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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-07-20 MinutesPolicemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page I of 14 Policemen's Pension and Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 A meeting of the Fayetteville Policemen's Pension and Relief Fund Board was held on July 20, 2006 at 1:30 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, Dr Mashburn, Frank Johnson, Jerry Friend, Sondra Smith, David Whitaker, Marsha Farthing, Accounting. Absent: Tim Helder Approval of the May 16, 2006 Meetin2 Minutes. Dr Mashburn moved to approve the minutes. Eldon Roberts seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion carried 5-0. Jerry Friend was absent during the vote. Tim Helder was absent. Approval of May, June and July, 2006 Pension List Mayor Coody: Are there any changes to the May, June, or July Pension Lists? Eldon Roberts: The change in the widow's benefits. I see it's listed here on the old amount verses the new amount and it started in May. Sondra Smith: That total amount of the change for the widow's was $3861.33 per month, that was the increase on the May, June, and July Pension List. Mayor Coody: Any other questions on that. Sondra Smith: There is also one pensioner that didn't receive his check because he didn't turn in his affidavit. I believe that was Warren Dennis and he is now receiving his check again because we received his affidavit. On the May list there is no amount for him but he is back on the list in June after we received his affidavit. Mayor Coody: Did he get caught up on that? He didn't miss a check did he? Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 2 of 14 Sondra Smith: Yes. The month to date total doesn't reflect that but the year to date totals reflect it. Dr. Mashburn moved to approve the Pension List. Eldon Roberts seconded the motion. Upon roU call the motion carried 5-0. Jerry Friend was absent during the vote. Tim Helder was absent. Old Business: Election Results Mayor Coody: Jerry Friend was re-elected to the Board does that take any action? Sondra Smith: I don't think so. Letter to David Clark and Jody Carreiro Regardini! Benefit Increase Sondra Smith: I sent a letter to David Clark showing that we did implement a benefit increase. I also sent the same letter to Osborne and Carreire, so that when they do our next study they will know that benefit increase was implemented. Mayor Coody: Does this take any kind of action or is this just informational. Sondra Smith: It's just informational letting you know that has been taken care of. Letter to Survivor's re2arding the Benefit Increase for Survivor's Sondra Smith: This is the letter we sent out to the survivor's letting them know they did get a benefit increase. Survivor's Benefit Increase Calculation SondraSmith: The additional benefit due to the increase for widows is $3861.33 per month. Letter to Jody Carreiro re2ardinu the 3% COLA Sondra Smith: This is the letter that Eldon asked me to send to Jody Carreiro about whether or not the COLA was included in our study or whether or not they could do a study and include the COLA. I sent the letter as Eldon asked. I asked in the letter if there would be any additional cost to redo the study and include that 3% COLA and if so to let me know and what the time is for Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 3 of 14 completing that study with the 3% COLA calculated in and I haven't heard a reply. I don't know what else to do. I know that they are extremely busy. We haven't even received the Police Pension Actuarial reports. We received the Fire Pension reports in July. I called about the Police Pension reports and they said they haven't sent them out yet, if there is one fund they are still working on they don't send any of them out. Mayor Coody: Okay. Any questions? New Business: Memo from Sondra to Kit Williams regarding Spouse Benefits Sondra Smith: You asked me to check with Kit regarding if a new wife qualifies for benefits upon the death of a pensioner and this is his reply to my memo. He states that if a police officer marries after retirement the surviving spouse maybe entitled to a pension if he or she has been married for at least 5 years but he says the Board has to decide to extend that benefit beyond the pensioner's death to the surviving spouse. Eldon Roberts: The way I read it is if the fund is actuarially sound so that will take care of that. Mayor Coolly: Any other questions on that? The memo from Kit regarding spouse benefits more the same? Sondra Smith: My questions to Kit are on one page and his answers are on the next page, if you have questions please let us know. Chief Frank Johnson: Let me make sure I understand this right. Let me put it in personal terms "you and I" get married after I retire. You are eligible for this benefit? Sondra Smith: If we are married for five years and if the Board approves it. Eldon Roberts: You mean if you get married now before you retire. Chief Frank Johnson: No I mean after I retire. Eldon Roberts: Okay then what she says is the way it works. If you get married before you retire your spouse is automatically entitled to your pension. David Whitaker, Assistant City Attorney: For the spouse at the time of retirement there's no question about them. Eldon Roberts: Right. Sondra Smith: But it's the time after retirement. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 4 of 14 David Whitaker: Exactly. Sondra Smith: Then you have to be married for a minimum of five years then we have to approve that payment to your spouse but we are not actuarially sound so we wouldn't be able to extend a benefit increase. Eldon Roberts: We wouldn't be able to extend the benefit increase even if we wanted to. Sondra Smith: He also said if a former spouse that is divorced is receiving benefits because of a qualified domestic relations order those benefits cease upon the death of the beneficiary, if his ex wife is drawing benefits and the retiree passes away then her benefits stop. Eldon Roberts: Plus if she remarries the benefits stop? Is that the way you see it to? Sondra Smith: He says the benefits end with remarriage. Eldon Roberts: Even if they're divorced and she is drawing part of his monthly benefit and if she remarries it stops. Sondra Smith: That is what Kit is saying because in my letter I ask does a beneficiary of a pensioner continue to draw benefits if they remarry and for how long after remarrying. Now on the former spouse I think it depends on the qualified domestic relations order. David Whitaker: That's correct it would be bound by the actual language of the quarto. Eldon Roberts: So she could remarry and continue drawing. David Whitaker: If the order said that. Eldon Roberts: If the order said that. David Whitaker: That would be unusual in my experience. Sondra Smith: On the next pension list you will see a change; there is one pensioner that we had to pay $508 of his check to his former spouse for child support that was Mark Hanna. That is the reason Mark Hanna's check is less that Janice Hanna's. That child became of age in July of this year so his amount will go up by the $508 and her amount will be less. Merrill Lynch wants to come and visit us at one of our pension meetings to give you information about their company if you would like. They sent information that I can give you a copy of if you would like. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 5 of 14 Eldon Roberts: We had a run with them back when we first started doing investments and it was ugly. I would just as soon not have them come. You can have a Board vote or however you want to do. That's just my take on it. Dr Mashburn: I would just as soon see us leave things the way they are. We run pretty smooth. Sondra Smith: They wanted to be here today and I told them they could not come until the Board gave me an okay. Eldon Roberts: They can come and sit out there but as far as addressing us, no. Sondra Smith: They are going to want to address you. Eldon Roberts: Sure they are. Sondra Smith: Do you want me to tell them the Board said no? Eldon Roberts: Should we take a vote or however you want to do it. I don't know. There are still four of us here. Sondra Smith: It would be better to take a vote that way it is in the minutes that we chose not to have them come. Eldon Roberts moved to not let Merrill Lynch to come to the meeting and give a presentation. Dr Mashburn seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion carried 4-0. Jerry Friend and Mayor Coody were absent during the vote. Tim Helder was absent. Sondra Smith: I will send Merrill Lynch a letter. Eldon Roberts: Just tell them we are happy with the way things are at this time. Longer Investments: Elaine Longer: You received the news letter in the mail and it's really tough in a rapidly changing environment in investments to write a news letter and I hope to get it out before it is outdated. This one was particularly difficult because you have so much going on in the geopolitical scene plus the interest rates and the energy prices so by the time we got the news letter back from the editor and printer it was in fact outdated. One of the things we said at the end was these are the factors that could affect our cautiously optimistic outlook, an increase in the geopolitical tensions and increase in energy prices through the upper limits of the range that we've seen this year. By the time it came back from the printer that is exactly what you had when Lebanon and Israel started shooting off missiles and crude oil prices responded and went through the recent highs. So we've pulled back into a cautious position again, some of our stocks that we place under what we consider to be non core holdings, we usually control the down side Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 6 of 14 risk in a market like this by placing them close stop and we've had some of those go off so we've had higher cash reserves than what we had as recently as two weeks ago. There is a lot going