Volunteer Firefighter Relief Fund Committee

City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes Meeting #109, May 12, 2008 The Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee held its 109th meeting on Monday, May 12, 2008, at 5:00 p.m. in room 209, City Hall, Norwich, Connecticut. 1. Roll Call Members present were: Richard Benoit, Taftville Thomas Dawkins, Personnel Manager Karen Mankowski, Occum Donald Leary, East Great Plain Joshua Pothier, Assistant Comptroller Brian Curtin, City Treasurer Frank Davis, Citizen Appointee Thomas Quinley, Yantic Red McKeon, Occum/Past Chairman Joseph Kochanski, Laurel Hill Art Meizner, Hooker & Holcombe, Guest Members absent were: Joseph Ruffo, Comptroller Richard Benoit called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m. 2. Minutes: January 14 meeting minutes were reviewed. One correction was noted – Joseph Kochanski was absent from that meeting. Minutes were corrected. The February 25 meeting minutes were reviewed, no corrections required. Mr. Davis made a motion that the January 14 and February 25 minutes be accepted as corrected and read. Mr. McKeon seconded the motion, accepted. 3. Reports: Treasurer Report: Treasurer’s Reports for February, March and April were presented. Brian Curtin noted that the $29,170 amount shown on the April report under the category of “Pensions Paid” reflects payments for both the months of April and May. Mr. Quinley made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s Reports, seconded by Mr. Dawkins. Approved. Mr. Benoit asked for a motion from the floor for suspension of the regular agenda so that Mr. Meizner could make his presentation of the “Asset Allocation and Performance Report” for the Relief Fund. A motion to suspend regular business was made by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. Kochanski. Approved. Art Meizner presented a summary of the Relief Fund Investments, which began in the new asset allocation February 29, 2008. Mr. Meizner pointed out that the funds had been in the new investments for one (1) month of the first quarter and that the 1st quarter was bad for all of the markets. He further stated that for essentially all investors there was no place to hide and stocks on average took a 9% drop in value. The one surprise was the real estate market funds, which began to improve. The bond market continued to go down. International funds decreased approximately 10% and because of the Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund allocations, Art stated that, “we essentially dodged a bullet.” In total, the VFRF is down approximately 0.97%. Art continued by wanting to review a few key points from the Summary Report dated March 31, 2008 (with update) distributed to each of the Committee members. Review of the following pages and attachments: 1. Page 9 – Attention to the stats as of May 9, 2008, the Dow Jones Industrial was down significantly. The Feds have lowered interest rates. There has been a rise in commodities with lots of spectators playing the Commodities Market. Artificial price increases result in a “pop” of the market. Currently there is an ongoing stimulus package of 160 billion dollars, so in summary the country appears to be in a mild recession. The current indicators predict that the recession should last a year or less. 2. Page 11 – The breakdown is approximately 50% stocks and 50% bonds. 3. Page 12 – The Relief Fund investments are down 0.97% for the 1st quarter. 4. Page 14 – Between April 1, 2008 and May 8, 2008, the Relief Fund realized an increase of 3.04%. 5. Page 15 – Indicates a validation of the various benchmarks. 6. Page 16 – Shows between April 1 and May 8, 2008, an overview of asset performance. 7. Page 17 – Provides a detailed Fund performance for each individual investment security. Mr. Meizner noted to the Committee that there is nothing invested in the real estate markets and he is making no recommendation to enter any of those markets at this time. 8. Page 18 – A review of the various funds percentage rankings. For this category we are looking for our investments to be doing better than 50% most of the time (i.e. within the top 32). 9. Mr. Meizner presented each of the Committee members with a portfolio benchmark comparison dated April 30, 2008 for review. In summary, the Fund earned 2.42% for April 2008. Mr. Meizner is quite pleased with the Fund performance between February 29 and May 12, 2008. Mr. Meizner will present  to the Committee at the September meeting an updated earnings report that will include a full quarter’s performance. Mr. Meizner’s presentation concluded at 1733 hours. A motion to resume regular business was made by Mr. Davis, seconded by Mr. Kochanski. Approved. Treasurer Report Continued: Mr. Curtin, City Treasurer, made the Committee aware of an incident involving several overpayments. On February 14th, duplicate checks had been issued to several individuals for retirement payments. The City contacted the individuals and was able to obtain the monies from the duplicate checks with the exception of a check issued to Peter Cuprak for $300. Mr. Curtin further stated that the Treasurer’s Office sent a letter dated March 13th informing Mr. Cuprak of the City’s administrative error and attempted to recover the $300 overpayment. As of April 15, 2008, the Treasurer’s Office had received no communication from Mr. Cuprak regarding this matter and sent a new letter summarizing the error with an attached copy of the March 13th letter. To date (May 12) the Treasurer’s Office nor the Comptroller’s Office have received any response from Mr. Cuprak. Mr. Quinley asked Mr. Curtin if either he or Joshua Pothier had attempted to communicate directly with Mr. Cuprak, rather than by letter. Mr. Curtin stated no and he hated to bring this matter before the Committee but he was hoping the Committee could offer a method of resolution without the City having to take legal action. Mr. Quinley stated that he would be happy to contact Mr. Cuprak directly and resolve the issue in a timely manner. However, if that course of action was not successful, Mr. Quinley made a motion that the Committee would authorize the Treasurer’s Office to pursue legal action if the monies were not returned to the Fund by June 7, 2008. Seconded by Mr. Dawkins, approved unanimously. 4. Communications: None 5. Old Business: A. The draft “Fitness for Duty” policy had been informally presented to the Volunteer Departments with the following results: 1. EGP and Yantic memberships reviewed the policy and voted against the policy as written. 2. Laurel Hill also reviewed the policy and the consensus of the Department was also against the policy, however, a vote was not taken. 3. Occum and Taftville memberships had no argument with the policy nor additional comment. The Committee members questioned the next step needed to move forward to address the issue. The key issue that requires clarification is “how is Fitness-for-Duty and participation of members who suffer non-fire fighting related injuries – i.e. Workman’s Compensation injuries handled with regard to Relief Fund Pension Benefits and Tax Abatement Qualification. Mr. Leary made a motion to have Mr. Dawkins meet with the Chiefs of the individual Volunteer Departments and draft a  revision to the “Fitness-for-Duty” policy. Seconded by Mr. Davis, approved unanimously. 6. New Business A. Mr. Quinley stated to the Committee that Raymond O’Connell would be eligible to begin receiving Relief Fund Benefits on May 21, 2008 when he turns 55 years of age. Mr. Quinley further stated that Mr. O’Connell has 35 Years of Credited Service and he would like to make a motion to begin payment to Mr. O’Connell in the month of May 2008. Seconded by Mr. Leary, approved. Motion made to adjourn by Mr. Quinley and seconded by Thomas Dawkins. Approved. Meeting adjourned 1820. Respectfully Submitted, Thomas G Quinley, Secretary September 8, 2008