Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-05-16 MinutesPolicemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 1 of 10 Special Policemen's Pension and Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 A meeting of the Fayetteville Policemen's Pension and Relief Fund Board was held on May 16, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building located at 113 West Mountain Street, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Mayor Coody called the meeting to order. Present: Mayor Coody, Eldon Roberts, Jerry Friend, Tim Helder, Dr Mashburn, Jerry Surles, Sondra Smith, Kit Williams, Lisa Branson, City Clerk's office. Approval of the April 13, 2006 Meeting Minutes. Tim Helder moved to approve the minutes. Eldon Roberts seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion carried unanimously. New Business Election Process Discussion: Kit Williams: I sent you all a memo after I heard that there was an issue involved here. I went back and read the law, that's always a dangerous thing to do, and I found out that we haven't been exactly doing it right. Number one I think there's only one position that's available now for retired with the new 2005 law. The second issue it's my understand the way the procedure has always been done is that there's just been a poll, they call up and say who do you want to vote for and they keep a list and whoever the top vote getters are if there's one or two positions open they get it. That is the established procedure the way I understand it. That doesn't mean that has to be the procedure the board can change that. The board can take an affirmative step and say no we want "Tim Helder" for position one "Jerry Surles" for position two. You can divide up in positions if you want to but that's something that the board itself needs to move to do and take an affirmative action to change that procedure. It really won't make any difference at all this year because this year the way I understand there's only one position that's going to be open in the retired ranks, so it's kind of all against all at that point. There needs to be another election and the election will be, who you want to serve in this one position. Tim Helder: How do we determine what that one position is because there is actually two? Eldon Roberts: It won't make any difference because they both expire. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 2 of 10 Kit Williams: Both of their terms are gone, so no one is really running for re-election or else they are both running for re-election. Tim Helder: I see so it's a spot. Eldon Roberts: That's right it's a spot. You're right. Kit Williams: We have not divided into positions before. The board can do that if you want to. That's totally up to your discretion because the statute says a procedure to be chosen by the board. Now when you have a lot of active members it actually requires you to have secret ballots for the active, but the retired has always been as you all see fit. I don't know if this was ever formally done or it just evolved into doing it that way but that seems to be the established pattern. I don't think we need to change it until the board takes some official action. Eldon Roberts: It just evolved into that because I have read the law and you have and other people have. It didn't really spell out an exact procedure of how the retired people elected their representatives. Hollis was on the board and I didn't get involved because I was active it didn't make any difference and the rest of the retirees didn't care how they did their elections and they opted to do this phone poll thing so people could nominate people over the phone. Ms. Murphy would call and tell the rest of the members whose names had been brought up and they would vote. They've done that for 4 or 5 years and I guess it's served well but now maybe we need to change it. Sondra Smith: This year it wasn't done that way. They were told they had to vote for either Rick Hoyt, Jerry Friend, Jerry Surles, or Mr. Mitchell and its never been done that way before in the past. Eldon Roberts: Okay I don't know what they were told I didn't ask Margaret how she went about it she's just been the one that's done it. I don't know how she did it. Kit Williams: Regardless I think this one was a flawed election and we need to have another one. Tim Helder: I don't think that's right. Eldon Roberts: Okay. Like you said this time it's going to be relatively easy we've just got one spot open. Kit Williams: It doesn't make any difference this year. Eldon Roberts: Next year there will be three Tim, myself, and the new person that we are going to elect to take Dr. Mashburn's place. Whatever we do we need to fix it today where when it comes time to have an election for more than one position we've got something in place to cover that. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 3 of 10 Kit Williams: What's in place right now is this poll where there's no body nominated really or everybody's nominated basically and they say who do you want to vote for and there's no positions. If you want to make positions and someone says I'm going to run for position one position two I guess there will be four positions at that point once Dr. Mashburn goes off, then that needs to be something the board votes on and says that we want it by position. Eldon and Tim's positions wouldn't be open now; we would have an end date for them of next year. Jerry Friend and Jerry Surles positions would end this year. Dr. Mashburn's position would end next year if you wanted to change it and do it by position. What do ya'll want to do, or do you want to leave it the same? Sondra Smith: We just need a set procedure in writing how it's going to be done because I know this year it was done differently and Ms. Murphy had to be told how it was going to be done. She wouldn't have done it differently unless someone told her to do it differently and I didn't tell her to do it differently. Kit Williams: The established procedure is there are no positions. If you want to make a position then someone needs to make a motion that you do it by position. Mayor Coody: What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing it either way? Kit Williams: Don't ask me, I have no position on this. Sondra Smith: Eldon didn't you tell me Ms. Murphy doesn't want to do the phone poll anymore? Eldon Roberts: Yes, she had mentioned she has done this for six or eight years and it's something she bas to do every year because elections come due every year for at least one retired member. She just mentioned that she enjoyed doing it but she would like for someone else to take over the responsibility. Kit Williams: Will she not do it for this last election? Sondra Smith: No. Kit Williams: We need to have another one though. Sondra Smith: We'll have to do it differently. Eldon Roberts: I think this next one coming up we need to figure out how were going to go about doing this in a more correct procedure. Tell me how the fire department's process works? Sondra Smith: We send out a letter to each one of the pensioners and ask for nominations and if there are two positions they can nominate two people. They have positions. Eldon Roberts: Their positions are numbered. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 4 of 10 Sondra Smith: They send the secret ballot back to our office on those members nominated. I don't have a vote on those members. Then when we go through the nominations and list everyone that's been nominated. If there are ten people that's been nominated we list all of them. Then we send it back out to the pensioners and tell them these people have been nominated and then they vote. Kit Williams: What if someone gets nominated for both positions? Sondra Smith: That happened this time but we only had two people nominated and they were nominated for both positions. So it didn't really matter. Kit Williams: I can see that being a problem. Sondra Smith: This is the first year that they have done positions. Before this year we just sent out nomination forms and if they nominated five people then those people ran for the available slots and the two with the most votes got elected. Kit Williams: Really that was the way you all were doing it in the retired section too. Eldon Roberts: In a round about way. Kit Williams: The top vote getters as opposed to running for positions. Sondra Smith: Which is a little bit easier, I think it is not as confusing for the pensioners themselves if they know that they just vote for whoever they want to and they have two votes. Next year they will have three votes. Eldon Roberts: Instead of dividing it into position one, two, and three or whatever it's just if three positions are open the three people that got the most votes fill those positions. Kit Williams: That's the way it's been done. Jerry Friend: That's the way it's always been done. Kit Williams: But you're saying the fire people are changing that now. Sondra Smith: They changed it this year and they assigned positions. This was the first year they assigned positions. Jerry Surles: Right off the bat they had a problem? Sondra Smith: It was confusing to the petitioners because they had to vote for someone for position one and someone for position two. If they get confused and write the wrong name on the wrong line they've just reversed the two positions. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 5 of 10 Eldon Roberts: If you don't assign positions then you couldn't have one person nominated for two positions. Does that make sense? Tim Helder: Yes. Kit Williams: It would go to the top vote getters. Sondra Smith: It would just be the top three and that's the way they have always done it in the past and it's always worked really well. Eldon Roberts: If you assign positions I can see how you could have the same person nominated for each position. Kit Williams: Yeah. Eldon Roberts: So if you don't assign positions you can't have that problem and if you have three positions the three top vote getters get the three positions. Sondra Smith: Right. Kit Williams: Do they allow each retiree to have three votes? Sondra Smith: They only have two that expire each year. Kit Williams: Okay. Sondra Smith: They get two votes. Kit Williams: But they have to be different people. Sondra