Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes_Pension Public Safety_05/21/2002• VILLAGE OF TEQUESTA Post Office Box 3273 250 Tequesta Drive, Suite 300 Tequesta, Florida 33469-0273 (561) 575-6200 Fax: (561)575-6203 TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS= PENSION TRUST FUND BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MAY 21, 2002 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta Public Safety Officers' Pension Trust Fund Board of Trustees held a regular meeting at the Tequesta Village Manager's office, 250 Tequesta Drive, Suite 300, Tequesta, Florida, on May 21, 2002. The meeting was called to order at 11:35 a.m. Aroll call was taken by Betty Laur, Recording Secretary. Boardmembers in attendance were Chair James Weinand, Vice Chair Geraldine Genco, and Secretary of the Board Michael R. Couzzo, Jr. Also in attendance were Project Accountant Dan Gallagher, Human Resources Coordinator Kim Bodinizzo, and Northstar Capital Management representative Peter Van Beuren. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Gallagher requested addition under item 4(c) of request for withdrawal of funds by Mark Mintus. MOTION: Vice Chair Genco made a motion to approve the agenda as amended. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A) Tequesta Public Safety Officers' Pension Trust Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes of February 21, 2002 MOTION: • Vice Chair Genco made a motion to approve the minutes of the Tequesta Public Safety Officers' Pension Trust Fund Board of Trustees Meeting of February 21, Recycled Paper • BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May 21, 2002 PAGE 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2002 as submitted. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. IV. STANDING REPORTS A) Approval of New Applicants for Participation in Pension Plan (January/April 2002): 1) Brian Youngblood Date of Hire 1/2/02 (Police Dept.) 2) Charles Patrick Malley Date of Hire 5/6J02 (Police Dept.) Secretary Couzzo made a motion to approve new applicants Brian Youngblood and Charles Patrick Malley for participation in the Pension Plan. Vice Chair Genco seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. • B) Approval of Beneficiary Changes (March/Apri12002): 1) None C) Request for Withdrawal of Contributions (employees terminating employment with Village of Tequesta Plan (March/Apri12002): 1) Mark Mintus Termination Date 4/25/02 $4,529.31 Vice Chair Genco made a motion to approve payout of contributions to Mark. Mintus in the amount of $4,529.02. Vice Chair Genco seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. D) Ratification of withdrawals made since the last meeting on 2 signature basis: None E) Cash Flow Schedule for Current Period Mr. Gallagher noted the schedule provided was through March and he had just • received the information for April, which he distributed. Mr. Gallagher reviewed the cash flow schedule. Mr. Van Beuren verified that their figures matched those • BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May 21, 2002 PAGE g provided by Mr. Gallagher. Mr. Gallagher explained that when the annual report was approved the Village would receive contributions from the State predicated on last year's contributions. MOTION: Secretary Couzzo made a motion to approve the cash flow schedule as presented. Vice Chair Genco seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. V. RESULTS OF ELECTION TO FILL POLICE REPRESENTATIVE'S SEAT ON THE BOARD FORMERLY HELD BY MARK MINTUS Mr. Gallagher reported that the Police officers had voted Brian Youngblood to represent • them. MOTION: Secretary Couzzo made a motion to approve Brian Youngblood as the Police Department's representative on this Board. Vice Chair Genco seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. VI. UNFINISHED BUSINESS A) Consideration of Selection of Custodial Bank- Bank of America or Salem Trust Mr. Gallagher presented a letter from Salem Trust outlining the benefits ofgoing with them, and reported the cost would be a minimum of $3,000 annually. Mr. Van Beuren commented that Salem Trust seemed to have a lot of experience in what the Board was interested in; however, their fee schedule included a transaction fee instead of just charging a fee on assets, which was an added cost. Mr. Van Beuren noted the Board was contemplating hiring a pension administrator and a bank could act as a broker without getting involved in benefits; and perhaps the Village did not need a trust company to do something the administrator would be doing. Vice Chair Genco commented that an administrator was needed and agreed with Mr. Van Beuren that the Village needed administrative services and not custodial, which would duplicate • fees. Chair Weinand commented help was needed in administration and there was no need to hire a firm right now. Vice Chair Genco agreed. Prudential's charges were • BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May 21, 2002 PAGE 4 discussed. MOTION: Vice Chair Genco made a motion to take no action on consideration of a custodial bank but instead to focus on looking for an administrator. