HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Fire Pension 092011PALM BEACH GARDENS FIREFIGHTERS' PENSION FUND
MINUTES OF MEETING HELD
September 20, 2011
A meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order at 9:08A.M. at Council
Chambers, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Those persons present were:
TRUSTEES
Ed Morej on, Chair
Tom Murphy, Secretary
Donna Wisneski
Mark Joyce
Rick Rhodes
MINUTES
OTHERS
Margie Adcock, Audrey Ross, Administrator
Pedro Herrera, Attorney
Troy Brown, Investment Monitor
Donna Kramer, City of PBG
Scott Raynor, City of PBG Firefighter
The Board reviewed the minutes of the regular meeting held on July 22, 2011 and the
special meeting held on September 2, 2011.
A motion was made by Rick Rhodes to approve the minutes of the July 22, 2011
regular meeting. The motion was seconded by Tom Murphy and carried 5 -0.
A motion was made by Tom Murphy to approve the minutes of the September 2,
2011 special meeting. The motion was seconded by Mark Joyce and carried 5 -0.
Ms. Ross commented that GRS stated that they would have the Actuarial studies
completed by the latter part of October.
INVESTMENT MONITOR REPORT
Mr. Brown updated the board on the current market environment and commented that all
active managers underperformed during the quarter. For the fiscal year to date through
August the fund was up 5.97 %, but September was not a good month at all.
Mr. Brown reviewed the Global Bond presentation and reviewed a couple of different
mangers that offered this product. Mr. Brown commented that he would recommend the
Templeton Global Bond for this fund. He ran an example of an asset class report which
included both Global Bonds and TIPS in the portfolio going back a couple of years. Mr.
Brown explained that by adding Templeton Global Bonds into the portfolio, it increased
the portfolio by 5% per year. He then reviewed the historic risks versus reward charts
and stated that this fund does not add a significant increase in risks, but it actually takes it
away buy adding diversification to the portfolio. Global bonds are actual bonds that
contain over 162 securities in the fund.
The board discussed the product and Ms. Wisneski questioned whether or not Mr. Brown
thinks this product could shift directions the opposite way due to the current negative
market situations out there. Mr. Brown commented that the board previously decided not
to move into Global Bonds, which was a good decision at that time because since then
they took a big hit and now they are low again, so now you want to buy into them.
Mr. Brown briefly reviewed the fee schedule and reported that it is 55 basis points, and
he would recommend allocating 5% to Global Bonds, which is about $1.4M
2
A motion was made by Donna Wisneski to hire and allocate $1.4M to Templeton
Global Bonds. The motion was seconded by Mark Joyce and carried 4 -1.
Mr. Brown reviewed the revisions that were made to the Investment Policy Guidelines in
order to add the Templeton Global Bond product in.
A motion was made by Rick Rhodes to approve and adopt and the revised
Investment Policy Guidelines as presented. The motion was seconded by Donna
Wisneski and carried 5 -0.
The Board discussed the individual DROP account reporting and Ms. Ross commented
that currently the Actuary charges $350 per DROP statement. Mr. Brown commented
that Regions would create a separate individual account for each DROP member, and the
fee is 4 basis points per member. Also Regions will mail out quarterly statements
directly to the member and will copy any other parties that are interested as well.
A motion was made by Mark Joyce to approve Regions Bank to prepare the DROP
account statements for each member. The motion was seconded by Rick Rhodes
and carried 5 -0.
ATTORNEY REPORT
Mr. Raynor introduced himself and stated that he is an active firefighter with the City and
he had has some questions regarding the pension. He commented that most of them were
hypothetical questions regarding the pension, but he wanted to know when changes
would be implemented if the City were to make some. Mr. Herrera explained that all
changes will be effective when the Collective Bargaining Agreement is signed and
ratified by both parties. The board discussed the multiple changes that could be
happening and how it could affect the pension plan.
Mr. Herrera reviewed the Manning & Napier letter that is notifying us of their firm
restructuring. He noted that there will be no impact to the Plan.
Mr. Herrera reviewed and compared the City's travel reimbursement policy to the Boards
current policy. He commented that there was not much of a difference between the two
except for the per diem dollar amounts. The Trustees thoroughly went through their
travel policy and updated and made any necessary changes.
A motion was made by Donna Wisneski to approve and accept the changes that were
made to the Travel Reimbursement Policy. The motion was seconded by Rick Rhodes
and carried 5 -0.
Mr. Herrera stated that his firm will be sending out a memo electronically regarding
Senate Bill 1128.
Mr. Herrera reviewed the new Commission on Ethnics Policy. All Trustees must abide
by the County policy so therefore all gifts, dinners, conferences, or any event that you
attend by and service provider or vender of the pension board or City must be reported.
He explained that there are still a lot of questions regarding the restrictions and guidelines
that are yet to be answered by the County, but as soon as they receive more information
they will circulate out a memo.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
BENEFIT APPROVALS
The Board reviewed the application for an early retirement for Gary Schmitz.
A motion was made by Mark Joyce to approve the application for an early
retirement for Gary Schmitz. The motion was seconded by Rick Rhodes and
carried 5 -0.
Ms. Adcock presented the engagement letter and the peer reviewed from Steve Gordon to
perform the Audit for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011. It was noted that Mr.
Gordon's peer review needed to be renewed by December of this year.
A motion was made by Rick Rhodes to approve the approve and accept the
September 30, 2011 Audit Engagement Letter as prepared by Steven I. Gordon,
CPA. The motion was seconded by Donna Wisneski and carried 5 -0.
DISBURSEMENTS
The Board reviewed the disbursements presented for approval by the Administrator.
A motion was made by Rick Rhodes to approve the disbursements that were
Presented by the Administrator. The motion was seconded by Tom Murphy and
carried 5 -0.
OTHER BUSINESS
Ms. Adcock commented to the Board that Mr. Rhodes term is set to expire on September
30, 2011. He is the Fifth Trustee so therefore he is elected by the other 4 Trustees on the
Board. The board discussed and noted that there has not been any other interested parties
that have come forth.
A motion was made by Tom Murphy to nominate and elect Rick Rhodes as the Fifth
Trustee to serve another term effective October 1, 2011. The motion was seconded
by Mark Joyce and carried 4 -0.
Mr. Morejon explained to the board that he was directed at the last meeting to send a
letter to the City as Chair of the Fire Board regarding the pending Ordinance. He
commented that since the last meeting he spoke to the City and they explained that they
have the Ordinance, but they are holding off on approving it until the other changes that
will be implemented are in place as well. Therefore Mr. Morejon has not sent the letter
and the other Trustees agreed that sending a letter would probably have no effect at this
time.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:35AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Tom Murphy, Secretary