on out there and there is a lot of volatility because of it. It's not just the geopolitical situation but the markets are still trying to get used to the new Federal Reserve Chairman Bemanke and he can't find his sea legs, every time he gets in front of a microphone he is wearing a different hat and so that upsets the markets. Yesterday was volatility to the upside because he spoke before the Senate Finance Committee in his Humphrey Hoskins testimony and he sounded pretty dovish or as if he wasn't going to raise the interest rates in August and then that's the reason market was up 200 points. Nothing changed between Tuesday and Wednesday except that Bemanke spoke again and so everybody has a case of the nerves with him, we all what the old professor back, Greenspan, where he didn't roll the markets he chose his words carefully and he chose his venue to say something very carefully. Since Bernanke took the helm in the first part of the year he's actually made statements at cocktail parties to a CNBC reporter that ended up moving the markets by Monday when it was reported. He is acting very sophomoric in his position as being the primary spokes person and policy setter for the US economy, so he needs to get his sea legs quickly. Yesterday was just another example of the Bemanke volatility because the market responds in internet time to the changes in these factors and everything is very volatile right now. That is why you are seeing so much of these swings, 100, 200 point day swings. I think the volatility is going to be here with us until we get clarification on some of these things that are bothering everybody, the geopolitical, the energy prices, the interest rates those are the three big ones. The good news is that earnings are coming through relatively good and the first quarter GDP growth rate was 5.6%. We probably slowed to about 3% to 3.5% in the second quarter we don't have those numbers yet but given the factors that we are seeing the reports being put out by the retailers in particular Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, and Bed Bath and Beyond, the places where America shops those numbers are really weakening a lot in June. Then we have had news from General Motors and Ford that June sales basically fell off a cliff. We are seeing weakness elsewhere in housing stocks and companies like Home Depot so the consumer is really being affected. Today it was a pizza company, that had bad numbers and it's affecting all the restaurant stocks like Appleby's and Panera Bread. We've been wondering how long this tapped out consumer will be able to continue their spending patterns that have really been such a strong support to the economy. A consumer makes up 70% of the GDP so it's very important and we are seeing cracks in the foundation it is starting, the energy prices, the higher interest rates are starting to affect consumer spending patterns and it really kicked in in June. That means the second half of the year is probably going to be a 2% to 2.5% growth rate. I don't think the Fed will raise again in August if they do we want to own bonds even more than if they don't because they are going to kill the economy. We wrote this in the news letter that the market is juggling this 5.75 or will it be 5.50 it doesn't really matter we are in the ninth ending we just don't know if it's the top of the ninth or the bottom of the ninth and from a market stand point that's all that matters. In 1994 which was the last time that we had a interest rate cycle like this the Fed raised rates six times we came into 1995 they raised again in January and then by July they were cutting interest rates because they had gone Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 7 of 14 too far. I think that could be very possibly what we will see where the Fed by the fourth quarter has to actually start cutting rates. Dr Mashburn: That's the only way they can tell whether it's high enough is when they have already gone too far. Elaine Longer: Exactly and the inflation numbers are trailing indicator because you get the inflation number today, that is for last month, what we are looking at is what will the inflation numbers will be out there in November and December where the economy is slowing to a 2% growth rate, that's a whole different picture. We've been very comfortable about extending our maturities in the bond market, locking in some of these higher interest rates. This week we bought some of the ten year treasury the 5.125 at par and by yesterday it was one half point above what we paid for it. The yield curve is inverting even more, even though you have 5.75 in the Fed funds or the short term interest rates. The five year yield is 5% the 10 year yield is almost down to 5% and so what that inversion tells you is the market is saying these interest rates won't last. I'm willing to go out here to the 10 year and take a 5.125 even though I can get 5.75 in the money market because I want to lock that 5.125 in for ten years. When you see this inversion in