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. B) Investment Policy Review Chair Weinand commented that an administrator or legal counsel would do this review and proposed it be left under Unfinished Business until an administrator or legal counsel was appointed. Vice Chair Genco requested the agenda be amended to include this with item (G) -Consideration of Resumes for Legal Counsel. . C) Progress Report by Finance Department -Cash Flow Report for Prior Year Mr. Gallagher commented the report showed income and distribution for the last fiscal year, but ending and beginning balances were not shown. Totals for earnings split between Fire and Police were shown. 'IOTIUN: Vice Chair Genco made a motion to approve the Progress Report. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-Q vote. D) Discussion of Actuarial Impact Study by Steven Palmquist authorized by this Board at their last meeting Chair Weinand recalled that the Board had authorized Mr. Palmquist to do an actuarial impact study on COLA, the drop program, and other aspects ofthe pension plan to bring them more into line with the State of Florida Retirement System. Mr. Pahnquist was waiting for a new financial report from the Finance Department. Chair Weinand expressed concern with Mr. Palmquist doing this study on new figures. Vice Chair Genco inquired as to the purpose of the report, to which Chair Weinand responded these were items that had shown up in a comparison between the Village's plan and the State of Florida Retirement Plan, and in order to make the Village benefits comparable to the Florida Retirement Plan an actuarial impact statement was • needed to show the cost of such items as changing the vesting schedule before presenting a request for changes to the Village Council. Chair Weinand commented • BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May Zi, Zooa PAGE 5 the study had not been done and he had reservations about doing a study with two different sets of data. Discussion ensued regarding the need for an actuarial study, which Mr. Palmquist would do along with the one for the other pension plan. Mr. Gallagher reported he had verified with Mr. Palmquist that the cost of the actuarial study would be $5,600.00. Chair Weinand proposed having an actuarial study done now, starting after the annual report was done. Mr. Gallagher indicated that the annual report had been filed and the revised report was now pending since the Financial Director wanted it held until comments were received from the State, and Mr. Palmquist needed the revised report and a census in order to proceed with the actuarial study. Ms. Bodinizzo indicated she would provide Mr. Gallagher with a census expanded to show salaries, etc. MOTION: Vice Chair Genco made a motion to have an actuarial study done now. • Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. E) Consideration of establishing a consistent date and time for meetings of this Board Mr. Gallagher reported the General Employees' Pension Board had established the first Tuesday of the second month in the quarter as their meeting time. This would provide time following year end to have the final figures ready for review at the November meeting. Consensus was to hold this Board's meeting on the same day. The August meeting would be August 6, 2002 and the November meeting would need to be held on the second Tuesday this year because of election day being on the first Tuesday. The time established for the meetings was 11 a.m. MOTION: Secretary Cou~o made a motion to establish a meeting time for meetings of this Board of the first Tuesday of the second month of the quarter at 11 a.m., beginning with the August 6, 2002 meeting, and with the November 2002 meeting to be held on the second Tuesday, November 12, because of election day being on the first Tuesday. Chair Genco seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. F) Discussion of Hiring Joan Wall as Pension Plan Administrator Ms. Bodinizzo reported that Ms. Wall had been recommended by Mr. Palmquist. • BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May 21, 2002 PAGE 6 Subsequently, Ms. Bodinizzo had contacted Ms. Wall and she had provided her resume, which had been included in the packet for this meeting. Ms. Wall had indicated she would be interested since this was a small plan, and that she could provide all functions, including preparation of the agenda, accounting, etc. Her charge was $30 per hour and the total would depend on the functions the Board wanted done. Discussion ensued. Vice Chair Genco requested that Ms. Bodinizzo contact Ms. Wall and obtain an estimate on providing the following services: maintain breakdowns of the asset allocations for each member, monitor the deposits and withdrawals, provide quarterly statements to the employees, do the accounting and keep the plan in compliance with State laws by monitoring changes. Vice Chair Genco also requested that Ms. Bodinizzo double check Ms. Wa11's references to see how satisfied they were with her, and if the references checked out to ask her to come to the next meeting and to furnish a copy of her standard contract. Vice Chair Genco requested this item be placed on the next agenda for approval or disapproval. Mr. • Gallagher recommending keeping the annual report here and explained that he now had each page on the computer and they could just be updated. Vice Chair Genco commented Ms. Wall would need to be told when she was expected to generate the reports and that should be in her proposal. Mr. Gallagher commented the Finance Department had sent out letters to employees outlining their contributions. Vice Chair Genco commented those should be sent quarterly. Ms. Bodinizzo commented the letters to the Fire Department would go out that day or the next day. Direction was to place this on the next meeting agenda as new business. Chair Weinand clarified that this would be a contract between Ms. Wall and the pension board, not the Village. MOTION: Vice Chair Genco made a motion to request a copy of Ms. Wall's contract and a draft of the output she gives to other cities. