Volunteer Firefighter Relief Fund Committee

City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes 127th Meeting December 3, 2012 The Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee held its 127th meeting on Monday, December 3, 2012, at 5:00 p.m. in Room 209, City Hall, Norwich, Connecticut. 1. Roll Call a. Members Present: Richard Benoit, Taftville Joshua Pothier, Assistant Comptroller Thomas Quinley, Yantic Art Meizner, Hooker & Holcombe (guest) Joseph Kochanski, Laurel Hill Donald Leary, East Great Plain Karen Mankowski, Occum Scott Suplita, P&P Board Appointee Brigid Marks, City of Norwich Human Resources – late, arrived at 1725 hours b. Members Absent: Red McKeon, Occum/Past Chairman Joseph Ruffo, Comptroller Brian Curtin, City Treasurer Frank Davis, Citizen Appointee - Resigned Richard Benoit called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m. Richard Benoit noted that Art Meizner is at the top of today’s agenda. Art Meizner, Hooker & Holcombe, reported on the Fund’s 3rd Quarter status:  Page 4:  Post-election there is much uncertainty.  Tax cuts are scheduled to end  Federal Government is facing a fiscal cliff  Less money in people’s hands  A lot of posturing in the political forum  By mid-January there should be a slight correction of the Market. The expectation is that the Market will be up.  Page 14:  End of last week, slight positive results  Since 01/01, the Market is up ~15%  Russell US Core – Russell Defensive didn’t go up or down as much as the Market  Russell Quantitative Equity Fund – possibly move to the Strategic Fund after the “Fiscal Cliff”  Page 18:  QTD up 4.38%  YTD up 9.27%  the latest 1 year up 15.23%  Questions about withdrawals; realized gains table shows the breakdown of fees and other defined costs and benefits in response to the open action item Art took  City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes 127th Meeting December 3, 2012 from our last meeting.  Page 21: Quarter 3 up 6.19%.  Quantitative Defense did not do as well  Russell Small Cap showing some weakness – up 4.69%  International up 7.03%  Emerging up 6.99%  PIMCO up 11.95%  Bonds up 2.48%  Short Duration up 1.68%  World Bonds up 3.71%  The Fund overall for the 3rd quarter up 4.47%, YTD up 9.51%  Page 22:  By the close of business on last Thursday, November 29, 2012, the 4th quarter was up 0.24% and YTD up 9.77%  Very choppy Market thus far this quarter  Page 24: Review of U.S. Defensive Equity Fund Overview  Page 26: Review of Dynamic Equity Fund, opposite of Above Fund  Page 28: Strategic is a combination of the two Above – Mixture of both (blending)  Next time we meet we will review how those funds are performing; potentially move monies.  Talking about moving approximately 9% of the Fund’s worth  No changes for now. Possibly making a change to the Russell Small Cap going forward. Art Meizner concluded his presentation at 1730 hours. 2. Minutes: The August 13th meeting minutes were reviewed. Motion made to accept the meeting minutes by Dennis Leary, seconded by Joe Kochanski. Approved. 3. Treasurer’s Report – None 4. New Business a. Refund request from the following members: i. Taftville – David Tetrault, $1,681.46 ii. Laura Smith, $1,054.59 iii. Kyle Sykes, $360.80 iv. Joshua Pothier calculated and verified the refunds with interest. v. Motion made by Thomas Quinley to grant the refunds with interest, seconded by Joseph Kochanski. Approved. b. Proposed meetings for 2013: i. February 11, 2013, May 13, 2013, August 12, 2013, November 12, 2013 ii. Motion made to accept the meeting dates as presented by Thomas Quinley, seconded by Scott Suplita. Approved. c. City Policy regarding meeting minutes and agendas. Josh Pothier led a discussion on the new City policy regarding the timely posting of meeting minutes and agendas. i. The City has a new, more comprehensive web site ii. The City expects that all committees, councils, etc. will post agendas 5 days prior to the scheduled meeting and meeting minutes, draft and final, 5  City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes 127th Meeting December 3, 2012 days after the scheduled meeting. iii. Two new contacts have been added to assist with web site management. Those contacts will be provided by Josh via email. d. 2012 rosters are due by the end of the month January and money is due by January 15, 2013. e. Timing and method of pension payments: i. Direct Deposit – form will be mailed with the next check. ii. By the end of the 1st quarter, 2013, Direct Deposit will be mandatory for all personnel collecting; exceptions will be on a case-by-case basis based on extenuating circumstances. f. Human Resources: i. The City of Norwich is now able to charge the requestor for actuarial fees incurred that stem from a Domestic Relations Order (DRO). ii. Brigid Marks to forward a copy of the recent City of Norwich Legal Interpretation regarding DROs by legal counsel to the VFFRF Secretary for information and reference purposes. iii. Motion made to send a letter to the Requestor to recover actuarial fees and refund the City Pension Plan the amount of $400 by Thomas Quinley, seconded by Donald Leary. Approved unanimously. g. Frank Davis has resigned after serving on the Committee for many years. His support over the years was recognized by all members, and many thanks were extended for his service. The Committee wished Frank well with all his future endeavors. h. Two Citizen Appointees are required; both positions are currently vacant. i. Frank Manfredi, Chair of the Norwich Democratic Committee will be contacted for referral by Thomas Quinley. ii. Ray Dussault, Chair of the Norwich Republican Committee will be contacted for referral by Richard Benoit. 5. Correspondence – None A motion was made by Thomas Quinley to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Karen Mankowski. Approved. Meeting adjourned at 1803 hrs. Respectfully submitted, Thomas G. Quinley Secretary