Personnel & Pension Board

Personnel & Pension Board Minutes Page 1 of 4 November 15, 2022 Regular Meeting Room 213, 2nd floor, 5:00 PM, City Hall Building Norwich, Connecticut 06360 I. Roll Call Meeting called to order by Paul Schroder at 5:02pm A. Members Present 1. Paul Schroder, Chair (voting member) 2. Rich Morelli (voting member) 3. Mike Dziavit (voting member) 4. Chris Golas (voting member) 5. Bob Pounch (voting member) B. Members Absent 1. Gary Gross (alternate) 2. Francis Gavigan (alternate) C. Others Present 1. Patricia Osten, Assistant Director of Human Resources 2. Evelyn Lopez, Retirement Plan Administrator 3. Marc Shegoski, UBS 4. Ashley Martella, UBS 5. David Sears, UBS 6. Rebecca Sielman, Milliman 7. Joe Zienty, Milliman (via phone) 8. Paul Gadue II. Minutes A. Minutes of October 18, 2022 Personnel & Pension Board Meeting. Motion to accept October 18, 2022 minutes made by Rich Morelli, seconded by Mike Dziavit, all in favor. III. Old Business A. Review draft update of the Fire Pension Plan Summary Book Tabled to the January 17, 2023 meeting. IV. New Business Paul Schroder made a motion to move an item on the agenda under suspension of rules, F to A in section IV New Business, seconded by Bob Pounch, all in favor. A. (Formerly F.) Notifications of Death: 1. George Gadue, DOD October 11, 2022, who retired from Public Works on March 26, 2019 on deferred unpaid status. A refund of contributions & interest is due in the amount of $ 124,766.48. Paul Schroder and Board members reviewed and discussed the validity of an incomplete beneficiary form. Paul Schroder opened the floor to board members for further discussion. After a brief discussion, Paul Schroder made a motion to grant the refund of contributions and interest, seconded by Rich Morelli. Chris Golas voiced some concerns with the legality of an incomplete form and suggested that the P&P Board get a legal opinion on the validity of the beneficiary form. Paul Schroder made a motion to amend prior motion, seconded by Bob Pounch, all in favor. 2. William Silvia, DOD October 20, 2022, who retired from the Fire Department on February 4, 1990. No obituary. No further benefit due. 3. Frederick B. Seitz, DOD October 20, 2022, who retired from the Fire Department on November 18, 1997. No further benefit due. Personnel & Pension Board Minutes Page 2 of 4 November 15, 2022 Regular Meeting Room 213, 2nd floor, 5:00 PM, City Hall Building Norwich, Connecticut 06360 Motion to acknowledge notification of deaths made by Chris Golas, seconded by Mike Dziavit, all in favor. B. (Formerly A.) Presentation by Rebecca (Becky) Sielman from Milliman on the July 1, 2022 valuation results for the Employee’s Retirement Fund and OPEB Fund. 1. Rebecca provided an overview of the July 1, 2022 City of Norwich Retirement Valuation. Details can be found in the City of Norwich Retirement System Actuarial Valuation dated July 1, 2022. Please follow the following link: Retirement Actuarial Valuation 2022 07-01. 2. Rebecca recommend the P&P Board maintain the assumed rate of return of 6.25%. 3. Rebecca discussed the need to conduct additional studies. These studies would be beneficial and will provide a better insight on actuarial assumptions. She recommended the P&P Board authorized funds to conduct a Formal Experience Study with an estimated cost of $20k to $25k or an Informal Experience Study with an estimated cost of $5k to be conducted by Milliman. She leaned towards the Informal Experience Study to be conducted sometime in April of 2023. Paul Schroder opened the floor to board members for further discussion. Board members would like to discuss further. Chris Golas made a motion to revisit recommendation of studies in the spring of 2023, seconded by Mike Dziavit, all in favor. C. (Formerly B.) Investment Review with UBS Marc Shegoski, Ashley Martella and David Sears from UBS Financial Services, Inc., provided an overview of the current stock markets. The portfolio was reviewed by David Sears and Ashley Martell. The pension fund asset allocation as of October 31, 2022 was 64.7% equity, 30.3% fixed income and 5% real estate. The OPEB fund asset allocation as of October 31, 2022 was 68.3% equity and 31.6% fixed income. UBS recommended the following change to the portfolio: 1. To liquidate Western Asset Core Plus in the Pension and OPEB, to Tortoise Core Plus (DSAM). Motion made by Mike Dziavit to approve UBS recommendation, seconded by Bob Pounch, all in favor. D. (Formerly C.) Application for retirement: 1. Carol A. Erickson, Nurse – BOE, for a normal retirement effective December 28, 2022. 