City Hall 112 S. Osceola Avenue Clearwater, FL 33756 Meeting Minutes Monday, May 16, 2016 1:00 PM Council Chambers Pension Trustees Page 1
Roll Call Present 4 - Chair George N. Cretekos, Trustee Doreen Caudell, Trustee Bob Cundiff, and Trustee Bill Jonson Absent 1 - Trustee Hoyt Hamilton Also Present William B. Horne City Manager, Jill Silverboard Assistant City Manager, Pamela K. Akin City Attorney, Rosemarie Call City Clerk, Nicole Sprague Official Records and Legislative Services Coordinator To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not necessarily discussed in that order. Unapproved 1. Call To Order Chair Cretekos The meeting was called to order at 1:46 p.m. at City Hall. 2. Approval of Minutes 2.1 Approve the minutes of the April 18, 2016 Pension Trustees Meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. Trustee Jonson moved to approve the minutes of the April 18, 2016 Pension Trustees Meeting as submitted in written summation by the City Clerk. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 3. Citizens to be Heard Regarding Items Not on the Agenda None. 4. New Business Items 4.1 Approve the new hires for acceptance into the Pension Plan as listed. Name/Job Classification/Department Pension Eligibility Date Robert Waite */Solid Waste Worker/Solid Waste 03/05/2016 Candace Tuetken/Police Comm. Operator Trainee/Police Dept 03/07/2016 Christopher Damm/Water Dist. Operator Trainee/Public Utilities 03/07/2016 Tyler Jones/Water Distribution Operator Trainee/Public Utilities 03/07/2016 Nicholas Gossard/Customer Service Rep. Customer Service 03/07/2016 Jamie Thomas/Solid Waste Worker/Solid Waste 03/07/2016 Courtney Schultz **/Recreation Leader/Parks and Recreation 03/19/2016 Tonya Sandy/Customer Service Rep./Gas Department 03/21/2016 Valerie McHargue/Paralegal/Legal Department 03/21/2016 Page 2
Daniel Castellano /Parks Service Technician I/Parks and Rec. 03/21/2016 Gregory Graff/Police Service Technician/Police Department 03/21/2016 Jada Grabis ***/Parking, Facility and Security Aide/Marine & Aviation 03/19/2016 Trustee Caudell moved to approve the new hires for acceptance into the Pension Plan as listed. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4.2 Approve the following request of employee Brent Peters, Information Technology Department to vest his pension as provided by Section 2.419 of the Employees Pension Plan. Brent Peters, Senior Systems Programmer, Information Technology Department, was employed by the City on May 20, 2002, and began participating in the Pension Plan on that date. Mr. Peters terminated from City employment on January 8, 2016. The Employees Pension Plan provides that should an employee cease to be an employee of the or change status from full-time to part-time after completing ten or more years of creditable service (pension participation), such employee shall acquire a vested interest in the retirement benefits. Vested pension payments commence on the first of the month following the month in which the employee normally would have been eligible for retirement. Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for non-hazardous duty employees hired prior to the effective date of this reinstatement (January 1, 2013), a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on which a participant has reached the age of fifty-five years and completed twenty years of credited service; the date on which a participant has reached age sixty-five years and completed ten years of credited service; or the date on which a member has completed thirty years of service regardless of age. For non-hazardous duty employees hired on or after the effective date of this restatement, a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on which a participant has reached the age of sixty years and completed twenty-five years of credited service; or the date on which a participant has reached the age of sixty-five years and completed ten years of credited service. Mr. Peters will meet the non-hazardous duty criteria and begin collecting a pension in June 2022. Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for hazardous duty employees, a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on which the participant has completed twenty years of credited service regardless of age, or the date on which the participant has reached fifty-five Page 3
years and completed ten years of credited service. Trustee Cundiff moved to approve the following request of employee Brent Peters, Information Technology Department to vest his pension as provided by Section 2.419 of the Employees Pension Plan. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4.3 Approve the following request of employees Dale Johnson, Public Utilities Department, Terry Avery, Solid Waste General Services Department and Russell Shawen, Engineering Department, for a regular pension as provided by Sections 2.416 and 2.424 of the Employees Pension Plan. Dale Johnson, Wastewater Treatment Plant Oper A, Public Utilities Department, was employed by the City on January 19, 1987, and his pension service credit is effective on that date. His pension will be effective May 1, 2016. Based on an average salary of approximately $71,663.09 over the past five years, the formula for computing regular pensions and Mr. Johnson s selection of the Life Annuity, this pension benefit will be approximately $57,704.16 annually. Terry Avery, Fleet Mechanic Supervisor, Solid Waste General Services Department, was employed by the City on February 17, 1987, and his pension service credit is effective on that date. His pension will be effective May 1, 2016. Based on an average salary of approximately $68,037.87 over the past five years, the formula for computing regular pensions and Mr. Avery s selection of the Life Annuity with a 20% Partial Lump Sum payment, this pension benefit will be approximately $43,711.68 annually. Russell Shawen, Parking Operations Supervisor, Engineering Department, was employed by the City on October 27, 1997, and his pension service credit is effective on that date. His pension will be effective April 1, 2016. Based on an average salary of approximately $40,635.22 over the past five years, the formula for computing regular pensions and Mr. Shawen s selection of the 100% Joint and Survivor Annuity, this pension benefit will be approximately $17,403.24 annually. Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for non-hazardous duty employees hired prior to the effective date of this reinstatement (January 1, 2013), a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on which a participant has reached the age of fifty-five years and completed twenty years of credited service; the date on which a participant has reached age sixty-five years and completed ten years of credited service; or the date on which a member has completed thirty years of service regardless of age. For Page 4
non-hazardous duty employees hired on or after the effective date of this restatement, a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on which a participant has reached the age of sixty years and completed twenty-five years of credited service; or the date on which a participant has reached the age of sixty-five years and completed ten years of credited service. Mr. Johnson, Mr. Avery and Mr. Shawen have met the non-hazardous duty criteria. Section 2.416 provides for normal retirement eligibility for hazardous duty employees, a member shall be eligible for retirement following the earlier of the date on which the participant has completed twenty years of credited service regardless of age, or the date on which the participant has reached fifty-five years and completed ten years of credited service. Trustee Jonson move to approve the following request of employees Dale Johnson, Public Utilities Department, Terry Avery, Solid Waste General Services Department and Russell Shawen, Engineering Department, for a regular pension as provided by Sections 2.416 and 2.424 of the Employees Pension Plan. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 4.4 Approve Class A Interests fee structure for IFM Global Infrastructure money manager, to include foreign currency hedging. The Trustees recently approved the hiring of IFM Global as the pension plan s infrastructure money manager under the existing fee structure for the money manager at the time. IFM Global has recently notified us that they are adopting a new fee structure for new investors. They are also offering the new fee structure as an option to existing investors such as Clearwater s pension plan. The new fee structure lowers the base management fee, from 0.97% to 0.77%, but accelerates the money managers timing of sharing of earnings over the 8% hurdle rate. Additionally, the new fee structure will include foreign currency hedging. The foreign currency hedging is intended to reduce the volatility of returns from year to year caused by currency exchange rates. An irrevocable election is required by May 20, 2016, for any existing investors that would like to opt for the new Class A Interests fee structure with foreign Page 5
currency hedging. Any existing investors not responding by the deadline will remain in the existing Class B Interests fee structure. The plan s investment consultant, CapTrust, recommends adoption of the new fee structure as being in the best interests of the plan, as it decreases net management fees up to an earning threshold of 9.5% and increases manager incentives for performance in excess of the 8% hurdle rate. Additionally the foreign currency hedging is expected to produce the desired result of decreasing the volatility of investment returns from year to year. In response to questions, CapTrust Advisors Consultant John Griffith said there is no intent to engage in currency hedging to make profits; the idea is to mitigate differences between different investors, making the returns more consistent without invoking the changes in currency. The new fee schedule with the hedging strategy (Option A) helps to moderate volatility. If the new fee schedule with the hedging strategy is not approved, the City would return to the previous fee schedule, which was higher (8%). Mr. Griffith said the new fee schedule would lower the cost if the fund does not perform above 8%. He said the consultant provides advice and is not involved in the brokerage aspect. Trustee Jonson moved to approve Class A Interests fee structure for IFM Global Infrastructure money manager, to include foreign currency hedging. The motion was duly seconded and carried unanimously. 5. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 1:59 p.m. Chair Attest Employees Pension Plan Trustees City Clerk Page 6