Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7 :35 a.m. in the conference room at Glenview Fire Station 6. On roll call the following were:
Present: Board President/Trustee Nick Rusher, Trustee Tom Dvorak, Trustee Paul Detlefs, Trustee/Secretary Mike Sawicki, Internal Auditor Mary Reibel, Michael McPeek, Doug Oest of Marquette Associates, Chris Potthoff of Richard J. Reimer and Associates, LLC and Carol Bjankini, Recording Secretary
Absent: Trustee Pat Cuisinier, Village Manager Todd Hileman, Finance Director Dan Wiersma
Minutes: Trustee Rusher called for a review of the minutes of March 4, 2008. Trustee Dvorak motioned to approve the minutes of March 4, 2008; Trustee Sawicki seconded and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the minutes of March 4, 2008 were accepted.
Trustee Rusher called for a review of the minutes of January 22, 2008. Trustee Dvorak motioned to approve the minutes of January 22, 2008; Trustee Sawicki seconded and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the minutes of January 22, 2008 were accepted.
Financial Reports/Contribution Review: Doug Oest from Marquette Associates distributed the March 31, 2008 Executive Summary and provided an overview. At the close of the quarter, the Pension fund had a market value of $48,817,833. Over the quarter, the portfolio decreased by $383,293, of which $117,810 was due to contributions, while $501,103 was due to capital depreciation. The total portfolio was 61.1% invested in fixed income, 26.3% invested in domestic equities, 8.6% invested in international equities, and 4.0% invested in cash. The Total Fund returned -1.0% for the quarter, outperforming its policy benchmark, which returned -1.7%. Over the trailing twelve months, the Pension Fund returned +1.6%, outperforming the policy benchmark, which returned +0.8%. Trustee Dvorak motioned to accept the March 31, 2008 Executive Summary; Trustee Detlefs seconded and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the motion passed.
Doug Oest provided copies of letters he had requested regarding the predatory lending act. Mr. Oest is still following for one letter from State Street, which is expected to arrive shortly without any conflicts.
Frank Oswald was underpaid from the date of retirement through December 31, 2007 for a total amount of $2,499.06. The Pension Board's internal calculation corroborates Lauterbach & Amen's determination of amount owed. Trustee Sawicki advised Lauterbach & Amen to remit the balance to Mr. Oswald on the January 15, 2008 payroll. Trustee Sawicki motioned to adjust Frank Oswald's records and correct his pension to the proper percentage; Trustee Detlefs seconded and a roll call was taken and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the motion passed.
There was a discrepancy in Steve Hartnett's initial base which Lauterbach and Amen was instructed to correct. The amount of $2.34 (3 checks X $0.78) has been corrected in the February 29, 2008 payment. Lauterbach & Amen updated Mr. Hartnett's master file with the correct data. Trustee Sawicki motioned to modify the pension calculation to the correct base salary of $75,127.50 for Mr. Hartnett; Trustee Detlefs seconded and a roll call was taken and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the motion passed.
Previously, the Village Finance Department would deduct life
insurance premiums from pensioners checks who purchased this coverage
offered through the Village. As the Pension Board retained
Lauterbach & Amen's services this feature is no longer an option.
Effective April 1, 2008 pensioners Charles Baran and Steve Helton who utilized
this service will now be direct billed from Principal Life for their
life insurance premiums.
Applications: The Board is in receipt of an Application for Retirement Pension from Paul Hutchison. Paul started with the Village October 16, 1978, his last duty day was February 4, 2008 with his benefits commencing February 5, 2008 in the annualized amount of $121,631.00. Trustee Dvorak motioned to approve Paul Hutchison's Application for Retirement Pension; Trustee Sawicki seconded and a roll call was taken and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the motion passed.
The Board is in receipt of Applications for Membership from:
- Brian Bos Date of Hire: 02-18-2008
- Ralph Ensign Date of Hire: 02-18-2008
- Chaten Howard Date of Hire 03-05-2008
- Jean Pierre Guilbault Date of Hire 03-05-2008
Trustee Dvorak motioned to approve Brian Bos, Ralph Ensign, Chaten Howard and Jean Pierre Guilbault's Applications for Membership into the Pension Fund; Trustee Sawicki seconded and a roll call was taken and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the motion passed.
The Board is in receipt of an Application for Disability Pension from John Hutchison dated February 13, 2008. The Pension Attorney, Chris Potthoff explained procedures regarding Mr. Hutchison's application. Attorney Potthoff sent Mr. Hutchison a letter and is in the process of receiving proper documentation from physicians. Additionally, the Village of Glenview/Fire Chief has been served a subpoena to obtain Mr. Hutchison's department records. Once all documentation has been received Attorney Potthoff can proceed with Mr. Hutchison and the Board to schedule a Special Meeting for the Board's action.
