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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDocumentation_Regular_Tab 09F_03/11/2004 T v ;_� �ILI�At�E 4F TEQUESTA '�! F�st Offi�e 8<:x :3� ;?; , 250'Ce;�ue�t� �ri���, iuite 3�t? r " \�� o 'Ieq��esta, F'lc�rscla 33�kC�'.�-i)�,:� _ {561} 515-b20{� ; a� f`tt;�: (5{it3 �i�.fi3Q4 ; C" . 0 r TEQUESTA GENERAL EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING DECEMBER 9, 2003 I. CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Tequesta General Employees' Pension Trust Fund Board of Trustees held a regular meeting at the Tequesta Recreation Center, 399 Seabrook Road, Tequesta, Florida, on December 9, 2003. The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. A roll call was taken by Betty Laur, Recording Secretary. Boardmembers in attendance at the meeting were: Chair Jeff Newell, Vice Chair Carl Hansen, Boardmember Thomas Paterno, and Boardmember Greg Corbitt. Also in attendance were Dan Gallagher, Human Resources Department, and Attorney Bonni Jensen. II. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Vice Chair Hansen commented the agenda was fine and took care of matters at hand, but asked what the board could possibly do for the General Employees; what type of action the board could initiate. Chair Newell responded that the Village Council had done the first reading on the changes the board had worked on, and the second reading would be this coming Thursday—then the changes would be law. Chair Newell stated the changes . had been accepted and incorporated into the plan and it was the board's responsibility to review the plan and if they felt some changes were needed they were to recommend to the Village Council to make those changes. Chair Newell commented that this board and the Public Safety Officers' Pension Board had done a lot of work on their plans, and the plans were now in pretty good shape. Vice Chair Hansen responded he just wanted to be sure the board was doing everything they could. Chair Newell commented the board would continue today's business and then get into regular quarterly meetings, but if a board member saw something in the plan they felt could be improved, it was the board's responsibility to amend the plan or not. Boardmember Corbitt requested the board go over matters approved by the Village Council, which Chair Newell stated would be done R��;��t:d �:��.r BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA GENERAL EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES December 9, 2003 PAGE 2 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- under Any Other Matters. MOTION: Vice Chair Hansen made a motion to approve the agenda as submitted. Boardmember Corbitt seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION: Boardmember Corbitt made a motion to approve the minutes of September 30, 2003 as submitted. Vice Chair Hansen seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. IV. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Consideration of Approval of Proposal from Northstar Capital Management Company to provide investment management services for the General Employee's Pension Trust Fund. Chair Newell opened discussion on this item, advising that he and Mr. Gallagher had met with a representative from Oppenheimer the previous day. Mr. Gallagher commented that the representative was preparing a proposal to modify the current investment policies, and stated that not enough interest was being earned in the money market fund or the CD with Independent Bank—that it was not anywhere close to the 8% guideline for return on investment. Mr. Gallagher commented he was looking at various approaches to get closer to 8% return. Chair Newell commented it was the board's responsibility to see what kind of opportunities were available, and he was asking to table this matter until this information could be received and a comparison done on the two money managers, and the board could also talk to a third party. Mr. Newell explained that the investment policy of Oppenheimer was different and he felt the board should listen to their presentation. Boardmember Paterno asked who the lady was who had jointed the board. Mr. Gallagher introduced Terri Katz, Assistant to the Village Manager. Mr. Paterno stated the board had put a lot of time into the agreement with the current company and he did not want to perpetuate this, and reminded the board they had 30 days to get out. Chair Newell commented he had only heard the current proposal and was BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA GENERAL EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES December 9, 2003 PAGE g --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- interested in what the second one would say. Mr. Paterno commented he had investigated another money manager on his own and found it would cost much more, and asked the cost for Oppenheimer. Mr. Newell responded that was being prepared, that the board needed to move forward, but he was not comfortable hearing only one voice. Chair Newell commented Northstar had been here since the beginning and his brother was in this business and he was hearing there were different philosophies on how this was done, and he felt it was important for the board to heax these. Mr. Paterno asked if Chair Newell could give the board a synopsis. Chair Newell commented he wanted to be fair to each and give each an opportunity to talk to the board. Attorney Jensen suggested investing with Northstar for six months since the board already had a proposal from Northstar Capital Management, who would put the money into equity and bonds and actively invest the portfolio, and the board