HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Fire Pension 042821CITY OF PALM BEACH GARDENS
FIREFIGHTERS' PENSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
QUARTERLY MEETING MINUTES
City Hall, Council Chambers
10500 North Military Trail Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Wednesday, April 28, 2021, at 1:OOPM
TRUSTEES PRESENT: Mike Zingaro
Rick Rhodes
Jon Currier
Frank Spitalny
Eric Bruns
TRUSTEES ABSENT: None
OTHERS PRESENT: Michelle Rodriguez, Foster & Foster
John Thinnes, AndCo Consulting
Pedro Herrera, Sugarman and Susskind
Karen Russo, Salem Trust
Alison Wester, Mauldin and Jenkins
Greg Peters, Dana Investments
1. Call to Order— Rick Rhodes called the meeting to order at 1:01 pm.
2. Roll Call — As reflected above.
3. Public Comments — None.
4. Approval of Minutes
The Board approved the January 27 2021 quarterly meeting minutes upon motion by Jon Currier
and second by Frank Spitalnv: motion carried 5 0
5. New Business
a. Actual expenses as of September 30, 2020
i. Michelle Rodriguez reviewed the plan's actual expenses and commented they did
not exceed their proposed budget.
Reports
a. Salem Trust Company, Karen Russo, Board Custodian
i. Update on Salem Trust
1. Karen Russo reviewed the custodian's transition to a different platform in
March 2020. Karen informed the Board this resulted in the retirees
receiving two 1099Rs for 2020. Karen also advised the Board the
Hollywood satellite office had closed; however, this would have no effect
on client services.
b. Mauldin and Jenkins, Alison Wester, Plan Auditor
i. September 30, 2020 Audit
1. Alison Wester reviewed the statements of fiduciary net positions for the
2019 and 2020 fiscal years. Alison commented Note 2 of the statement
contained a description of the plan provisions. Alison commented the
fund's investments were in compliance with their most recent Investment
Policy Statement. Alison reviewed the history of the changes in the net
pension liability back to 2013. Alison reviewed the internal control report
and said there were no significant deficiencies. Mike Zingaro asked if the
City and State monies could be reported separately in Note 6 "Contribution
Information". Alison said they would make that format change in next
year's report.
The Board approved the September 30 2020 Audit as presented upon motion by Eric Bruns and
second by Jon Currier motion carried 5-0
C. Foster & Foster, Doug Lozen, Board Actuary
i. October 1, 2020 Actuarial Valuation Report
1. Doug Lozen commented the State contribution amount of $723,647 fell
short of the $750,072 the City was able to use to meet their required
contributions and as a result, there were no individual allocations for the
member's share plan accounts this fiscal year. Doug commented the City
had a prepaid contribution amount of $369,461.65. Jon Currier asked why
different payroll numbers were reported in the City's budget and the
Annual Report that was submitted to the State. Doug explained the City
only reported active firefighters' salaries and salaries for all fire department
personnel were included on the Annual Report.
2. Doug Lozen reviewed the assumption changes that were made since their
last report including a shorter amortization period, a lower assumed rate
of return and a State mandated change in the mortality tables. Doug
explained although the plan's contribution requirements did increase, the
actuarial value of the investment returns, 7.88%, beat the assumed rate of
return, 7.15%, and this mitigated the negative experience of the plan.
3. Doug Lozen commented the Board approved a policy at their April 3, 2019
meeting to lower the assumed rate of return by ten basis points each year
until it reached 6.75% and added this now put their rate of assumption at
7.05%. Doug reviewed the history of the plan's funding progress and
commented all of the assumption changes that were made in the last
experience study should increase the plan's funded status moving
forward.
The Board approved the October 1 2020 actuarial valuation report as presented upon motion by
Eric Bruns and second by Jon Currier; motion carried 5 0
The Board declared the returns for the plan shall be 7 05% for the next year, the next several years
and the Iona -term thereafter, net of investment related expenses upon motion by Eric Bruns and
second by Mike Zinaaro motion carried 5-0
d. Dana Investment Advisors, Greg Peters, Investment Manager
i. Quarterly Report through March 31, 2021
1. Greg Peters reviewed the Dana Large Cap Equity Fund performance over
the last quarter. The portfolio value as of March 31, 2021 was
$27,579,214, an increase of $4.5 million since the end of fiscal year 2020.
