FRESNO COUNTY BOARD OF RETIREMENT March 2, :00 AM

Transcription

1 FRESNO COUNTY BOARD OF RETIREMENT March 2, :00 AM A Regular Meeting of the Fresno County Board of Retirement was held in the FCERA Boardroom at 1111 H Street, Fresno, CA. Trustees Present: Michael Cardenas Vicki Crow Steven Jolly Phil Larson A. Papaleo Stephanie Savrnoch John Souza Michael Thobe Trustees Absent: Vera Dominguez Others Present: Harvey Leiderman, Steefel, Levitt & Weiss (by conference call) Linda Balok, Steefel, Levitt & Weiss (by conference call) Bart Bohn, Fresno County CAO Tom Abshere, SEIU Jeff MacLean, Wurts & Associates Ken Johnson, Loomis Sayles & Company Peter Palfrey, Loomis Sayles & Company Barbara Grunwald, Deputy County Counsel Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator Becky Van Wyk, Chief Accountant Autumn L. Henson, Administrative Secretary Sign-up Sheet Attached 1. Call to Order Chair Souza called the meeting to order at 9:05 AM. 2. Closed Session a. Conference with Legal Counsel Actual Litigation - pursuant to G.C (a) - County of Fresno v. Board of Retirement b. Conference with Legal Counsel Anticipated Litigation pursuant to G.C (c): based on existing facts and circumstances the governing board is contemplating litigation c. Conference with Legal Counsel Pending Litigation pursuant to G.C (a): Worldcom Case No. 02CIV Report from Closed Session

2 2 a. PULLED b. There were no reportable actions. The Board has engaged counsel to conduct a review of the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of the Fresno Station property. c. There were no reportable actions. 4. Public Presentations None. Consent Agenda/Opportunity for Public Comment: A motion was made by Trustee Larson, seconded by Trustee Papaleo to approve Consent Agenda Items 5 through 13. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent: Dominguez). *5. Approval of the February 16, 2005 Retirement Board Regular Meeting Minutes ; APPROVED as recommended. *6. Retirements ; APPROVED as recommended. Name Department Years Dori Baxendell Employment and Temporary Assistance Cheryl Bellow Community Health, Deferred 8.99 Betty Bratton Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector 5.75 Linda B. Brooks General Services, Deferred Lynda Ann Browe Employment and Temporary Assistance Katharine R. Caillau Community Health Linda L. Clay Superior Court Janice Friesen Valley Medical Center, Deferred Jarvis Henry Behavioral Health Stanley A. Lambourne Assessor-Recorder Jeanette Magana Library, Deferred 5.52 Kathy McMillan Sheriff Donald R. Mercer Sheriff Bonnie Mims Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector Martha Montoya Behavioral Health Carolyn S. Moore Superior Court Stanley C. Norman Behavioral Health Deborah Potter Child Support Services Judith L. Rostykus Valley Medical Center, Deferred Leticia M. Ruperto Employment and Temporary Assistance Debbie Ruiz Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector Hrant Serabian Children and Family Services 10.19

3 Daisy A. Tarmina Information Technology Services Dept James W. Whitton Sheriff *7. Deferred Retirements ; APPROVED as recommended. Name Department Years Gloria A. Garland Social Services 8.85 Jon Renge Public Defender 6.35 Robert E. Sharley Probation 5.02 *8. Most recent investment returns, performance summaries and general investment information from investment managers *9. Public Record Requests: Paul Dictos, Stephen Silver, Doug Hogel *10. Fresno Station Business Center office space rental brochure *11. Correspondence to members regarding litigation update and benefit recalculations 3 *12. Alternate Retired Member election information and COLA & Supplemental COLA information submitted to the Fresno County Retired Employees Association for use in their newsletter, The Grapevine *13. Retiree Health Benefit Survey distributed to the other CALAPRS systems 17. Discussion and appropriate action on Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) (G.C. section ) Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator stated that the COLA and the Supplemental COLA information are presented to the Board every March. Letters from Ira Summer, Public Pension Professionals addressing the COLA and Supplemental COLA adjustments have been provided to the Trustees. Mr. Peña stated that the Consumer Price Index that the Retirement Board adopted is based on

