Retirement Board

CITY OF MIDDLETOWN MINUTES OF THE RETIREMENT BOARD Monday, November 16, 2020 at 9:00 am via WebEx The Regular Meeting of the Retirement Board of the City of Middletown was held via WebEx Board Members Present: Carl Erlacher, Steve Gomes, Sandy Pasculano, Vinny Loffredo, Linda Salafia, John Milardo (joined after vote of minutes, left after Executive Session); Mayor Florsheim (Executive Session) Board Members Absent: Joe Serra City Employees/Public/Others Present: Diana Doyle, Gerry Goldberg (GYL), Michael Lepore (GYL), Nancy Conaway-Raczka, Kori Wisneski, Doug Clark, Michelle Leone  Meeting Called to Order at approximately 9:00 am  No Public Comments on the Agenda  Approval of Minutes o May 18, 2020 Regular Meeting (amended to reflect request of Board Member Loffredo)  Vinny motioned to approve and was seconded by Linda  All in favor o August 17, 2020 Regular Meeting  Vinny motioned to approve and was seconded by Linda  Steve abstained  All in favor  GYL Review o The Pension Fund value at the end of the 3rd quarter was $ 471,389,468 o Michael reviewed the performance of the Plan; stated the tactical adjustment implemented in the spring proved beneficial to the Plan, noting the performance of Fidelity Large Cap Growth and Conning High Dividend outperformed their benchmarks o Noted the improved REITS performance during 3rd quarter, stating it is ahead of benchmark; reminded Board that the active strategy allows Board to avoid certain real estate areas, namely shopping mall, stating that less than 1% of the REITS investments are in retail malls; noted the available real estate investments have expanded to include cell towers, server farms, storage facilities and timber  o Stated High Yield performance continues to be additive to the portfolio over long periods due to SLC’s strong bond selection o Steve questioned if reallocation is called for as Plan is currently outside parameters of desired allocation; Gerry stated that GYL performed updated allocation study – focusing on appropriate allocation and, if rebalancing is appropriate o Michael reviewed the Risk Posture Assessments, completed by the Board, and reviewed the Asset Allocation Study; currently, Plan is 60 Equity/40 Fixed Income, reflecting the tactical asset allocation implemented in spring 2020 o GYL recommends “peeling back” US Asset Equities, increasing Developing International Equities - moving towards neutral position; with no changes to fixed income (reference pg. 14 in Plan Asset Allocation Study) o Steve questioned proposed increase to REITS; Michael supported the recommendation stating performance since inception has been positive  Vinny motioned to accept proposed reallocation and was seconded by Sandy  All in favor o The OPEB Trust value at the end of the 3rd quarter was $18,911,008 o Michael reviewed the OPEB performance, stating it was slightly ahead of benchmark o Michael reviewed the OPEB Asset Allocation Study; target allocation is 65 Equity/35 Fixed Income (more aggressive than the pension Plan) o GYL proposed reduction in Large Cap Growth with an increase to Fixed Income and REITS (reference pg. 6 in OPEB Asset Allocation Study)  Vinny motioned to accept proposed reallocation and was seconded by Sandy  All in favor o Vinny requested that 3rd Quarter Reports and Asset Allocation Studies be forwarded to Board  Executive Session Item: Pursuant to C.G.S. 1-200(6)(A) & (E), discussion of duty disability retirement request by Police Officer Douglas Clark  Vinny motioned to go into Executive Session and was seconded by Sandy  Vinny motioned to invite Kori Wisneski, Nancy Conaway-Raczka and Diana Doyle into Executive Session and was seconded by Sandy  All in favor   Vinny motioned to go out of Executive Session and was seconded by Sandy  All in favor  Sandy motioned to approve Ofc. Clark’s request for duty disability, as in accordance with the Pension Ordinance and Collective Bargaining Agreement and was seconded by Vinny  All in favor  Proposed Meeting Schedule 2021  Vinny motioned to select February 22 as first meeting of 2021 and was seconded by Sandy  All in favor  Vinny motioned to accept proposed 2021 Meeting Schedule and was seconded by Sandy  All in favor  Reports: (informational) o Treasurer’s Report o Pension Management Fee Report  Applications for Membership Start Date Department/Union Laura Atwell 9/21/20 BOE/466 Nicolas Capozzo 9/28/20 Police/Police  Requests to Retire/Collect/Vest Yrs of Svc Department/Union Katharine Clay 18 yrs BOE/466 Cathleen Curnow 18 yrs Water & Sewer/466 Kathleen Ellis 21 yrs BOE/466 James D’Antonio 15 yrs PW/466 Valerie Funderburg 22 yrs Library/Library Robert Griffin 19 yrs PW/466 Lisa Griswold 18 yrs BOE/466 Joseph Havlicek 20 yrs Health/Non-Barg Debbie Imme 22 yrs Fire/466 Anthony Knapp 21 yrs Police/Police Robert Kraeger 19 yrs Police/Police Laura Larsen 19 yrs Library/Library William Santiago 25 yrs Police/466 Sharon Stocking 25 yrs Police/466 Gail Thompson-Allen 40 yrs Library/Library Kenneth Wadowski 22 yrs BOE/466  Deceased Pensioners Angelo Aresco (benefits to spouse) Ann Imme Doris O’Brien  o Vinny requested that ages of Pensioners requesting to retire/collect/vest be included with the years of service and department & union affiliation  Adjournment of Meeting  Vinny motioned to adjourn and was seconded by Sandy  All in favor Respectfully submitted: Carl Erlacher