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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-02-17 Minutes• A special 17, 1993, Building, PRESENT: MINUTES OF A POLICE PENSION BOARD MEETING meeting of the Police Pension Board was held on February at 10:10 a.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration 113 W. Mountain, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Eldon Roberts, Jerry Friend, Rick Hoyt, Hollis Spencer, Dr. James Mashburn, Mayor Fred Hanna, City Clerk Sherry Thomas, City Attorney Jerry Rose, and Administrative Services Director Ben Mayes. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Hanna called the meeting to order stating the purpose of this special meeting is to discuss the retirement requests of Charles F. Johnson and Mary Mueller. RETIREMENT REOUESTS: CHARLES F. JOHNSON & MARY MUELLER Eldon Roberts stated Charles F. Johnson has been with the department for about 14-15 years, and Mary Mueller has been with the department for about 15-16 years. He stated this board has acted on disability requests in the past. However, these two are different in that they are requesting line of duty disability retirement which would mean they would receive 65% of their salary instead of 50%. He stated there were several people watching to see how the Board would handle these disability retirement requests. He stated these requests should be looked at thoroughly because of the potential adverse affects they could have on the pension fund soundness. Roberts stated Johnson had submitted his application and two letters from his doctor, dated January 8 and February 11, about a knuckle injury that has arthritis in it and prevents him from firing his hand gun. Mueller has submitted with her application a letter from her doctor, Kirk Johnson, stating her injury was sustained on September 25, 1992, during a fire arms qualification. Spencer asked if these officers reported their injuries to the department. Roberts stated there was something brought to the department's attention about Johnson injuring his hand when striking someone he was arresting. The department was aware of Mueller's injury during the firing qualification. Mayor Hanna asked if there wasn't some job on the police force for Johnson even though he may have arthritis in his finger. Roberts stated the doctor is saying he can no longer handle a hand gun. This may be a problem. • • • February 17, 1993 Dr. Mashburn asked if anyone had observed him during the quarterly firing qualifications to determine if he was having difficulty shooting or if his scores had dropped. Hoyt stated Johnson is a shooting instructor. Mayor Hanna stated he felt the laws should be changed regarding this type of disability retirement. Roberts stated if this disability retirement is allowed, this would make Johnson the highest paid retiree, even more than the last retiring chief of police. Hoyt stated the Board has the right to require Johnson to get an opinion from another doctor. Mayor Hanna stated the Board's intention was not to deny a disability retirement to any real injury. Spencer stated Frank Upton retired because he was shot in the hand. He asked what percentage of his salary he is drawing. Roberts stated he is getting 50%, but this 65% disability retirement is a new law. He stated he agreed with Mayor Hanna, because he is sure Johnson will be getting another job. The intent of this new law was to help out someone that was totally and permanently disabled in a line of duty injury. Friend asked in the statute it stated a disease can be a reason for a line of duty disability retirement. He asked Jerry Rose what the definition of disease was according to the statute. Rose stated according to the statute, a disease would not have to be caused by the police department operation, but aggravate the disease. He stated there is no causation required by the statute. He stated the Board need only be reasonable in their decision making process. If the Board rules against the retirement request, the officer has the option to appeal to the court. The Court has a de novo review of the case; i.e., they take a fresh look at the case and make a decision rather than reviewing the decision that was made by the Pension Board as being arbitrary and capricious. Hoyt stated he felt the Board should first decide if the injury makes the person disabled to do police work. Then, the second thing the Board should consider is was the injury a line of duty injury. He feels Mueller could probably come up with several reasons for disability. He thinks she has emphysema. He knows she was hurt on the firing range, and she has been off work since the accident on September 25, 1992. She has been going to the doctor for treatments. • • February 17, 1993 Dr. Mashburn stated if the Board wants, he will read the letters from the doctors, and they can discuss the medical meanings of the injuries. Dr. Mashburn read the letter about Charles Johnson. The doctor stated Johnson could not come back to police work as he knows it because of the inflammation and degenerative joint disease in his finger. Dr. Mashburn