2. Michael J. Kirby, Uncas Health District, for a normal retirement effective December 1, 2022. 3. Kevin Maerkel, Utility Collector/Installer, for a normal retirement effective December 31, 2022. 4. Monir Tewfik, Laboratory Director, for a normal retirement effective December 31, 2022. 5. Lisa M. French, Paraeducator, for a deferred retirement effective December 28, 2022, payable May 26, 2023. 6. David Jackson, Foreman – Public Works, for a deferred retirement effective August 30, 2022, payable March 11, 2026 7. Arthur Moran Jr., Maintenance Mechanic, for a deferred retirement effective December 31, 2022, payable May 11, 2023. Motion to approve retirement applications made by Rich Morelli, seconded by Bob Pounch, all in favor. E. (Formerly D.) Pension Calculations: 1. David Jackson, retired August 30, 2022. His annual pension calculation is $38,818.58. His application is on the agenda at this meeting. Personnel & Pension Board Minutes Page 3 of 4 November 15, 2022 Regular Meeting Room 213, 2nd floor, 5:00 PM, City Hall Building Norwich, Connecticut 06360 Motion to approve pension calculation made by Mike Dziavit, seconded by Bob Pounch, all in favor. F. (Formerly E.) Application for refund/rollover of pension contributions: 1. Sarah Brown, Paraeducator, who opted out of the plan effective October 09, 2022. Refund of $ 7,784.03 including interest. 2. Cheryl Gualtieri, Administrative Clerk, who terminated effective May 11, 2002. Refund of $ 4,000.85 including interest. Motion to approve the refund/rollover applications made by Rich Morelli, seconded by Mike Dziavit, all in favor. G. Employees 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 Mike Dziavit, seconded by Bob Pounch, all in favor. NAME POSITION DATE OF ACADAMY LAST DAY ON REQUEST/EVAL HIRE GRADUATIO PROBATION RECEIVED N DATE Diana Arana Paraeducator 02/28/2022 N/A 9/18/2022 10/24/2022 Michael Barnes Registered Behavior Tech 10/17/2022 N/A N/A 11/02/2022 Gina Gaytan Revenue Collection Clerk 04/04/2022 N/A 10/20/2022 10/21/2022 Mandi Hassell Covid Contract Tracer 10/11/2022 N/A N/A 10/24/2022 Brandon Halie Custodian 04/25/2022 N/A 10/31/2022 11/02/2022 Melissa Kennedy Nurse 04/04/2022 N/A 09/18/2022 10/13/2022 Heidi Murray Financial Specialist 10/11/2022 N/A N/A 10/17/2022 Keli Rochester Food Service Kitchen 08/22/2022 N/A 10/20/2022 10/31/2022 Worker Mary Timpano Payroll & Benefits 10/11/2022 N/A N/A 10/14/2022 Specialists H. New Employees: Motion to acknowledge new employees made by Mike Dziavit, seconded by Rich Morelli, all in favor. Name Position Date of City/State Hire Michael Barnes Registered Behavior Tech 10/17/2022 Norwich, CT Mandi Hassell Covid Contract Tracer 10/11/2022 Baltic, CT Brandon Halie Custodian 04/25/2022 Groton, CT Joshua Huber Laborer 10/19/2022 Norwich, CT Melissa Kennedy Nurse 04/04/2022 Colchester, CT Jessica LaBonte Custodian 04/26/2022 Norwich, CT Finn Moran Apprentice Line worker 10/18/2022 Gales Ferry, CT Heidi Murray Financial Specialist 10/11/2022 Waterford, CT Emma Robinson Environmental Compliance 11/07/2022 Gales Ferry, CT Coordinator Personnel & Pension Board Minutes Page 4 of 4 November 15, 2022 Regular Meeting Room 213, 2nd floor, 5:00 PM, City Hall Building Norwich, Connecticut 06360 Keli Rochester Food Service Kitchen Worker 08/22/2022 Norwich, CT Mary Timpano Payroll & Benefits Specialists 10/11/2022 Waterford, CT Mark Wheeler Truck, Auto & Equipment Mechanic 10/17/2022 Lisbon, CT Paul Schroder made a motion to add to the agenda under suspension of rules, I to section IV New Business, seconded by Bob Pounch, all in favor I. Cancellation of December 20, 2022 P&P Board Meeting. Paul Schroder made a motion to cancel the December 20, 2022, seconded by Bob Pounch, all in favor. V. Correspondence None VI. Adjournment Motion to adjourn made by Bob Pounch, seconded by Mike Dziavit, all in favor. Meeting adjourn at 6:59pm