could continue to actively look for and negotiate a contract with a new person during this time period, and also had a 30-day out. Boardmember Paterno commented that Northstar would invest the money in the way the board had set the criteria, and it would cost more to go to someone else. Mr. Paterno commented he was getting tireci of the idea of waiting—that he had previously been a procrastinator but had changed his position—and the board had been working on this contract two months. Mr. Paterno stated he did not want to come back in January or February or in the summer and still be getting 1.8 percent on the money. Mr. Paterno stated he was disgusted with the process. Chair Newell commented that was why he had this discussion--to hear everyone's opinion, and if the board wanted to move forward with the Northstar contract that was the board's decision—not his, and he wantaed to know what everyone wanted to do. Mr. Gallagher commented Oppenheimer would have a proposal within 30 days. Vice Chair Hansen commented we are now in a market where things are looking up and his own investments had improved a little in the last 3-4 months. Mr. Hansen commented the board should take a more positive view of what was going on—they had hit bottom and hopefully would do better; and he would tend to go with Mr. Newell and Oppenheimer if they could get something within a month, or let the board talk to them about whether they were more aggressive than Northstar—that maybe it was time to get more aggressive. Boardmember Corbitt commented he was tired of dragging this out, and was ready to BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA GENERAL EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES December 9, 2003 PAGE 4 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- move on—that the longer it was researched the longer it dragged out; however, on the other hand, Mr. Newell had made a good point--so he was on the fence. Mr. Corbitt stated he thought the board had decided to go with Northstar at the last meeting. Chair Newell commented he brought this up after hearing Oppenheimer's philosophy, which was different, but if the board wanted to go ahead with Northstar they could do so; he was asking them to consider hearing from Oppenheimer first, and called for a motion. The Recording Secretary read into the record the motion made at the last meeting so that it could be reconsidered if the board now wanted to do something different: Boardmember Paterno made a motion to accept the proposal from Northstar Capital Management Company to provide investment management services under the guidelines in the investment plan of 60% stock and 40% bonds, and authorize the attorney to make an agreement. Boardmember Corbitt seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. Boardmember Paterno inquired how much was in money market funds, to which Mr. Gallagher responded approximately $350,000. Mr. Paterno commented the minimum to invest with Northstar was $200,000 and the money would be invested with Public Safety pension funds. Vice Chair Hansen commented that at the last meeting the board had already accepted Northstar and any action taken today would have to reflect what they decided at the last meeting. Boardmember Paterno commented Mr. Newell had been going to check out other managers, and he was going in January to a conference and find more. By the time 30 days came and Oppenheimer got back to the board, the board might have more information and might need more time, and it had taken two months to get the contract with Northstar. Mr. Newell commented there was a 30-day out with Northstar and he was comfortable with that. Mr. Paterno commented the fund money was being burned up, that $2,000 was a lot of expense to add but hopefully the fund would do better now than at 1.8%, and asked Mr. Newell's timetable to work out something with Oppenheimer. Mr. Newell commented it was information that would come to the board, that they had a 30-day out with Northstar, and maybe right away the board could get that established and then it might be right to listen to others. Mr. Paterno asked if the board did nothing and tabled this how long Mr. Newell estimated it would it take to go with Oppenheimer. The estimate was 3-4 months. Mr. Paterno BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA GENERAL EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES December 9, 2003 PAGE 5 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- commented he believed it would be 4 months minimum if everything went right and if there was not a quorum for the next meeting it would take longer. Boardmember Paterno recommended investigating this as they went along and stated he did not want to pull money out in 3-4 months and incur more costs. Mr. Paterno asked that the board make a commitment in their minds of six months to see what Northstar could do. Mr. Newell stated he was fine with that that he was hearing to go forward with Northstar but in the meantime to talk to other people. Mr. Corbitt asked if they could go only six months with Northstar. Boardmember Paterno responded that in their minds the boardmembers could say six months with Northstar to see what their company could do. Attorney Jensen stated she had the contract with Northstar ready for signatures. MOTION Boardmember Paterno made a motion to authorize Chair Newell to execute and accept the contract from Northstar Capital Management. Vice Chair Hansen seconded the motion, stating if the contract stipulated the board could quit after 30 days he saw no problems. Attorney Jensen advised the contract stated "may be terminated within 30 days". The motion carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. Mr. Gallagher asked if that motion gave authority to move funds out of Independent Bank to Wachovia Securities. Attorney Jensen advised that could be done. Mr. Gallagher commented somebody had to sign the check to transfer the money out of the bank into Wachovia. MOTION Boardmember Paterno made a motion to authorize moving funds to the appropriate account for Northstar Capital Management to manage the money. Mr. Corbitt seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. b) Review of the proposed Statement of Investment Policies and Objectives Attorney Bonni Jensen commented she needed a signature today on the Statement of Investment Policies and Objectives, which had been reviewed by Northstar Capital Management and met their approval. Mr. Paterno stated that had already been discussed. Vice Chair Hansen commented he was comfortable with it. BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA GENERt3L EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES December 9, 2oog PAGE 6 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOTION Boardmember Paterno made a motion to accept the Statement of Investment Policies and Objectives. Vice Chair Hansen seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. c) Discussion of Vacancy on Board / Chair Newell commented he would pursue this matter. Boardmember Paterno asked if that meant Chair Newell would pursue getting another employee, to which Chair Newell responded, yes. Boardmember Paterno commented Chair Newell had said he might not be able to get anyone interested and the board had discussed the possibility of Mr. Corbitt being elected as the second employee representative. Attorney Jensen advised that Mr. Corbitt was now filling the position of the Sth member, elected by the other 4 members, and the position of employee representative was the one currently open. Discussion ensued. Mr. Paterno asked what if no one signed up to be the employee representative; Attorney Jensen advised Mr. Corbitt would have to sign up. Mr. Gallagher advised the employees had all refused to participate and the only solution was to go to the outside, which he and Mr. Paterno had discussed a couple of weeks ago. Mr. Paterno stated the board could not just go to the outside—that first Mr. Corbitt had to be elected to the employee representative position. Chair Newell stated he knew his direction and would actively pursue this matter. V. CONSENT AGENDA a) Payments to be Reviewed and Approved: 1. Business Services Connection $ 158.06 2. Hansen, Perry & Jensen 2,360.86 3. Accordia (Fidelity Bond) 543.90 Mr. Corbitt requested item (2) be pulled for discussion, and noted there were charges for e-mails and phone calls. Boardmember Paterno stated he looked at the bill and had been amazed it was so cheap—that attorneys sometimes charged $1 a page and the bill for one fax could come to $100. Chair Newell indicated he found Attorney Jensen's delivery of work great and the bill reasonable for the work that had been BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA GENERAL EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES December 9, 2003 PAGE � ------------------------------------------------------=-------------------------- done. Discussion ensued. Attorney Jensen stated she realized fees became an issue—that they had been between $400 &$500 a month and now were $2,000. Boardmember Paterno asked the difference in rates of charges for phone calls. Attorney Jensen explained the calls made by her assistant were at a different rate than those made by her. Mr. Corbitt stated he had nothing more. Vice Chair Hansen asked about the charge to attend the Village Council meeting. Chair Newell advised that Attorney Jensen had been required to attend. MOTION Vice Chair Hansen made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as submitted. Boardmember Corbitt seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. VI. NEW BUSINESS a) Consideration of sending Boardmember Paterno to the FPTTA Conference in October Boardmember Paterno stated this was voted on in October and since it had already been voted on it should not have been on this agenda. Chair Newell asked what level Mr. Paterno intended to attend. Boardmember Paterno indicated he would go into the intermediate level. Chair Newell commented that Mr. Paterno would return with a stack of information and would enjoy the conference. Vice Chair Hansen asked if this was training or just a conference. Mr. Newell explained it was actually a training session but done in a conference format, and three rooms were set up for three different levels. Mr. Paterno commented it was to be held close to Jacksonville. Chair Newell explained there was a certification program if all three levels were completed and one could become a Certified Trustee, or could just attend for the information. Chair Newell advised the conference fees were paid from the pension fund. Mr. Gallagher advised the lodging, transportation, and meals were all paid. Mr. Gallagher advised that the 2004 program was not yet available and he would get it to Mr. Paterno as soon as he received it, and advised Mr. Paterno to save his receipts. Chair Newell commented each board member needed to go through this training, which had been an eye-opener for him, since he had had no idea of his responsibilities. After attending, he understood fully and highly recommended board members attend. It was clarified that attendance was required of boardmembers. BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA GENERAL EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES December 9, 2003 PAGE 8 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Boardmember