stated an injury to a joint does not always result in arthritis. He could have developed the arthritis anyway without an injury. There is no evidence the injury had any bearing on the arthritis. In addition, there is nothing in the letter stating anything about the original injury. Johnson also needs to establish the injury is duty related. There is nothing in the letter that states the disability is permanent. Arthritis tends to come and go. There should be some statement of gradient or degree of disability. He felt the Board needs another opinion regarding the permanency of the disability. He felt there was inadequate information at this time for the Board to be able to make a ruling. Dr. Mashburn, seconded by Spencer, made a motion to make no decision about the retirement at this time until additional information is provided to the Board. The motion passed by a unanimous vote. Friend asked if the Board could find out about any other type of • injuries, i.e., sports related, falling, etc., that might have caused the injury to his finger rather than a duty related accident. Dr. Mashburn asked if anyone had observed Johnson while he was shooting to notice if he was having difficulty or if his scores had dropped. Dr. Mashburn read the letter from Mary Mueller's doctor. Her doctor, Kirk Johnson, stated Mueller had a shoulder injury with an acute sprain and strain with degenerative joint disease. He stated 19% of her whole person was disabled as result of these injuries. Dr. Mashburn stated many of these types of injuries can be improved by surgery. Kirk Johnson is a chiropractor and cannot perform surgery. There is a limitation for the amount of care a chiropractor can provide a patient. Dr. Mashburn recommended Mueller be examined by an orthopedic physician. Dr. Mashburn stated he would like to hear testimony from fellow officers that work with these people. He does realize the "buddy system" exists, and this could prove to be difficult. Dr. Mashburn stated both of these people are stating they have degenerative bone disease. He stated this was a part of the aging process. • February 17, 1993 Friend stated football players, etc., are operated on and return to playing. He asked if they have more problems later on. Dr. Mashburn stated if the injury is to a ligament, most of the time they are repaired, and there are no further problems. If it is a joint injury, they may get arthritis. But, many people get arthritis without having any injuries. Dr. Mashburn asked if there was an annual evaluation performed on each officer about their physical performance. He stated this might be considered in the near future, especially in the light of these types of retirement requests. Dr. Mashburn stated he wanted people to be fairly treated, and the basis of determining a disability should be based on medical facts and not whether or not the fund could afford the claim. Dr. Mashburn, seconded by Hoyt, made a motion to delay a decision on the retirement request until a second opinion is obtained by an orthopedic surgeon, a medical doctor, for Ms. Mueller. The motion passed by a unanimous vote. Dr. Mashburn stated the law needs to be changed to take into account the degree of disability, perhaps similar to the way worker's compensation benefits are assessed. Spencer stated these letters put the police department on the spot when they say the people are unable to continue their jobs. If they do go back to work and a problem comes up, the police department could be held liable. Roberts stated the law states "permanent" disability. If the doctor states the injury is not permanent but can only be corrected through surgery and the person opts not to have surgery, then what is the recourse for the Pension Board. City Attorney Rose stated that is a decision the Pension Board would have to make. Dr. Mashburn stated there is treatment available for arthritis. City Clerk Thomas stated she would prepare the letters to Johnson and Mueller requesting the information the Board needs. Hoyt stated he feels the principle questions should be if in fact the officers are disabled. Dr. Mashburn stated the connection between what is being alleged and the injury first needs to be made evident. • Friend asked how likely it was for a physician to state the disabilities are a result of the injuries. • 1 February 17, 1993 Dr. Mashburn stated he would hate to say that a specific injury caused the arthritis because arthritis can set in without any injury. Roberts stated Mueller had offered to retire at the 50% level until this new law was brought to her attention. Sgt. Johnson stated he would retire at the 50% level as well. Roberts stated the Board will also have to consider whether these people are eligible for a medical retirement at the 50% level. CASH FLOW CHARTS Ben Mayes presented the Board members with copies of cash flow predictions for 1993. The Board talked about keeping between $80,000 and $100,000 in cash to make benefit payments. He will have Mike Kirkland send Elaine Longer any amount over the $100,000 for her to invest. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 11:01 a.m.