4 4 the San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose area. The CPI for the calendar year 2004 was 1.22% and as a result the 1.22% is rounded down to 1%. Based on a member s COLA Bank, those who retired between April 2, 2000 and April 1, 2001 will receive a 2.5% adjustment and those who retired between April 2, 2001 though April 1, 2005 will receive a 1% adjustment and any member who retired prior to April 2, 2000 will receive a full 3%. Mr. Peña recommended to the Board that they approve the Cost of Living increases for April 1, 2005 based on Public Pension Professionals information. A motion was made by Trustee Crow, seconded by Trustee Thobe to approve the recommended Cost of Living Adjustment for April 1, VOTE: Unanimous (Abstain-Papaleo, Absent-Dominguez). 18. Discussion and appropriate action on Supplemental COLA (G.C. section ) Mr. Peña stated that there is a specific code section of the law, Purchase Power Protection, that allows for Supplemental COLA increases to members who have lost more than 25% of their purchasing power throughout their retirement years. Members who retired on April 1, 1981 or prior will receive this benefit. An article has been provided to the Retiree Association for their newsletter that explains both the COLA and Supplemental COLA increases and an explanation will go to all retirees with their April paycheck. Mr. Peña recommended to the Board that they approve the Supplemental COLA for the coming year. A motion was made by Trustee Papaleo, seconded by Trustee Thobe to approve the recommended supplemental COLA. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent-Dominguez). 16. Presentation by Bart Bohn, Fresno County CAO and member of California State Association of Counties (CSAC) regarding the CSAC proposals and guidelines on public pension reform and disability positions Mr. Peña introduced Fresno County Administrative Officer, Bart Bohn. Mr. Bohn is before the Board to present the pension reform recommendations of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC). At the last Board meeting it was indicated that the Board of Supervisors had approved the language of the CSAC proposal on pension reform. Mr. Peña was directed by the Board to invite Mr. Bohn to make this presentation on the CSAC proposal. Mr. Bohn thanked the Board for inviting him to the meeting. Mr. Bohn reported that last fall the CAOs from 15 counties met at various times and the County Supervisors met at the CSAC annual conference. Retirement issues have become very prominent in the media and there is a lot of attention on problems in the public pension systems around the State. The problems were most often associated with systems that were

5 5 struggling to remain funded and perceived abuse by some systems due to the way some of the issues were portrayed in the media. These issues really aren t abuse but just the way the systems work, but the public sees this at times as abuse because of the media reportings. Due to these problems, assemblymen are calling for major reform and are pushing for a proposal to shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans. Mr. Bohn stated that the County CAOs and CSAC felt that to protect the defined benefit plan, a very dramatic statement is needed on reform measures that could be applied that will restore the confidence of the public and perhaps sidetrack some of the efforts to destroy the defined benefit systems. The CSAC guiding principles and reform proposals are a work in progress and CSAC will soon be voting on the most recent version of what Mr. Bohn is presenting today. The CSAC guiding principles are as follows: Protect local control Eliminate abuse Reduce and contain costs Increase predictability of costs and benefits Strengthen controls to share costs and risks Increase system accountability The CSAC reform proposals are as follows: Restrict public safety retirement Establish formula caps Use a three year final compensation average Provide defined contribution option Redefine final compensation Limit formula increases Focus benefits on career employees Use a funding corridor to ensure rate stabilization Disclose pension obligation debt Share system costs Control the authority to grant formula increases Clarify the responsibilities of retirement boards Reform disability retirement Mr. Bohn gave a brief description of each of the above items. Brief discussion and questions from the public, Trustees and Mr. Peña followed. Mr. Peña stated that at the last Board meeting he was directed to contact the FCERA actuary, Ira Summer, to obtain an estimate on the cost to do an actuarial study on the defined contribution plan issue. Mr. Peña has spoken with Mr. Summer and was advised that the cost would be approximately $12,000 to conduct a very general study on what the impact would be on the plan. Mr. Peña will share this information with the County and see if they would be willing to share the cost.

