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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991-12-19 Minutes44. • oge MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE FIRE PENSION BOARD A meeting of the Fayetteville Fire Pension and Relief Fund Board of Trustees was held on Thursday, December 19, 1991, at 11:00 a.m. in Room 362 of City Hall, 113 W. Mountain, Fayetteville, Arkansas. PRESENT: Firemen Marion Doss, Danny Farrar, and Pete Reagan; Retirees Richard Baird and Darrell Judy; City Manager Scott Linebaugh, Administrative Services Director Ben Mayes, City Attorney Jerry Rose, and City Clerk Sherry Thomas. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by City Manager Scott Linebaugh. V MINUTES Reagan, seconded by Judy, made a motion to approve the minutes from the August and September meetings. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. PENSION LIST Thomas reported that there were no changes on the pension lists for December and January. Reagan, seconded by Farrar, made a motion to approve the December pension list. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. Reagan, seconded by Judy, made a motion to approve the January pension list. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. OLD BUSINESS DARRELL JUDY City Attorney Jerry Rose referred to a memo he wrote in February 1990 regarding the request by Darrell Judy for disability retirement benefits. A few months ago Rose reported reviewing this case along with his assistant to attempt to find eligibility for Mr. Judy. He further reported that they could find no legal rationale to justify eligibility. In spite of legalities, Rose stated that there may be some good reasons for the Fire Pension Board to hear and act favorably toward Mr. Judy. City Attorney Rose stated that his best legal advice is that Mr. Judy is not eligible to go back and change his request based on the assumption that all evidence presented is true. If the Board should decide that Mr. Judy is not eligible as a matter of law, Rose suggested that they not make factual findings; therefore, if the Court disagrees with their decision, he can argue that the case needs to be bounced back to the Board for their examination of the evidence. • December 19, 1991 In response to Baird's inquiry regarding the circumstances of this case which meet four or five of the basic requirements and the legal determining factor for eligibility; Jerry Rose responded that A.C.A. §24-11-819(a)1 states in pertinent part that, ". . . a fire fighter must show that he is physically or mentally totally incapacitated for the further performance of any suitable duty." The fact that Mr. Judy performed his duties, even though they were modified, up until the date of his retirement in 1988 is conclusive proof that he was not totally incapacitated. Baird further asked how then did they come to the conclusion for Roy Skelton, as he worked until his retirement? City Attorney Rose responded that the Board turned Skelton down; it was the Circuit Court that finally approved his retirement. Reagan stated that this is a tough decision because by granting these benefits to Darrell Judy, it will set a precedent that everyone will apply their case to. Doss stated that it is the Fire Pension Board's responsibility to do what is legal, even if it doesn't agree with what they would like to do. Chief Mickey Jackson stated Dr. Runnels' letter states that Mr. Judy was never released to return to regular duty subsequent to his on-the-job injury. Judy stated that the Board and Chief Jackson requested this report from Dr. Runnels. Darrell Judy continued that it was his belief that the best he could get was 50%; had he known that it had increased to 65% in 1987, he would have tried to get the additional benefits. In response to Reagan's inquiry, Judy responded that Dr. Runnels had given him a disability rating of 15%. Judy continued to give a brief history of his accident, injuries, and disability process. Judy stated he had continued to work at light duty only and tough it out until he completed his 20 years of service. He has had two back surgeries and has difficulty walking. Doss asked if the Board makes a decision and it is later determined to have been incorrect and is overturned by the court, would members of the Pension Board be held liable. City Attorney Rose stated they would not as long as they were acting in good faith when they rendered the decision, which he felt the Board was trying to do. In response to Doss' inquiry regarding whether they were discussing issues that they shouldn't be getting into yet, Rose stated that • they have an initial decision to make regarding whether he is • December 19, 1991 eligible at all. Once that is done, they can get into factual discussions. Farrar stated that he had trouble discussing the case with Darrell Judy present. Baird stated that personally he was prepared to make a motion to approve the Judy benefits. But from a legal standpoint, as a Board he did not see how they could justify the benefits as it would not be fair to the pension fund members. He further agreed with City Attorney Rose's opinion that it would be better for a court to refer the matter back to the Board for a determination. Reagan, seconded by Baird, made a motion to deny the request for benefits on the basis of total and permanent disability. City Attorney Rose suggested that the motion should reflect the Board's intent - even taking the facts in the most favorable light to Mr. Judy without going into their truth or falsity at this time, that Mr. Judy does not appear to be legally eligible for disability pension benefits because of the total disability clause. City Manager Linebaugh reported that previous minutes reflect that the reason for the motion was that Mr. Judy did not request • disability or line -of -duty disability retirement at the time of his retirement. The motion to deny benefits to Darrell Judy passed by a unanimous vote. Reagan inquired as to whether it was ethical for Darrell Judy to be sitting on the Board and suing them at the same time regarding his retirement disability benefits; to which City Attorney Rose stated that he believes as long as he doesn't participate in any decisions regarding his lawsuit, he can serve on the Board. NEW BUSINESS INVESTMENT REPORTS Richard Yada of Merrill Lynch was unable to attend the meeting, but he provided the Fire Pension Board with copies of the monthly report and will provide the yearly report to the Board at the next meeting. Doss requested that all reports and letters received from Merrill Lynch be copied and distributed to the entire Fire Pension Board. CONTRIBUTION • Chief Jackson reported that he has received the annual contribution of $300 from Catherine Stout and asked what procedure he should • • • December 19, 1991 follow with respect to this contribution. Jackson stated that he has responded to Ms. Stout with a letter of appreciation from the Fire Pension Board. City Manager Linebaugh responded that he give it to Ben Mayes and let him handle it. ADJOIIRNMBNT The meeting was adjourned at 11:41 a.m.