Personnel & Pension Board

Personnel & Pension Board Minutes Page 1 of 4 August 21, 2018 Regular/Investment Meeting Room 213, 2nd floor, 6:00 PM, City Hall Building Norwich, Connecticut 06360 I. Roll Call Meeting called to order by Paul Schroder at 6:00 pm. A. Members Present 1. Paul Schroder, Chair (voting member) 2. Scott Suplita, Vice Chair (voting member) 3. Shiela Hayes (voting member) 4. John John (voting member) 5. Chris Golas (voting member) 6. Richard Morelli (alternate) B. Members Absent 1. Rob Dempsky (alternate) 2. Andre Rosedale (alternate) C. Others Present 1. Brigid Marks, Director of Human Resources 2. Michael Gualtieri, City Treasurer 3. Sandra Pimentel, P&P Board Secretary 4. Tony Madeira, Deputy Comptroller 5. Marc Shegoski, UBS 6. Ashley Martella, UBS 7. David Sears, UBS 8. Bonnie Cuprak 9. Peter Nystrom II. Minutes A. Minutes of the June 19, 2018 Personnel & Pension Board Meeting. Motion to approve the June 19, 2018 meeting minutes made by John John, seconded by Shiela Hayes, all in favor. III. Old Business A. Discussion on requesting a meeting with City Council members with a presentation by UBS about the pension fund. Brigid Marks will check to schedule in early fall. Motion to schedule a presentation to City Council by UBS on September 4, 2017 at 7 pm made by John John, seconded by Shiela Hayes, all in favor. IV. New Business A. 2018 second quarter investment review with UBS. Marc Shegoski and David Sears presented the UBS House View: We are still in the later stages of a bull market with continued earnings growth and a low probability of recession. Tax cuts have boosted the economy, but this poses a risk with the growing deficit. Stock valuations are still in line with the economy. UBS believes the rise in bond Personnel & Pension Board Minutes Page 2 of 4 August 21, 2018 Regular/Investment Meeting Room 213, 2nd floor, 6:00 PM, City Hall Building Norwich, Connecticut 06360 yields is over and recommends an overweight to 10 year US Treasuries over cash. At this time, political and geopolitical risks appear contained but are difficult to forecast. The pension portfolio was reviewed by Ashley Martella: The asset allocation on July 31, 2018 was 70.6% equity, 29.4% fixed income. The pension fund increased from $175,226,489 on December 31, 2017 to $177,598,071 as of July 31, 2018. The OPEB portfolio was reviewed by Ashley Martella: The asset allocation on July 31, 2018 was 70.6% equity, 29.4% fixed income. The OPEB fund increased from $17,659,273 as of December 31, 2017 to $18,608,985 as of July 31, 2018. B. RFP for Investment Services. Based on the financial climate in the city, it would be diligent at this time to issue an RFP for Investment Services. This is in line with the recommendation from the Finance Department in February 2017. The board believed the market was too volatile at that time. In July 2017, it was tabled to revisit in six - eight months and was reopened in June 2018. The last RFP was done in 2007 by Art Meizner, the Director of Investment Consulting Services at Hooker & Holcombe. Paul Schroder contacted Art Meizner to provide a proposal to be presented at the September 2018 meeting (approximately $15,000 - $20,000). Motion to hire Hooker & Holcombe to perform the RFP for Investment Services made by Paul Schroder, seconded by John John, all in favor. C. Application for retirement: 1. Min Wang, ESL Paraeducator-BOE, for a deferred retirement effective June 22, 2018 and payable June 19, 2030. 2. Paul Daniels, Laborer, for a deferred retirement effective June 30, 2018 and payable September 20, 2020. 3. Sandra Baldyga, Paraeducator-BOE, for a deferred retirement effective July 1, 2018 and payable May 1, 2022. 4. Kevin McKeon, 911 Emergency Dispatcher, for a normal retirement effective September 2, 2018. 5. Sharon Grillo, Paraeducator-BOE, for a normal retirement effective September 2, 2018. 6. Dolores Thayer, Facilities Supervisor-BOE, for a normal retirement effective December 1, 2018. Motion to approve the applications for retirement made by John John, seconded by Shiela Hayes, all in favor. D. Pension Calculations: 1. Phyllis Boyes, retired June 20, 2018. Her pension is calculated for $6,514.01 annually. Her application was approved at the May 2018 meeting. 