Greg commented they liked to be sector neutral and stay within 1.0% plus
or minus the benchmark. Greg reviewed other strategies of the fund
including, relative valuation discipline and position size limit.
2. Mike Zingaro asked who set the benchmarks for the fund and John
Thinnes commented the S&P 500 was a commonly used stock market
index of the 500 largest companies in the US and sometimes new sectors
were added to reflect changes in the market.
9. AndCo Consulting, John Thinnes, Investment Consultant
i. Quarterly report through March 31, 2021
1. John Thinnes briefly reviewed the market environment over the last
quarter and commented Large Cap, Small Cap and international markets
all posted positive returns however fixed income returns struggled.
2. The market value of assets as of March 31, 2021 was $135,385,660.
3. The total fund gross returns for the quarter were 3.83%, outperforming the
benchmark of 2.84%. The total fund trailing gross returns for the 1,3, 5, 7,
2
and 10-year periods were 34.38%, 10.26%, 10.79%, 8.98% and 9.32%
respectively. Since inception (May 01, 1998), total fund gross returns were
6.81 %, slightly outperforming the benchmark of 6.78%.
4. The Board discussed recent trends in the Real Estate market and the
process of cashing out funds.
f. Sugarman and Susskind, Pedro Herrera, Plan Attorney
i. Proposed Ordinance Amendment, CARES Act
1. Pedro Herrera reviewed the provisions of the proposed Ordinance and
commented the CARES Act loosened restrictions on distributions,
however it expired December 31, 2020. Pedro commented this Ordinance
amendment put the plan in compliance to cover the partial Share Plan
distribution that was made to Julie Tuman in 2020. The Board agreed by
consensus to recommend this Ordinance to the City.
ii. Summary Plan Description (SPD)
1. Pedro Herrera advised the Board he would provide an updated SPD to
include the following additions: the mutual consent agreement that
allowed the City to use $750,072.76 of any State premium tax money
received, the firefighter cancer presumption to the disability section and
the increase in the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) age to 72.
Pedro commented he would send a copy to the trustees for review and
bring the final version to the next meeting for the Board's approval.
Old Business
a. Michelle Rodriguez updated the Board on the status of collecting pension contributions
from DROP members who did not pay pension contributions their leave balances when
they entered the DROP. Michelle commented almost half of the participants had responded
and advised the Board she will send a second request to the remaining participants. Jon
Currier and Mike Zingaro commented some of the members were upset with the notification
process and they felt the administrator could have done a better job relaying the information
to the members. Michelle advised the Board she would send the letter for them to review
before she sent it out again.
8. Consent Agenda
a. Payment ratification
i. Warrant #40, #41 and #42
b. Payment approval
i. None
c. Fund activity report for January 21, 2021 through April 21, 2021
The Board approved the Consent Agenda as presented upon motion by Jon Currier and second by
Mike Zingaro, motion carried 5-0
9. Staff Reports, Discussions and Action
a. Foster & Foster, Michelle Rodriguez, Plan Administrator
i. Financial Disclosure Forms
1. Michelle Rodriguez reminded the Board July 1st was the deadline to submit
their Financial Disclosure forms and added they should send copies to the
city clerk.
ii. Fiduciary liability policy quotes
1. Michelle reviewed the $5 million and $10 million fiduciary liability quotes
that were requested by Frank Spitalny. Pedro explained there are layers
of protection provided by the board's service providers and added they all
carry their own liability policies. The board agreed by consensus to retain
their current coverage limit of $2 million.
iii. Upcoming educational opportunities
1. FPPTA Spring Trustee School CEU Program, May 18-19, 2021, Virtual
2. FPPTA 371h Annual Conference, June 27-30, 2021, Orlando, FL.
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10. Trustee's Reports, Discussion and Action
a. Jon Currier asked if the Share Plan Statements could be delivered in a timelier manner.
Doug Lozen commented because of the rollforward balance that needed to be applied
each September 30th, the statements would not always go out at the same time, however,
he would work with his staff to improve the delivery times.
11. Adiournment — The meeting was adjourned at 2:50pm.
12. Next Meeting — July 28, 2021, at 1:00pm, quarterly meeting.
Respectful submitted by: Approv
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Michelle Rodriguez, Plan Adminisf�br J rrier, Secrets
Date Approved by the Pension Board:
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