the yield curve that's what the market is saying is that these rates won't last. So that is a good sign, we have to get to that point before the Fed stops. In 1995 even though the economy slowed the stock market preformed real well because you had that pressure released on the interest rate side and I think that's what you will see as we move through this end of the cycle and it becomes real apparent to participants that the Fed is done. Then they will look back over here at stocks and say "oh by the way" earnings were up 22% last year and the stock market didn't do anything and now this year to date they are up 14.6% and the stock market is up 1.8%, the valuation has really improved over here on the stock side. Right now everybody is focused on bonds and so stocks have had a rising valuation. The valuation floor of the market keeps improving but we don't see that in price at this point, it will come though it's just going to be delayed until we get some resolution on the interest rate out look. So that's the newsletter if you haven't read it. On page I you will see the summary of your portfolio holdings as of June 30 th and at that time we were 45% invested in domestic stocks and then you have approximately 6% in foreign stocks so were just over that 50% level so we need approval to be over the 50%. The ranges are up to 50% plus or minus 5. It requires approval if were over the 50%. Sondra Smith: Does someone want to move to approve the equity overage? Eldon Roberts moved to approve the equity overage. Dr Mashburn seconded the motion. Upon roll call the motion carried 5-0. Mayor Coolly was absent during the vote. Tim Helder was absent. Elaine Longer: Page 4 you will see that the market value on June 3 oth was $10.35 million and the end income yield is still 3.5% so even though we have a higher equity allocation we've been able to keep the income yield up because of the rising interest rates in the bond market. Page 5 your realized gains year to date are about $203,000 and net income has been $127,000 so that is Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 8 of 14 just the gains that we've realized on stock positions it does not include the unrealized appreciation. Page 6 is a summary of the bond portfolio, your weighted average yield to maturity is 5.2% and the average maturity is 3.8 years. So you have a good high income yield even though the maturity risk is not very high in your portfolio and we still have a lot of flexibility to extend maturities although we have already done a lot of purchasing in the 5 year maturity and recently the 10 year. Page 7 just shows your largest stock holdings as a percent of your equity portfolio and that's well within your policy guide lines which states that no equity should exceed 5% of total equity. Page 8 shows the contributions and distributions year to date. We did receive some litigations settlements I'm sure it's not as much as the attorneys who did the litigations received. The withdrawals have been about $460,000. The next page is your performance report and we are having a good year if you look at 2006 year to date through June 3 Olh the stocks are up 5.8% the S&P 500 is up about 1.8% with the Dow up about 5%. The Treasury bond index is down 1.3% but your bonds are up 0.2% and that's because we have had a shorter average maturity then the bond index. That's where a lot of the realized gains came from because we sold the long bonds and the long bond mutual funds back in February and that has helped hold the bond portfolio so total return year to date has been 3.2% with bonds included. Your annualized return stocks are at 6.4%, bonds at 5.8% and total compound annual return has been 6.8% compared to the actuary of 6%. Inception to date this just summarizes the beginning value and additions to the portfolio, the distributions that have taken place of $3.85 million verses the net investment return of $5.58 million so the investment return has run ahead of the distributions. The investment policy, there isn't anything that we would recommend that you change at this time and although we have been authorized to increase the foreign exposure in the portfolio, we haven't acted on that yet because last year foreign out performed domestic markets by a wide margin and then year to date through June 3 Oth the foreign markets have out performed the US so at this point in time US stocks and particularly the large cap US stocks the "big uglies" we call them are very cheap on a relative value to some of the other markets in the world. In times of trouble the US is the safe harbor and so at this point buying Taiwan or buying Singapore as opposed to staying in US stocks especially the large caps is not a good trade. So at this point we still have that authorization in the portfolio policy and we appreciate the change but we are not going in that direction right at this time. We are keeping the international that we currently hold but I think on a relative performance basis the US market as we clear some of these hurtles can play catch up to what some of the foreign markets have done in the past 18 months. It's never dull out there and it's been particularly exciting this year. Does anyone have questions? Eldon Roberts: Have you been managing our money since 1990? Has it been that tong? Elaine Longer: Yes. Eldon Roberts: You all took over sixteen years ago? Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 9 of 14 Elaine Longer: Sixteen Years. Eldon Roberts: Wow. Where did it go? I don't have any further questions. Elaine Longer: It was right before the first Persian Gulf War invasion. You had just came in when IRAQ crossed the Kuwait border and then from that point which was mid 1990 the market fell off by about 19% going into the invasion which was January 15, 1991. So it was a tough start but once that uncertainty cleared the market had a big year. The stock market is an emotional market, there is nothing that it hates more than uncertainty and right now there's a lot of it. In fact when I was putting together the news letter one of the measures is what's called an 80% day where 80% of total volume is either up or 80% is down and those are extreme days it usually indicates a lot of sentiment in one direction or the other. Yesterday was a 90% day to the upside but last week we had two 90% days to the down side and so the string of 80% days in the past 5 weeks ending July 3 there were 14 of them and that was the highest volatility in 55 years by that measure. So what you are seeing on the news is being reflected in the stock market and that is why you have all these gyrations, but the fundamentals underline all of that and are still very favorable. Dr Mashburn: That means you are hitting more nervous people out there. Elaine Longer: Well you've got a case of the nerves and not only that but the composition of trading has changed in the past several years because now hedge funds which typically use leverage, they make up over 50% of the trading volume on the New York exchanges each day. So you have volatility and you have uncertainty and then you overlay that with leverage players, that is why you see the movements happening so rapidly. The time period it used to take to respond to a Federal Chairman saying something was much longer now it is instantaneous. He had not even gotten to the microphone before the market was up 150 points because be released the text of his prepared statement to the press about 15 minutes before he actually started talking and they read it on CNBC and I'm sitting there watching the market just go through the roof. It's just fascinating because it does happen so quickly it's probably the same price difference that you would have in response to a given set of variables being released but it didn't use to take 15 minutes. Eldon Roberts: When does the Federal Reserve Board meet again, it is August sometime? Elaine Longer: It's August. Eldon Roberts: The way you feel right now they won't raise rates. The high energy cost is one thing and the high interest rates by them raising it every so often but the energy is something everybody that everybody has to have and it has really taken a toll I think. I don't think it's going to come back down very much and give any relief. Elaine Longer: I don't see it in this geopolitical environment but the thing that the Fed is balancing is that you have raising inflation numbers because of the energy input and the produce of price index number that came out last week, that .5% was higher than expected. The Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 10 of 14 consumer price index number that is the core number came out at .3%, the market was expecting .2% so they are concerned about these energy prices filtering into the basic inflation rate. They have to act to quell inflation fears because you don't want them to get embedded and get into the way trade and all of that stuff because then you have a multi year problem trying to knock it out so that's one thing that they are fighting. Then on the other hand though they see the weakening economy and Bernanke tried to address both sides of it and today he had to go before the house and they nailed him on that, they want clarification. He really is juggling the two, the rising inflation pressures but also he sees they are worsening. He knows the economy is weakening. So he has to maintain his creditability especially with being the new guy on the block and still appear to be a very staunch inflation fighter otherwise the dollar comes under pressure which would raise inflation pressures. So he is walking a tight rope. I just wish that he would pick his opportunities to speak much more carefully and maybe have somebody review the text before he gets before the microphone. I think he will get there he is very professorial looking and acting and so I don't think he is someone that is going to shoot from the hip. It is a tight rope they are walking because he does have to maintain creditability on the inflation fighting front and at the same time not