2. Paul Daniels, retired June 30, 2018. His pension is calculated for $21,431.39 – payable September 10, 2020. His application is on the agenda at this meeting. 3. Min Wang, retired July 1, 2018. Her pension is calculated for $3,951.79 – payable June 19, 2030. Her application is on the agenda at this meeting. Personnel & Pension Board Minutes Page 3 of 4 August 21, 2018 Regular/Investment Meeting Room 213, 2nd floor, 6:00 PM, City Hall Building Norwich, Connecticut 06360 4. Sandra Baldyga, retired July 1, 2018. Her pension is calculated for $3,110.01 – payable May 1, 2020. Her application is on the agenda at this meeting. 5. Milan Kukich, retired July 28, 2018. His pension is calculated for $73,615.31. His application was approved at the February 2018 meeting. 6. Andre Gagnon, retired July 31, 2018. His pension is calculated for $18,813.98 annually. His application for retirement was approved at the May 2018 meeting. Motion to approve the pension calculations made by John John, seconded by Shiela Hayes, all in favor. E. Applications for refund/rollover of pension contributions: 1. Joseph Fenton, Tech Repair-BOE, who terminated February 2, 2018. Refund of $14,117.08 with interest (thru 05/31/2018). 2. Marvin Strout III, LEO, who terminated July 2, 2018. Refund of $47,600.08 with interest thru 06/30/2018. Motion to accept the refund calculations made by Shiela Hayes, seconded by John John, all in favor. F. Notification of Death: 1. Annette Dubicki, DOD June 16, 2018, retired from the BOE on January 2, 2012. Survivor benefit immediately payable to her spouse, John Dubicki, in the amount of $6,381.14 annually. Motion to acknowledge the notification of death and approve the survivor benefit made by Shiela Hayes, seconded by John John, all in favor. G. Request from Lee-Ann Gomes, Director of Human Services, to extend the eligibility list for Employment Case Manager for one year. The current list expires on September 21, 2018. H. Request from Betsy Barrett, City Clerk, to extend the eligibility list for Records Clerk for one year. The current list expires on October 18, 2018. Motion to extend the Employment Case Manager and Records Clerk eligibility lists for one year made by John John, seconded by Shiela Hayes, all in favor. I. Calendar year 2017 outside earnings report for service-connected disability pensions. All 2017 outside earnings information, other than the required IRS transcript for Dennis Brennan, has been received. William Nash exceeded his outside earnings limit and his pension is scheduled to restart in May 2019. Motion to accept the 2017 outside earnings report made by Paul Schroder, seconded by John John, all in favor. J. Employee(s) to be admitted into the City of Norwich Employees’ Retirement Fund: Motion to admit the following employees into the City of Norwich Employees’ Retirement Fund made by Paul Schroder, seconded by John John, all in favor. Personnel & Pension Board Minutes Page 4 of 4 August 21, 2018 Regular/Investment Meeting Room 213, 2nd floor, 6:00 PM, City Hall Building Norwich, Connecticut 06360 ACADAMY REQUEST DATE OF GRADUATION LAST DAY ON /EVAL NAME POSITION HIRE DATE PROBATION RECEIVED Cheryl Hancin Recreation Director 11/28/2017 n/a 06/30/2018 07/05/2018 Preston Revenue Collection Marilu Barrientos 2/5/2018 n/a 8/4/2018 08/16/2018 Clerk – Bilingual Deborah Hayslip Escort Driver 2/12/2018 n/a 8/11/2018 8/14/2018 K. New Employees: Motion to acknowledge the new employees made by Scott Suplita, seconded by Shiela Hayes, all in favor. NAME POSITION DATE OF HIRE CITY/STATE 911 Emergency Sean Labbe 06/18/2018 Canterbury, CT Dispatcher Program Coordinator - Robert Kilpatrick 7/2/2018 Higganum, CT Recreation Shaun Denniston CAR I - NPU 8/6/2018 Norwich, CT V. Correspondence Second request from Bonnie Cuprak to buy back prior service. Bonnie Cuprak is contesting the February 2018 vote to buy back prior service and is requesting a reconsideration of the facts. The board has requested a legal opinion from Corporation Counsel. Motion to table Bonnie Cuprak’s request and send a letter to Corporation Counsel requesting their attendance at the September meeting made by Paul Schroder, seconded by John John, all in favor. VI. Adjournment Motion to adjourn made by Paul Schroder, seconded by John John, all in favor. Meeting was adjourned at 7:42 pm. Respectfully submitted, ________________________ Sandra Pimentel, Secretary