Smith: Right. Kit Williams: Okay. Eldon Roberts: Okay. Jerry Surles: What we first do is send out the letter asking them to summit names and then everybody will get all the names back on a form or something to vote for? Sondra Smith: Yes. We do it to where I don't even have to know who they're nominating until the forms are returned. I send the letters on City Clerk letterhead so I know that they can't run a copy of it or run several copies and vote for the same person several times. They can tear off the bottom or sometimes I just do a second sheet and give them a return envelope so all they have to do is put it in an envelope, put a stamp on it and send it back in. We give them a deadline and anything that comes in after that deadline we do not count. It doesn't matter to me how you do it but we do need something in writing. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 6 of 10 Eldon Roberts: I'm afraid that if we leave it as it is it's not going to fly. This board is getting more involved and more concerned and watching every little angle and I'm afraid leaving it like it is is not going to get it. It's too hard to ask 42 people over the phone who they want to nominate and get that all together and try to get a vote. I just don't see how this is going to keep working and were being watched closer now than we've ever been. I think we better get something that's in writing more or less if it's tangible. Tim Helder: You're going to be doing the same thing except it will be in writing. Right, you'll send out the flyers we won't necessarily identify anybody. It's just we have an opening nominate who you want in this position? Kit Williams: I don't even know why you are going through a nomination process. I think you should just send out a list of everyone and say vote for whoever you think should be on the board. Tim Helder: If there is one opening, write one name down off that list. Sondra Smith: I would much rather do it that way myself because with the other way it's just extra work. Eldon Roberts: I have no problem with that. Sondra Smith: I have your pension list so all I would have to do is delete the two columns that have the amount that is being paid so no wages are on it and just send that list out. Eldon Roberts: If there is one position open then they can vote for whoever they want to. Then all this comes back to your office and you tabulate the results. Mayor Coody: Does that sound acceptable to all you guys. Jerry Friend: Are you going to have the board members names on it? Sondra Smith: Usually what I do in the cover letter is tell them how many positions are open, if there are two positions open I tell them that there are two positions open and who is currently serving in those positions and I put a list of all the board members. Kit Williams: We need the board members on there because you couldn't be elected this time "Tim" because you are already on the board. Sondra Smith: I usually put the expiration date and the list of all the pensioners. Mayor Coody: On the list of all the potential winners Tim's name wouldn't be on there for example. Sondra Smith: Well usually all the petitioners are on there but they've got the list of the board and the ones that are currently serving. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 7 of 10 Kit Williams: You need a little explanation. Sondra Smith: You cannot vote for so and so. Mayor Coody: You need a notation to where they wouldn't vote for Tim because he is already on the board. Sondra Smith: Because he is already serving on the board. Eldon Roberts: Just a note that says this position that's up for election currently expires and who holds this position. Sondra Smith: Right. Kit Williams: What do ya'll think? Jerry Surles: Sounds like a winner to me. Eldon Roberts: Before we vote on this what about the widow's they have not been allowed to vote in the last several elections that Ms. Murphy has polled people for. I really think that's probably correct but I want to know what everybody else thinks here. There are eight widows if I counted correctly today. I really don't see that they are a member of this pension fund. It mentions actives and retiree's but both of those words are referring to actives such as Frank Johnson. Kit Williams: He is the only one. Eldon Roberts: Or retired such as us. I think spouses are just simply the spouse of a retired or active member. Kit Williams: I think that is correct. It says that in a matter you select. Sondra Smith: So you can do it however you want to. Eldon Roberts: I counted and there are still 42 of us retired police officers that are members of the fund. I should think that would be enough to have sufficient elections for eight, nine, ten more years, just by using the retired police officers themselves. Sondra Smith: If you want to use retired police officers themselves then that will need to be in the motion "that all pensioners are not allowed to vote." Kit Williams: I wouldn't send it to the widow's. Sondra Smith: Right but in our motion here today we need to specify that. Jerry Friend: Have they voted in the past? Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 8 of 10 Eldon Roberts: No. Kit Williams: And they could not be on the board because it talks about retired members. Eldon Roberts: They can't serve on this board and I don't think they can nominate anybody to run for this board. Tim Helder: I would say that would be the difference. If they are not eligible to serve on the board then they probably shouldn't be able to vote. I think you are correct. Sondra Smith: Do you have any females that are retired police officers? Eldon Roberts: Yes we do and neither one of those have spouses but they wouldn't be considered a spouse. They are a regular retired member. Sondra Smith: I mean just for us so we would know that when we sent it out that they are actually police officers. Eldon Roberts: That would be Mary Mueller and Angela Munson those two people were actually female police officers and they would be allowed to participate in the vote and be nominated. The rest of the female names you see on there are probably going to be spouses of retired police officers. Mayor Coody: We have a motion is there a second? Sondra Smith: What was the motion? Mayor Coody: The motion was to accept this proposal to send out the list. Sondra Smith: Just to send out a pension list and not do nominations? Eldon Roberts: Where do we get the part in about the widow's not being allowed to vote? You said to amend this motion or vote on this motion. Mayor Coody: We don't allow widow's to vote now do we? Eldon Roberts: No. Jerry Friend: Do we need to? Eldon Roberts: No we don't. Mayor Coody: Okay. Sondra Smith: I would like that to be in the motion because we don't have a set procedure right now. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 9 of 10 Mayor Coody: I see. Jerry Surles moved to send out a written ballot to elect the Board members. Dr. Mashburn seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion carried unanimously. Eldon Roberts moved for the survivors not to be allowed to vote in the elections, be on the board, or make nominations. Jerry Surles seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion carried unanimously. Kit Williams: If you give them a deadline to vote it has to be no later than the end of this month, they are suppose to be selected this month. So you need to get your letter out and tell them that we have to receive it or it must be postmarked before the end of this month. Eldon Roberts: Is there any reason that this one time that we can't run it just a little bit longer? Kit Williams: It says May. Eldon Roberts: I know that but we have waited to within 14 days of the end of the month. Sondra Smith: I would think that if we get the letters out, we can get them in the mail probably tomorrow and that would give them enough time. Eldon Roberts: Okay. Kit Williams: Since they have already been contacted once they probably already know who they will vote for. Eldon Roberts: So make it the end of the month, May 31', to have it back to your office. Sondra Smith: We put a return envelope in with it so all they have to do is put the ballot in the envelope put a stamp on it and send it back. Jerry Friend: Is the letter going to explain why they are voting again? Sondra Smith: I think it should. Kit Williams: Yes, it will be a short letter stating that there is really only one position open and the procedure has been set-up by the Board to do it this way. Eldon Roberts: Well that is right we have had to change the makeup of the Board because we have learned we are in error by not having an active person on here. Just spell it out and we will vote again. Kit Williams: I have already talked to Chief Johnson. He said if it is the law he will do it. Mayor Coody: Is there anything else we need to do on this. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes May 16, 2006 Page 10 of 10 Sondra Smith: No, because Dr. Mashburn will continue serving until his term ends next year. Kit Williams: Frank Johnson will be on the Board coming up. Dr. Mashburn: I have one more year? Kit Williams: Yes. Eldon Roberts: Until May of next year. Dr. Mashburn: I submit my resignation effective of that time. I would like to serve the remaining year. Kit Williams: And the statute which I quoted does say that you shall serve until you are replaced. Mayor Coody: We need you. We aren't looking to get rid of you. Eldon Roberts: You are not going to get out of here that easy. We are going to make you stay in here until the end. Sondra Smith: Thanks for meeting; I just did not want any laws broken. Eldon Roberts: Next year when there are three positions open we will send out a letter and people will vote for three people of their choosing, no nominations. Kit Williams: There will be three won't there. Sondra Smith: No nominations. Eldon Roberts: No nominations. We just send out a letter and say you can vote for any three people that you want to and then send it back in and the top three vote getters serve. Sondra Smith: It will be by written ballot. Kit Williams: There will be one retired representative on there that will not be eligible to run because they will be serving. Sondra Smith: Right, whoever gets elected this year. Meeting Adjourned at 3:10 PM