throw the economy into a recession. I won't want his job on a good day. Are there any other questions? Thank you. Eldon Roberts: I just want to see what the Board thinks. Jerry before you got here we discussed the actuary report is not in and neither is the letter that we asked Jody Carreiro to tell us about making the COLA permanent, none of that has come back yet. Should we just let that go, the letter anyway, until the next meeting in October in hopes that all of that will be in by then? We are going to be so far down the road from that last benefit proposal that he did I don't know how well he is going to want to do this 3% permanent COLA. Sondra Smith: I don't know why he's not responding is he normally like that? Eldon Roberts: No, I've heard that some group has them working realty hard on a new way of dividing up the insurance turn back money on the old funds and joining LOPFI, there is a whole lot that some interim committee is having them do. They are just so far behind trying to get the answers for those people and the session is just around the comer that's what I'm hearing. The actuary report we know they are going to send it's just when they get it done. The letter that we asked for, he promised me 3 or 4 months ago. We have a little time on the COLA it's still good for two more years if I understand everything right, it was a five year tempory COLA and we have had 3 years of it so we still have 2007 and 2008. 1 guess I would be in favor of just waiting until October and hope that surely by then we have a response from him on both of these the actuary report and the making of the COLA permanent. Sondra Smith: It doesn't matter to me I will do what ever you all want me to do. Eldon Roberts: What do the rest of you all think? I don't know what else we can do to hurry them up anyway you've already written them a letter and he knows surely what we are waiting on. The actuarial report is something that they do anyway that is not something that we requested. That is something they do every 2 years, isn't that right? Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 11 of 14 Sondra Smith: Yes. Eldon Roberts: It's not pertinent that we the information to make the COLA permanent right now. Dr. Mashburn: Sometimes a second letter letting them know that you are showing an interest. Eldon Roberts: Sondra sent a letter. Dr. Mashburn: You sent one already? Sondra Smith: Yes and Eldon called him a couple times. Eldon Roberts: I talked to him on the phone and he promised me to do this at no extra cost because we are just coming off him doing a benefit proposal study anyway and he said all the numbers was right handy for him. Sondra Smith: I don't think they're going to do anything right now until they get all those actuarial reports done. Eldon Roberts: You're probably right. So I for one can wait until October to see if we have heard back from him on these two things. Surely they will have the actuary report out by then. Maybe he will respond in writing whatever he decides about the COLA being made permanent. Jerry Friend: Remind me is he involved in the actuary? Eldon Roberts: Yes sir, they do the actuary. Jerry Friend: I was thinking so. Eldon Roberts: They are under contract through the State, I think they do a lot of LOPFI work and they do ours. They do the actuaries for the Police and Fire old plans for sure. He is also the one we've asked to give us information on if we can make the COLA permanent or not. Jerry Friend: Same thing that's holding up the actuaries is probably holding up that letter. Eldon Roberts: I know they are looking at new way of dividing up the insurance turn back money every year, something that's more equitable. I don't know what they are going to come up with. I don't guess we have received our insurance turn back check yet either but surely August. When do those usually come in August or September? Sondra Smith: No I think it's usually about this time. Eldon Roberts: It won't affect this years because it will have to go before the legislative process, whatever this group comes up with in proposals. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 12 of 14 Jerry Friend: We probably need to look at what they come up with something because there was some talk that the funds that needed it worse might get more. Eldon Roberts: Wonder if they will send us a proposal on what's going to go before the legislative body? I guess they will meet in January. I wonder if we will get some kind of proposal that's going to be given to them so we can voice our opinion. Jerry Friend: What committee will summit that? Eldon Roberts: Joint Retirement Committee probably, I think is what all pension stuff comes under down there. It's a group of people that is made up of Senators and Representatives both. Jerry Friend: I think we ought to look at that. Dr. Mashburn: Do you have a list. Eldon Roberts: I don't have a list of who's on that committee. It can be obtained but I'm like Jerry it would be nice if we could look at it and see because