Corbitt asked how it could benefit members of the board since someone else was managing the funds. Attorney Jensen advised it dealt with the members' fiduciary responsibility, law updates, and insurance that was needed. Chair Newell commented members needed to understand their responsibilities and what they were supposed to be doing. Boardmember Corbitt stated hopefully the attorney would cover them. Boardmember Paterno commented the board could vote against the attorney's better advice and the idea was to get educated and sometimes even question what the attorney brought up, plus it would help in a lot of other ways. Boardmember Corbitt commented he was not trying to challenge the requirement, but was just curious. Attorney Jensen commented that the networking opportunities at the conferences were very important—as important as the actual material. Mr. Corbitt commented Mr. Paterno might be able to find someone at the conference that would be better than Northstar. Attorney Jensen commented there were different service providers out there, that investment monitors came to quarterly meetings only for larger companies, and the board's choices were limited now, but the conference networking would let them know what was available. Mr. Paterno commented the conference would be a good place to look for someone else. Discussion ensued. Mr. Newell commented he had not known what he was supposed to be doing; Mr. Corbitt commented he was learning on the job. Chair Newell commented when he went to the conference, then he understood, and the conference had been excellent. Vice Chair Hansen commented when he was a Village Council member, at meetings at the State of Florida he had been able to talk to Village Council members from other municipalities and he believed this would be good for Mr. Paterno to be able to talk to other board members about what they were doing. VII. ANY OTHER MATTERS Mr. Corbitt asked what the Village Council had approved, to which Attorney Jensen responded she would send a summary sheet, but explained that they had approved 6- year vesting and separated this plan from the Public Safety Pension plan, so this board now had their own document. Mr. Corbitt asked if they had approved 4% for Public Safety. Attorney Jensen advised that changes had been made to their benefit structure—that under the tiered structure their multiplier was the same but earned differently, so that in later years they would earn less of a benefit. Vice Chair Hansen commented it was nice to receive the information provided in the packets for meetings, but the board members were getting it too late. They had only BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA GENERAL EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES December 9, 2003 PAGE 9 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- received it the previous day, and they were expected to read it by 9:30 this morning. Mr. Hansen requested the packets be distributed to the board members 2-3 days earlier. Mr. Gallagher reported an employee, Christopher Palantino, had left the Village and the zdistribution payout was $751, with the net amount of the check $600 after withholding taxes. Mr. Gallagher requested approval to make the disbursement. MOTION Boardmember Paterno made a motion to approve disbursement for Christopher Palantino. Boardmember Corbitt seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. Mr. Paterno asked the date of the next meeting. Discussion ensued regarding going to quarterly meetings. Vice Chair Hansen commented the Oppenheimer presentation might be ready earlier, and it was noted a separate meeting could be called for that presentation. Mr. Gallagher reported it had been decided at the Public Safety Officers' pension board meeting to have quarterly meetings in February, May, August, and November. This schedule had been chosen because the auditors would have completed their audit in January so that numbers would be available in February, and with the fiscal year ending 9/30 those figures would be available in November. Chair Newell commented this board could meet at 9 a.m. and the Public Safety board could meet at 10 a.m. Mr. Gallagher noted that would minimize the expense of the attorney attending since she would only have to make one trip. Boardmember Paterno requested starting earlier, at 8:30 a.m., if there were going to be people coming to make presentations, otherwise to leave the time at 9:00 a.m. MOTION Vice Chair Hansen made a motion to hold the next meeting of the board on February 17, 2004 at 9 a.m. or if a presentation was to be made to change the starting time to 8:30 a.m. Boardmember Corbitt seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. BOARD OF TRUSTEES TEQUESTA GENERAL EMPLOYEES' PENSION TRUST FUND MEETING MINUTES December 9, 2oog PAGE 10 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIII. COMMUNICATION FROM CITIZENS Wade Griest, Dover Road, commented. he had been an Army Officer, and from that offered the board the following advice: Make a decision—right or wrong—but make it. Mr. Griest asked when Bob Garlo was taking over Human Resources, to which Mr. Gallagher responded there would be a few months transition period. Boardmember Paterno asked Mr. Gallagher if the boaxd would be getting a new person, to which Mr. Gallagher responded no, that he would stay. IX. ADJOURNMENT Vice Chair Hansen made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:35 a.m. Boardmember Paterno seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous 4-0 vote. Respectfully submitted, ;' ` ; ,� , f,� r L_ . j. _, _'�,; Betty Laur Recarding Secretary DATE APPROVED: , , [� r.