6 6 Discussion took place regarding educating the members and the public on this issue and whether or not the Retirement Board should take a position for or against any legislation. Barbara Grunwald, Deputy County Counsel advised that the Board is entitled to take a position if they choose. Tom Abshere, SEIU Representative addressed the Board stating that this issue needs to be dealt with and he agrees with Ms. Grunwald that the Board has an obligation to take a position. Mr. Abshere encouraged the Board to take action on hiring the actuary to conduct a study of this issue. It was noted that Ms. Grunwald did not advise the Board that they had an obligation to take a position on this issue, only that they had a right to take a position. Discussion followed. Trustee Crow recommended that the Board direct Mr. Peña to move forward with the actuarial review and bring it back to the Board for further discussion. Trustee Crow also recommended that the Board direct Mr. Peña to move forward to develop some type of educational program that reaches out to the association membership. Trustee Thobe agreed. Trustee Jolly disagreed stating the he believes the County should have the actuarial study done. Chair Souza stated he believes Mr. Peña should move forward with the direction recommended by Trustee Crow, however, he does hope the County will share in the cost. Trustee Larson departed at 11:10 AM. 14. Discussion and appropriate action on Performance and Economic Summary report presented by Loomis Sayles and Company, L.P. Jeff MacLean, Wurts & Associates, reviewed for the Board that they had placed Loomis Sayles on probation in August 2003 for poor performance. The Board required that Loomis Sayles exceed at least 100 basis points in comparison to the index by June 2004, otherwise the Board would terminate their services. A reduced fee arrangement was also negotiated until June Loomis Sayles beat the benchmark in June 2004, exceeding the 100 basis points minimum variance. At this time the Board decided to keep Loomis Sayles on watch until the end of As this deadline has passed, Loomis Sayles has been invited to today s meeting to make a presentation to the Board. Mr. MacLean and Mr. Peña believe that it is appropriate at this time for the Board to readdress whether or not to keep Loomis Sayles on watch. Trustee Papaleo departed at 11:27 AM. A performance and economic summary report was presented by Ken Johnson, Vice President, Client Portfolio Manager and Peter Palfrey, CFA, Vice President, Portfolio Manager of Loomis Sayles & Company. Discussion followed including questions regarding the reasons for the previous under performance, current performance and the difference between placing a firm on probation vs. watch. A motion was made by Trustee Jolly, seconded by Trustee Thobe to remove Loomis Sayles from watch status. VOTE: Unanimous (Absent-Dominguez, Larson, Papaleo).

7 15. Presentation of the December 31, 2004 Investment Performance Review 7 Jeff MacLean, Wurts & Associates gave a brief review of the Investment Performance Review for the period ended December 31, Brief discussion followed. Mr. Peña suggested that the Franklin Templeton firm be invited to present to the Board. Mr. MacLean agreed and advised that Bradford & Marzec also would like to present to the Board. Mr. MacLean stated that he will be presenting a recommendation at a future meeting to liquidate the passive bond index and to allocate the monies among the other managers. 19. Report from FCERA Administration Roberto L. Peña, Retirement Administrator, gave a brief report on the following items: 1. Trustee bios are needed for the FCERA web site. Trustees will be contacted if this information is still needed from them. 2. Mr. Peña noted that Consent Agenda Item 11 is the most recent letter to all members on the final compensation issue. 3. Regarding a possible Special Meeting on March 11 th, only four Trustees have responded with their availability. 20. Report from County Counsel Barbara Grunwald, Deputy County Counsel gave a brief report on the following item: 1. A new Attorney General opinion concludes that despite changes in the Brown Act since a 1982 opinion, Retirement Boards can still meet in closed session to discuss disability applications. 21. Board Member Announcements or Reports Chair Souza directed staff to purchase skirts for the tables used by staff in the Boardroom. NEXT MEETINGS: March 16, :00 AM (Wednesday) Regular Meeting FCERA Boardroom 1111 H Street, Fresno, CA April 6, :00 AM (Wednesday) Regular Meeting FCERA Boardroom

8 1111 H Street, Fresno, CA There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 1:12 PM. Roberto L. Peña Secretary to the Board of Retirement