Fire Pension Board

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB DeKalb Firefighters Pension Fund April 21, 2022 The DeKalb Firefighters Pension Board of Trustees held a regular Meeting on April 21, 2022, at DeKalb Police Headquarters, 700 W. Lincoln Hwy., 2nd Floor, Training Classroom, DeKalb, IL 60115. ROLL CALL At 8:03 a.m., President Bill Lynch called the roll. Members present were Bob Terry, Ray Krueger, Bill Kalal, and Bill Lynch. Member not present was Carrie Dittman who arrived at 8:30 a.m. Also in attendance were Craig Larsen of Mission Wealth, Michael May of Lauterbach & Amen, Firefighters Greg Thornton and Jason Pavlak, and Administrative Assistant Natalie Nelson, as recording secretary. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Bob Terry moved to approve the agenda. Bill Kalal seconded the motion. A voice vote was conducted. Aye votes were voiced by all present members. The motion passed. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION none APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ray Krueger moved to approve the regular meeting minutes from January 20, 2022. Bill Kalal seconded the motion. A voice vote was conducted. Aye votes were voiced by all present members. The motion passed. APPROVAL – QILDRO Andrew Wells Bob Terry moved to approve the QILDRO. Ray Krueger seconded the motion. A voice vote was conducted. Aye votes were voiced by all present members. The motion passed. APPROVAL – Retirements 1. James Ruhl – Bill Lynch moved to approve. Ray Krueger seconded the motion. A roll call vote was conducted. Aye votes were cast by Lynch, Terry, Krueger, Kalal and Dittman. No nay votes were cast. The motion passed. 2. Jeffrey McMaster – Bill Lynch moved to approve. Bob Terry seconded the motion. A roll call vote was conducted. Aye votes were cast by Lynch, Terry, Krueger, Kalal and Dittman. No nay votes were cast. The motion passed. DeKalb Firefighters Pension Board of Trustees April 21, 2022 Page 2 of 3 APPROVAL – New Members Bill Lynch moved to approve as listed Jacob Needham, Michael Lunk, Sarah Faivre, Jackson Marbutt, Austin Isham, Joshua Norman, Juan Gasca, Paul Meyer, Lukas Farris, Sierra Steffen, Cole Flatter and Jacob Linden. Ray Krueger seconded the motion. A voice vote was conducted. Aye votes were voiced by all present members. The motion passed. Investment Advisor’s Report – Mission Wealth Craig Larsen As of January, consolidation. State sent spreadsheet from Northern Trust custodian receives list of holdings and when assets are reviewed. They will look to ensure the number of shares—not price—that were transferred (as the prices change). Bonds might be priced differently from custodian to custodian, slightly different values are normal. Also, one-page statement of results was sent with the starting with the date of transfer; Larsen used the figures upon closing the date before the transfer. Mutual funds (exact price) and bonds (might be different). Subtracted the cash on hand. The total the state received $300,000 more than the total Larsen had, which is not a problem, as the amount is more, not less than, what Larsen calculated. Reviewing each bond pricing is laborious and expensive. Craig Larsen sent contract for hourly rate charges to help with ensuring cash on-hand balance from the investments with the state. Craig Larsen spoke to Carrie Dittman to strategize. The accounts in place prior to the transfer: Fidelity mutual funds; Schwab bonds. These need to be closed. Craig Larsen recommended keeping these accounts open until the lawsuit with the state is decided. Fidelity is still open with $0.27 balance; Schwab was closed after the last meeting. If the state must send the money back to the individual pension funds, it will be complicated; if the funds are returned, it can be immediately deposited into Fidelity and immediately resume investing. Craig Larsen stated Mission Wealth is still willing to help at an hourly rate. After the suit is decided, relationship with them will need to end. Currently, the last reporting numbers show the state fund is down, but this pension fund’s funds are down less; it is too early to know if this is a trend. Bill Lynch thanked Craig Larsen for his services since 2004. APPROVAL – Expenses as of February 28, 2022 Bill Lynch moved to approve. Bob Terry seconded the motion. A roll call vote was conducted. Aye votes were cast by Lynch, Terry, Krueger, Kalal and Dittman. No nay votes were cast. The motion passed. REPORT – Accountant’s Compilation Reports – Lauterbach & Amen (Michael May) Michael May distributed the report ending February 28. Receives statements from the state timing is delayed by about two months for the meetings. He explained the report figures and the types of holdings, which is not detailed when provided by the state. 6-1 is revenue report shows contributions from members and municipality. Interest and dividends are provided as a total amount; realized and unrealized gains is the level of detail. It is a general overview; 11-1 and 11-2 show checks written December 1, 2021, to February 28, 2022. The State’s other fees are not broken down. Cash analysis will come every month now with estimates and averages for DeKalb Firefighters Pension Board of Trustees April 21, 2022 Page 3 of 3 expenses and revenue. This report will be adjusted if the State provides more detailed information. Will be sending A withdrawal has been requested from the State to this fund. Has experienced another fund that needed a rush transfer, and it took about eight days and was not difficult. Carrie Dittman stated that tax revenue will come in May; the cash on hand is six months and will be enough until then. Discussion followed regarding the logistics of ensuring the cash balance remains sufficient for expenses. It can start with a request from Lauterbach & Amen sent to the City in advance of needed. IFPIF does not govern how much of a reserve to keep locally. There are two ways to manage the cash on hand: (1) Direct the State to send funds on a monthly basis automatically or (2) Lauterbach & Amen will contact City to request funds as needed. Craig Larsen recommended the latter, until the request process is clear. Craig Larsen will come to the July meeting as a member of the public. He requested to receive communication from the state if it’s received by the pension board to provide feedback. Craig Larsen left the meeting at 8:52 a.m. APPROVAL – Annual Actuarial Valuation Report as of December 31, 2021 Carrie Dittman provided summary and highlights of the report of the contributions from active members and the City. The members and pensioner profiles—retired, disability, beneficiaries, and current contributors. Funded ratio has increased slightly since the prior year. Foster & Foster Heidi has offered to come to a meeting to provide further information. NEW BUSINESS None OLD BUSINESS 1. Schwab is closed and funds were transferred to First National Bank. This amount is not included in Lauterbach & Amen’s balance reported. Michael May stated the funds are sufficient. 2. IFPIF online training was completed by Carrie Dittman, Bob Terry and Bill Lynch. Pension Board needs to keep copies of training certificates. Lauterbach & Amen will ask for records from prior year during the first quarter of the next. Someone must keep copies locally and send them to Lauterbach & Amen as they are completed or when requested. TOPICS FOR NEXT MEETING – July 21, 2022 ADJOURNMENT Bill Lynch moved to adjourn the meeting. Carrie Dittman seconded the motion. A voice vote was conducted. All members present voiced aye votes. The meeting adjourned at 9:09 a.m. __________________________________ Natalie Nelson, Recording Secretary Minutes approved by the DeKalb Firefighters Pension Board October 13, 2022