Other Business: A few revisions were made to the draft Administrative Rules of the Pension Board. Attorney Potthoff will finalize and forward electronically to the Board for their review prior to the July 17, 2008 meeting, at which time the Board will review and consider adopting.
A notice of election and request for nominations was distributed to all active members February 27, 2008, as Trustee Tom Dvorak's term is to expire in April 2008. Current Trustee Tom Dvorak was the only member that responded with an interest in running for this position. Since only one candidate is running for this position, no election is required and such candidate shall be declared elected. Trustee Detlefs motioned to accept the results of the election for Tom Dvorak to continue as Trustee on the Pension Board for a three year term; Trustee Sawicki seconded and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the motion passed.
Two actuarial proposals were received and reviewed; one from Timothy W. Sharpe and the other from Tepfer Consulting Group, Ltd. As both actuaries were discussed the Board opted to retain Timothy W. Sharpe for one year. The Board decided to invite Arthur Tepfer in for meet and greet later this year and will reevaluate actuarial proposals again next year. Trustee Sawicki motioned to accept Timothy W. Sharpe's proposal for 2008 in an amount not to exceed $2,100.00; Trustee Detlefs seconded and a roll call was taken and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the motion passed.
Additionally, the Board will direct the Village Finance Department to provide information to Mr. Sharpe for the completion of the reports.
Attorney Chris Potthoff reported on the status of the annual disability examination and evaluations for both Art Lutherus and Mark Gray. The attorney mailed letters to both pensioners and has received the proper paperwork from Art Lutherus and is awaiting paperwork from Mark Gray.
Attorney Potthoff will request medical records from Mr. Lutherus' physicians. After all necessary paperwork is received from Mr. Lutherus' physicians the process will continue with a medical evaluation as stated in Mr. Lutherus' letter from Reimer & Associates, LLC.
Attorney Potthoff will continue to follow up with Mark Gray as stated in the letter "failure to submit to an annual exam will result in a suspension or termination of your disability pension benefits". Once all the paperwork is received from Mr. Gray and from his physicians the process will continue with a medical evaluation. As Omega was involved in Mary Gray's initial evaluation the Board discussed having an independent physician evaluate the duty disability. Trustee Dvorak motioned to approve Richard J. Reimer & Associates, LLC to utilize INSPE to obtain an independent evaluation of Mark Gray's duty disability; Trustee Rusher seconded and a roll call was taken and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the motion passed.
The Board is in receipt of a letter Robert Maki sent Lauterbach & Amen, LLP regarding a request for a postal service investigation. As Mr. Maki refuses direct deposit he stated his last mailing took ten (10) days. Board President/Trustee Rusher forwarded this correspondence to the Pension Attorney, Chris Potthoff. Attorney Potthoff informed the Board they are in compliance and can choose to ignore Mr. Maki's letters, respond with a letter, advise Mr. Maki to provide proper postage for overnight mail, or inform Mr. Maki to wait two (2) weeks before calling about improper mail delivery and replacing the check. The Board opted to wait until Mr. Maki has another issue and will inform him to wait two weeks before notifying the Board a stop payment and replacement of his undelivered check is necessary.
The Board is in receipt of a letter from Phil Guzzetta. Mr. Guzzetta expressed his concern of the once a month pension check. Additionally, the Board received a call from Leon Olsen regarding his dissatisfaction with the one monthly payment. After a lengthy discussion the Board decided the pensioners were not given ample time to prepare for this change. The Board discussed incurring the additional expense of two monthly checks through December 2009. Effective January 2010 checks will be sent once a month at the end of the month without a staggered transition period. Trustee Sawicki motioned to have the Board retain the goal of converting to one monthly pension payment, but existing transitions be suspended beginning May 2008 and revert payments to the 15th and last day of each month; continuing this practice through December 2009. Effective January 2010 one pension payment per month will commence. Additionally, the Board has accepted the additional cost of administering pension benefits as such. Trustee Dvorak seconded and a roll call was taken and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the motion passed.
Trustee Rusher asked the Board about the Illinois Public Pension Fund Association (IPPFA) membership, which dues for the first year for the Board would be $1,000.00. Trustee Detlefs would like more information pertaining to the IPFFA's legislative activities as well as lobby activity. Trustee Rusher will look into additional information and report back to the Board.
Meeting Dates: The remainder of meetings schedule for 2008 is as follows:
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The above meetings are scheduled at 7:30 AM at Glenview Fire Station 6, 1815 Glenview Road.
Doug Oest adjourned the meeting at 8:05 AM.
Michael McPeek adjourned the meeting at 9:40 AM.
Mary Reibel adjourned the meeting at 10:15 AM.
Adjournment: Trustee Dvorak motioned to adjourn, Trustee Sawicki seconded and the vote was all ayes, no nays and the meeting adjourned at 10:30 AM.
Respectfully Submitted:Carol Bjankini
Recording Secretary
Glenview Firefighters’ Pension Fund