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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Fire Pension 073007PALM BEACH GARDENS FIREFIGHTERS' PENSION FUND MINUTES OF MEETING HELD July 30, 2007 A meeting of the Board of Trustees was called to order at 2:02 P.M at Station 3, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Those persons present were: TRUSTEES Ed Morej on Philip Buttaravoli (2:03 P.M.) Tom Murphy OTHERS Margie Adcock, Administrator Robert Sugarman, Attorney It was noted that there was not a quorum present at the start of the meeting. Therefore, the Board decided to begin with the educational presentation. EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATION Chuck Jeroloman appeared before the Board. He stated that he was asked to come and discuss the Delray Beach Police, Firefighters & Paramedics Retiree Benefit Fund (VEBA). It was noted that there were members of the Palm Beach Gardens Police Pension Fund as well as their Attorney Bonni Jensen present at the meeting to hear the educational presentation Philip Buttaravoli entered the meeting. Mr. Jeroloman provided the Board with an article from the Wall Street Journal as well as a memorandum dated in 2005 to the membership of the Delray Police Department. He provided a brief background of himself noting that he has been a police officer for 26 years between New York and Delray Beach. He has been on the Delray Beach Police and Fire Pension Board since 1994 and has been Chairman of that Board for the last year and a half. He discussed the Delray VEBA and noted that he was on that Board as well. He discussed how a VEBA could be funded, with either payroll deductions or with a lump sum. He discussed the savings for the City in establishing a VEBA and how the Delray Beach Fire and Police were staggered in two contracts for budget reasons. He discussed the structure of their VEBA and noted that the eligible retirees receive a one time amount at the beginning of each year which amount is tied to years of service. He noted that a Participant has to have 20 years of service with Delray in order to obtain a benefit from the VEBA. Additionally, the VEBA benefit is tied to their Pension Plan so that if someone forfeits a pension under the Pension Plan they also forfeit the benefit under the VEBA. Mr. Sugarman discussed the other ways to structure a VEBA and discussed the need for a VEBA. He discussed how to get the money to fund such a benefit and noted that it had to come from all the Participants. Participants could give up raises, holiday pay, unpaid vacation pay and /or final pay. He noted that the money would go in to the VEBA tax free and would be paid out tax free as well Mr. Sugarman discussed what the VEBA could be used for. He stated that it could be a defined benefit paid every month or annually or a defined contribution benefit where individual accounts were established and the money would last until the individual used all the money in their account. He noted that the set up costs for a VEBA run about $10,000 to $15,000. There was a lengthy 2 discussion. It was noted that the next step had to be done at the bargaining table. He noted that it would have to be determined where the money was to fund the benefit. Chuck Jeroloman departed the meeting. MINUTES The Board reviewed the minutes of the meeting held June 18, 2007. A motion was made, seconded and carried 3 -0 to accept the minutes of the meeting held June 18, 2007. ATTORNEY REPORT Mr. Sugarman reported that the contract with Galliard was resolved satisfactorily. Mr. Sugarman stated that he received a letter from Patricia Shoemaker at the Division of Retirement. In the letter Ms. Shoemaker stated that she received a call from Evan Bestland regarding changes in the State monies and who was eligible to vote on such changes. Mr. Sugarman clarified the issue for the Board. He stated that the movement of money allocated to the Share Account to the Defined Benefit portion of the Plan for a higher multiplier would need to be voted on by the Union and non -Union members as well as the bargaining unit and non - bargaining unit. In other words it would be voted on by all members of the Plan. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT Ms. Adcock discussed the status of the online calculator. She noted that they were still having issues in verifying that the information provided by the City was accurate. She noted that at the last meeting the Board stated that they did not want to pay for the online calculation until it was working but stated that the Administrator could break out the administrative part of the fee and propose an increase for that part now. Ms. Adcock stated that they were proposing to increase the administrative fee to $800 a month effective August 1, 2007. A motion was made, seconded and carried 3 -0 to approve an increase in the administrative fee to $800 a month effective August 1, 2007. The Board authorized the Chairman to sign an Addendum to the Administrative Agreement after approval by the Attorney. DISBURSEMENTS Ms. Adcock presented the list of disbursements to be made. A motion was made, seconded and carried 3 -0 to approve the disbursements listed. OTHER BUSINESS There being no further business, the meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Tom Murphy, Secretary