HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-02-27 MinutesFireman's Pension and Relief Fund Board Meeting
February 27, 2003
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MINUTES OF A MEETING
OF THE
FIREMAN'S PENSION AND RELIEF FUND BOARD
February 27, 2003
A meeting of the Fayetteville Fireman's Pension and Relief Fund Board was held on February
27, 2003 at 11:00 am in Room 326 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West
Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas.
Present:
Ronnie Wood, Pete Reagan, Danny Farrar, Marion Doss, Robert Johnson, Steve Davis,
Sondra Smith, Kit Williams and attorneys from the law firm of Martin & Kieklak.
Absent:
Mayor Coody
Assistant Chief Doss presided the meeting:
Assistant Chief Doss called the meeting to order.
Minutes:
Mr. Reagan moved to approve the January 30, 2003 minutes. Mr. Wood seconded.
Motion carried unanimously.
Pension List:
The pension list was reviewed for the month of March 2003.
Mr. Reagan moved to approve the Pension List. Mr. Johnson seconded. Motion
carried unanimously.
Approval of the DROP list:
Teddy O'Neal was added to the DROP list with a date of April 1, 2003.
Mr. Reagan said he would like to see a signature line added to the General Fire Pension
Form that Accounting completes. Sondra will ask them to add the signature line.
Steve Davis said Danny Farrar is the only person under the old plan and not on the DROP
plan.
Mr. Reagan moved to approve Teddy O'Neal's DROP form. Mr. Wood seconded
Motion carried unanimously.
Investment Report:
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February 27, 2003
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Longer Investments will be attending our meetings on a quarterly basis from now on.
They will send a summary report each month and will be present once a quarter with a
detailed report and presentation.
Longer Investments sent the summary investment report which was reviewed by the
Board. The Board had no questions on the report.
Old Business:
Skelton Birth Certificates: A copy of the Kelly and Kim Skelton's birth certificates
was given to the Board.
Kelly Skelton School Enrollment. A copy of Kelly Skelton's enrollment in school was
also given to the Board.
Hiring of law firm: Mr Williams said the law firm will represent the Board and will not
represent any other retirees. The Attorney -Client Agreement states that the fee will be 33
1/3% of the gross recovery from such claim, before deduction of expenses, whether
recovery is by suit, settlement or in any other manner If the attorneys are not successful
in the suit they will waive any fees. If they are successful then they will deduct expenses
before the one third/two thirds split. The attorneys have reviewed the contract and agree
to everything at this time. Mr. Williams has the Resolution drafted for the Board to sign
should the Board approve the contract.
Martin & Kieklak Report: Longer Investments took over the investing from Merrill
Lynch. The City provided the attorneys with the minutes and reports. The report was not
necessarily what the market was. Martin & Kieklak needs to know what the losses were.
They would like the Board to authorize Longer Investments to release information to
them. The board needs to empower Marin & Kieklak to stand in for the Board. The
Resolution that has been drafted that authorizes the Board to hire the firm should be
sufficient for Longer to release the information.
Martin & Kieklak said in the early statements the trading that occurred — losses against
gains look to be due to unauthorized trades. They said they still need to continue to get
the numbers together. They would like to submit for arbitration while they are
continuing to get the numbers together. They expect the time frame to be approximately
eight months.
Mr. Williams said he thinks we need to hire the firm of Martin & Kieklak and let them
get going. They will update us regularly so that we will know what is going on.
Martin & Kieklak said we could call them at any time should we have questions.
Mr. Williams said some of the concerns from the staff are that Merrill Lynch was
collecting fees off trades that had value to the Broker but not to the fund. They are also
Fireman's Pension and Relief Fund Board Meeting
February 27, 2003
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concerned about how much Merrill Lynch's commission fees were. Mr. Williams asked
if the Board had any questions.
Mr. Williams said if the contract is okay then he would advise the Board to pass the
Resolution and authorize the Mayor to sign the resolution.
Mr. Farrar moved to pass the resolution and approve the Attorney -Client Agreement
with the Law Firm of Martin & Kieklak. Mr. Reagan seconded Motion carried
unanimously.
Resolution 03-01 as Recorded by the Fire Pension Board Secretary.
Mr. Reagan moved to notify Longer Investments that Martin & Kieklak have been
hired and that the Board authorizes Longer Investments to release information to
them. Mr. Doss seconded. Motion carried unanimously.
New Business:
Wilkie Maxine Morris: A copy of the death certificate and letter from the estate
attorney was received on Ms. Morris. Ms. Smith sent copies to accounting so her checks
would be discontinued.
Board Elections: The election of the Board members with expiring terms in 2002 was
not completed. Elections for this year will include two terms with term end dates of 2005
and two terms with term end dates of 2004. Ms. Smith will get the nominating letter
drafted for the retirees and present it at the March meeting for approval. We also
discussed sending all the nominations to the City Clerk. The form will be revised to read
that it should be returned to the City Clerk.
Accounting Reports: The Accounting Reports for the month of November and
December 2002 were handed out for review.
Board Member's Addresses: The Board members were asked to update their addresses,
phone numbers and email addresses. A listing was provided for them to update.
New Affidavit Forms: A copy of the new affidavit form was presented for review.
UBS/Paine Webber Invitation: A copy of the letter inviting the Board to the horse
races was provided to the Board. The Board asked Ms. Smith to send UBS/Paine
Webber their addresses.
Meeting adjourned at 12:00 PM
The next meeting will be March 27, 2003 at 11:00 AM in Room 326 of the City
Administration Building.
Fireman's Pension and Relief Fund Board Meeting
February 27, 2003
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