORT: ANDCO CONSULTING (DAN JOHNSON,
JOHN MCCANN & JENNIFER GAINFORT)
Mr. Johnson introduced Mr. McCann. Mr. McCann is the Consultant for the Police Plan,
but he will be attending the next Fire meeting as Mr. Johnson has a meeting conflict.
Mr. Johnson reviewed the preliminary report for the quarter ending June 30, 2017. He
noted that all the Plan assets have been transferred from Regions to Salem Trust. PRC is
now doing the benefit payments as well. For the quarter the Plan is up 2.5% and for the
fiscal year to date they are up 9.9%. Mr. Johnson noted that overall, the Plan is doing
well and all managers are in line with their relative benchmarks. They reviewed the Dana
small cap fund and noted that they looked at some alternatives at the last meeting as Mr.
Johnson thinks there are better options available for the fund. Mr. Johnson stated that he
will bring and updated small cap search to the next meeting to review.
ATTORNEY REPORT: SUGERMAN & SUSSKIND (PEDRO HERRERA)
Mr. Herrera stated that the BanCorp case is still pending and this Plan remains the lead
plaintiff in the case. They are hoping that a settlement will be proposed soon. Mr.
Herrera will keep the Board updated as more information becomes available.
Mr. Herrera reviewed his Legislative update memo and noted that there were no changes
for the public pension plans. There was a State Law change in regards to public records
request and he briefly reviewed that.
Mr. Herrera reminded the Trustees that their Annual Form 1 Disclosures were due July 1,
2017.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: RESOURCE CENTERS (DENISE MCNEILL)
DISBURSEMENTS
The Board reviewed the disbursements presented for approval by the Administrator.
A motion was made by Tom Murphy to approve the disbursements as presented by
the Administrator. The motion was seconded by Jon Currier and carried 5-0.
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BENEFIT APPROVALS
The Board reviewed the benefit approval list dated July 10, 2017 as presented by the
Administrator (applications to enter the DROP for Victoria Grove, Paul Magnano,
Stephen Rogers and Mark Joyce).
A motion was made by Tom Murphy to approve the applications to enter the DROP
for Victoria Grove, Paul Magnano, Stephen Rogers & Mark Joyce. The motion was
seconded by Jon Currier and carried 5-0.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The Trustees reviewed the interim financial statement as of May 2017.
The financial statements were received and filed as of May 2017.
The Trustees asked if the Plan’s local checking account at CenterState could be reflected
on the Custodial statements. Ms. McNeill stated that she will have to look into that and
will get back to the Board.
OLD BUSINESS
The Trustees reviewed the KTMC securities monitoring services brochure. They provide
this service free to the Board and they will also file any claims on behalf of the fund if
needed. The Trustees discussed the KTMC and noted that they had another firm
providing these services too, but it does not hurt to have more than one securities
monitoring firm either.
A motion was made by Tom Murphy to enter into a securities monitoring
agreement with KTMC. The motion was seconded by Ed Morejon and carried 5-0.
NEW BUSINESS
The Trustees noted that Mr. Bussey’s funeral is coming up and on behalf of the Board of
Trustees, they would like to make some kind of contribution to his service. Mr. Herrera
confirmed that flowers or some kind of arrangement would be a reasonable expense from
the Plan.
A motion was made by Ed Morejon authorize the Plan’s Administrator to send
flowers to Mr. Bussey’s funeral with the costs not to exceed $250. The motion was
seconded by Tom Murphy and carried 5-0.
Lastly, the Board thanks Mr. Currier for organizing the recent employee workshop.
Everything went well.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:58PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Jon Currier, Secretary