they might decide we don't need as much of that money as we've been getting. Jerry Friend: Yeah. Eldon Roberts: We might want to contact our representatives. Jerry Friend: We might want to go push for it or Eldon Roberts: Or push against it. Well let's just try to figure on in October if we haven't heard anything on what that group of people has come up with in a way of proposals to go before the legislative session, let's see if we can get a copy of it and review it and see if we are for it or again it. Jerry Friend: There is some publication that has all the Bills in it or something isn't there? Eldon Roberts: Yeah. Jerry Friend: Maybe I will try to get a hold of one of them and read through it and find it. Chief Frank Johnson: You can look at the State web site. Jerry Friend: Right. I think it is on there. Eldon Roberts: I don't know when they will have the report finalized that they are taking to the legislative session, but that is when we would want to get it and look at it after they come up with what there going to recommend. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 13 of 14 Jerry Friend: Right. Eldon Roberts: I can wait till October and see if we have heard anything back from him on the letter. Sondra Smith: I don't know what else we can do. Eldon Roberts: I don't either. Write him another letter, but I don't know if that would make a lot of difference because they are under the gun down there. Dr. Mashburn: That's probably the only letter he gets from all of us. Sondra Smith: I know they have to be behind because we always get the Police Pension report at the same time as the Fire Pension report. I couldn't believe we received one without the other. I thought it was lost and tried to find it. Eldon Roberts: I've not received anything. Sondra Smith: I called PRB and they said they had not sent the Police Pension report out. Accounting couldn't believe it either they always send them out at the same time. I asked when we can expect it and they didn't know. Jerry Friend: Do we need to vote today orjust wait? Eldon Roberts: I don't know. Sondra Smith: There is no vote that we can take. Eldon Roberts: It wouldn't make any difference would it? We can see where we are at in October we should be further down the road by then and maybe have answers to both of these questions. Frank you have an opportunity to look on line every once in a while can you kind of keep track of pension legislation that is going to be coming up that they will take to the next session. The next session is in January of next year isn't it? Chief Frank Johnson: Yes. Eldon Roberts: Starting in the next few months you might be able to find some information on that web site that pertains to pensions. Anything you can get just pull it up and print it. Give it to Sondra and she can incorporate it into the minutes of the meeting or into the package she hands out next time. There is a lot of things we miss, we missed that Frank was suppose to be a member of this Board for 6 months and it is just hard to keep track of all of it. We need somebody that that's all they are doing. Policemen's Pension & Relief Fund Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes July 20, 2006 Page 14 of 14 Sondra Smith: We should not have missed that and the only reason we missed that we did was because that little section was on the next page. That's the only reason we missed it. Kit and I both read those new acts before they went into affect. Eldon Roberts: I'm not pointing fingers at anybody I'm just saying it's hard to keep up with it all of this. Jerry Friend: It is. Eldon Roberts: It is just hard you have so many different people that have input into that. It is hard to monitor and get everything and stay abreast of it because it is constantly changing or being added to. Sondra Smith: That's the reason I go to Municipal League because we find out a lot of changes or proposed changes when we go to Municipal League. Chief Frank Johnson: I'll put this on my favorites file. Eldon Roberts: That's a good deal then we can watch it from here on out for the rest of the year because there will be proposals coming up all the time from here on out that pertains to pensions. A lot of those things we might be for and a lot of those things we might be against. Then once the legislative body finally meets and acts on them we sure need to know them because it becomes law. Chief Frank Johnson: What's the committee again? Eldon Roberts: I think it's the Joint Retirement Committee. Dr Mashburn: Do any of you go down to those meetings? Eldon Roberts: I used to a long time ago, Dr Mashburn: I use to go down there and keep up with some of those things. Eldon Roberts: Okay so we will just wait until October and see is if we have heard anything back from Carreiro. They are not going to ask us for our input on coming up with a new way of dividing this insurance turn back money. They are going to come up with their own ideas. I don't know if it's going to be good or bad for us. Meeting Adjourned at 2:15 PM