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. G) Consideration of resumes for Legal Counsel and Investment Policy Review Chair Weinand commented the Board had discussed hiring new legal counsel at a prior meeting and Mr. Palmquist had provided three names for consideration. Information on two had been obtained. Secretary Couzzo reported the General Employees' Pension Board had approved the firm of Hanson, Perry, & Jensen, P.A. at • their meeting earlier that day. Chair Weinand indicated that was his recommendation also. • BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY QFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May 21, 2002 PAGE ~ MOTION: Secretary Couzzo made a motion to appoint the firm of Hanson, Perry, & Jensen, P.A. as legal counsel for the Public Safety Officers' Pension Trust Fund. Vice Chair Genco seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. It was noted that Joan Wall, if hired, would handle the investment policy, which would then be taken to the Village Council for consideration of approval. VII. FINANCIAL REPORTS A) Prudential Securities, Inc., Custodial Broker, Income and Distributions FYE 9/30/01 and Account Statements (February -March 2002) • Mr. Gallagher indicated the report had been provided in the packets for this meeting. MOTION: Vice Chair Genco made a motion to accept the Prudential statements as reviewed and approved. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. B) Northstar Capital Management Investment Manager's Report as of March 31, 2002 Peter Van Beuren reviewed the investment manager's report, indicating that cash had changed because of cash added in April. Certain sectors of the economy were being eliminated and others weighted. Mr. Van Beuren explained that this economy was consumer driven. Techs were discussed. Mr. Van Beuren pointed out that the bottom three lines on page 3-3 were important. A one-year historical growth rate versus the S&P rate was provided. The following pages contained a breakdown of economic sectors. Page 3-5 showed performance figures for the portfolio were trailing slightly; however, the total portfolio was really what counted and that had done very well. Mr. Van Beuren reported that the figures on page 3-6 confirmed Mr. Gallagher's figures for January. Mr. Van Beuren reported there had not been much change in interest rates year to date, and the Federal Reserve had not raised or • lowered interest rates this year. Mr. Van Beuren reported that in February there had been good signs of relatively strong economic recovery coming out of the recession; • BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May 21, 2002 PAGE 8 however, that had changed in the second quarter. In 2001 there were consumer incentives that gave people confidence to spend, and they had still been doing that; but a leading indicator just aut had been negative for the first time since last September. Mr. Van Beuren commented he did not expect the Federal Reserve to raise rates over the summer, that there was more liquidity in the markets, and that because of terrorist actions people wanted to be more cautious. Mr. Van Beuren indicated they wanted to capture some of the government's defense budget and had started on that, and reported that continuous concern caused flight to safety in financial markets. Mr. Van Beuren reported that over 60% of companies reported positive earnings this quarter and the Fund's holdings had had very good reporting figures. Chair Weinand noted Intel was down. Mr. Van Beuren reported it had been purchased low but it had not performed well and tech areas were being watched closely. Mr. Van Beuren noted only 1-1/2% ofthe portfolio was in Intel. Vice Chair Genco inquired about Darden Restaurants. Mr. Van Beuren reported mid-priced restaurants had done well after 9-11. Mr. Van Beuren reported that on balance his • firm was looking fora slower economoc picture over the next quarter, and hoping to see better demand in the fall; and that they would continue to look for companies with above average earnings growth, growing faster than the S&P index. Vice Chair Genco questioned losses on Morgan-Stanley and Sysco, cost versus sales price, and asked how far down stocks were allowed to go, to which Mr Van Beuren responded usually 20%. Mr. Van Beuren advised that another indicator in technical studies was when accumulation, distribution, and relative strength were significantly out ofphase. Chief Weinand commented at the last meeting Mr. Van Beuren had discussed the energy markets as ones the fund should be in, but there were now none. Mr. Van Beuren commented that was probably 2-4 meetings ago, and after that they had started to deteriorate. Chair Weinand questioned the withdrawal to General Employees in April of $3,885.96 shown on page 3-6, and commented it looked like funds were removed without Board approval. Mr. Gallagher indicated he would research to determine if that was a bookkeeping error. Vice Chair Genco commented the fund was doing well considering the market. MOTION: Vice Chair Genco made a motion to approve the report from Northstar Capital Management Company. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. • VIII. PAYMENTS TO BE REVIEWED AND APPROVED • BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May 21, 2002 PAGE 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- a) Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs - $1,180.00 b) Northstar Capital Management - $3,671.00 c) Business Services Connection -$86.00 Vice Chair Genco commented she felt the attorney's bill had been high and had asked Mr. Gallagher to provide backup information. Vice Chair Genco noted she was not happy with the amount charged but that was part of the reason there would be a new attorney. MOTION• Vice Chair Genco made a motion to approve the following payments: Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs - $1,180.00; Northstar Capital Management - $3,67L00; and Business Services Connection - $8b.00. Secretary Couzzo questioned charges on the attorney's invoice, requested more detail and • justification, and indicated he could not second the motion; therefore, the motion died far lack of a second. MOTION• Vice Chair Genco made a motion to approve the following payments: Northstar Capital Management - $3,671.00; and Business Services Connection - $86.00. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote of 3-0. IX. NEW BUSINESS a) Consideration of sending Memo to Village Council regarding differences in our Pension System vs. Florida Retirement System Chair Weinand recommended this item be tabled until the report was received from Mr. Pahnquist. MOTION: Vice Chair Genco made a motion to table this item until the actuarial impact report was received from Stephen Palmquist. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote of 3-0. • BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May 21, 2002 PAGE io b) Consideration of letter of interest from John Flint to fill seat vacated by Edward D. Resnik Vice Chair Genco asked for Mr. Flint's background. Chair Weinand responded he had been a Tequesta firefighter and now worked for Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue and had background in securities and investments. Vice Chair Genco expressed her opinion that there would be a conflict of interest and it would be more appropriate for this Board to have anon-affiliated public person. Discussion ensued that a person with a financial background would be desirable. Vice Chair Genco requested that the Smoke Signals notice include that a person with financial background was desired. MOTION: Vice Chair Genco made a motion not to accept John Flint as a member of the Board, to consider the seat still open, and to look for a public non-affiliated person to fill the seat. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by • unanimous vote of 3-0. c) Discussion of Education for Trustees - FFPTA 1. Trustees' School -Certified Public Pension Trustee (CPPT) Certificate Program -PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens -September 30 - October 2, 2002 2. Annual Conference -June 30 -July 3, 2002 -Boca Raton Resort Secretary Couzzo reported that the General Employees Pension Trust Board had decided they would send two members to the next session of the Trustee's School and two members the following session, and would keep alternating until all had achieved advanced status. Chair Weinand commented that this organization required a membership and paid fee to attend the certification program and the State of Florida offered a free course. Chief Weinand commented he did not know the cost but thought it was not too bad, and this Pension Fund used to be a member but had not been for the past few years. Mr. Gallagher indicated the cost was $650 per person covering all expenses related to certification and once involved in the program an individual had three years to complete the CPPT program. Chair Weinand commented he would like to become a member in order to get the publications. Secretary Couzzo reported that would happen because the General Employees had voted to send members of their Board to the certification program. Vice Chair Genco BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICERS- PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES May 21, 2002 PAGE 11 suggested attending the school without the membership. Mr. Gallagher indicated he would look into the situation. The certification program was discussed. MOTION• Secretary Couzzo made a motion to have two members, Chair Weinand and Vice Chair Genco, attend the program in September at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens and to defer the conference until a future date. Vice Chair Genco seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous vote of 3-0. X. ANY OTHER MATTERS There were no other matters to come before the Board. • XI. COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITIZENS There were no communications from citizens. XH. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Vice Chair Genco made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Secretary Couzzo seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 3-0 vote. The motion was therefore passed and adopted, and the meeting was adjourned at 12:55 p.m. DATE APPROVED: • Respectfully submitted, Betty Laur Recording Secretary