Volunteer Firefighter Relief Fund Committee
Regular MeetingNorwich, CT · July 11, 2016
Minutes
City of Norwich
Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes
Special Meeting
July 11, 2016
The Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee held a special meeting on Monday,
July 11, 2016, at 5:00 p.m. in Room 209, City Hall, Norwich, Connecticut.
1. Roll Call
a. Members Present:
Richard Benoit, Taftville, Committee Chair
Thomas Quinley, Yantic, Committee Secretary
Joshua Pothier, Comptroller, Committee Treasurer
Brigid Marks, Human Resource Director, Committee Vice-Chair
Joseph Kochanski, Laurel Hill
Donald Leary, East Great Plain
Paul Labrecque, guest
b. Members Absent:
Karen Mankowski, Occum
John John, P&P Board Appointee
John Salomone, City Manager
Red McKeon, Occum Past Chair
Robert Aldi, Citizen Appointee
Richard Benoit called the meeting to order at 5:08p.m.
2. Minutes: the May 16, 2016 meeting minutes were reviewed. The following change was
noted:
a. Mr. Labrecque’s name had a typo and was corrected
b. Motion was made by Thomas Quinley to accept the minutes as corrected.
Seconded by Donald Leary, approved.
3. Refund Requests: None
4. Bills: A review of the bills that had been previously paid as documented in the agenda was
performed and accepted by the Committee. No further action required.
5. New Members: The one new member from EGP, and the three new members from Yantic
were reviewed by the Committee. Motion made by Thomas Quinley to accept the new
members, seconded by Donald Leary. Approved.
6. New Applications for Benefits: The Application for Benefits from Joseph Murray, Yantic,
was reviewed by the Committee. Motion made by Thomas Quinley to accept the presented
application, seconded by Joseph Kochanski. Approved.
7. Proposed Administrative Procedure Processes: The draft procedures for streamlining the
administration of Relief Fund business (approval of bills, refund requests, new applications
for benefits, and increases in benefit payments for retired members who earn additional years
City of Norwich
Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes
Special Meeting
July 11, 2016
of credited service) between Committee meetings, was reviewed by the membership. Motion
made by Thomas Quinley to approve, as presented with no changes, the administrative
procedures, seconded by Donald Leary. Approved.
8. Review and take action on budgeted expenditures and transfers for fiscal year 2016-17:
The “Budget and Scheduled Transfers” document provided by the Committee
Treasurer/Comptroller, for fiscal year 2016-17, was reviewed. A motion to approve
Management of Funds as outlined by the document was made by Thomas Quinley, seconded
by Joseph Kochanski. Approved.
9. Discuss and more clearly define the terms “Active Member” and “Break in Service” as
they relate to VFFRF Plan Benefits and specific Department rosters. Establish a
working group to revise appropriate sections of the Plan Codification to more clearly
define wording and intent, and verify that current retiree benefits who may be affected
by these clarifications are correct.
The Committee reviewed the proposed definitions and changes to the Ordinance/Codification
and determined that an “Active Member” would be defined as follows:
An “Active” member is a member of a Volunteer Fire Department who responds to 5%
or a minimum of 35 emergency calls per year and 5% or a minimum of 4 hours of
drills/training per year.
The Committee determined that a “Break in Service would be defined as follows:
Failure of a Volunteer Fire Department Member to meet the requirements of “Active
Member” as defined by the Ordinance/Codification.
Motion made to approve the definitions and revisions to the Ordinance/Codification language
by Thomas Quinley, seconded by Joseph Kochanski. Approved.
Joshua Pothier took the action to draft the revised language and provide copies to
Corporation Council for review in preparation for presentation to the City Council.
A motion was made by Thomas Quinley to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Donald Leary.
Approved. Meeting adjourned at 1755 hrs.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas G. Quinley, Secretary
Agenda
To: Members of the Volunteer Firefighter Relief Fund Committee
From: Richard Benoit, Chairman of the Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund
Subject: Special Meeting
Meeting Date: Monday, July 11, 2016
Meeting Time: 5:00 p.m.
Meeting Location: Room 209, City Hall
Agenda Items:
1. Call to Order
2. Review of minutes from the Regular Meeting on May 16, 2016 (available on the website)
3. Refund requests
4. Bills
a. $1,850 Hooker & Holcombe actuary fees for the GASB 67/68 reporting for the
annual audit. Paid in November 2015.
b. $379.21 advertising cost for the VFFRF Plan revision ordinance. Paid in
November 2015.
c. $352 for MuniCode costs to incorporate VFFRF Plan revision ordinance into the
Code of Ordinances. Paid in June 2016.
d. $6,500 for Hooker & Holcombe fees for January 1, 2016 valuation. Paid in June
2016.
5. New members
a. EGP – Ellen Guile
b. Yantic – Ryan Mocek
c. Yantic – William Murray
d. Yantic – Richard Spence
6. New applications for benefits
a. Yantic: Joseph Murray – January 2016. 20 Years of Service. $440 monthly
payment. Benefit payments started in March 2016 retroactive to January 2016.
7. Consideration of Proposed Administrative Procedures to streamline administration of
Relief Fund between Committee meetings. (see attached)
8. Review and take action on budgeted expenditures and transfers for fiscal year 2016-17.
9. Discuss and more clearly define the terms “Active Member” and “Break in Service” as
they relate to VFFRF Plan Benefits and specific Department rosters. Establish a working
group to revise appropriate sections of the Plan Codification to more clearly define
wording and intent, and verify that current retiree benefits who may be affected by these
clarifications are correct.
10. Adjournment
Please notify Richard Benoit (860) 886-1774 or Brigid Marks (860) 823-3786 if you are unable
to attend the meeting.
Proposed Administrative Procedures
Approval of Bills
Committee will approve a budget for each fiscal year. Any expenditures which were not anticipated
when the budget was approved will need to be approved by the Committee. The Committee would not
need to approve the payment of bills that were already approved in the budget. The Treasurer of the
Committee will continue to provide quarterly Treasurer’s reports which give detail of the revenues and
expenditures of the Fund.
Refund Requests
When a refund request is received from a Plan Member, the Finance department will contact the Plan
Member’s department and compare its contribution history records to the Finance department’s
records. If they match, the Finance department will calculate the interest and issue the refund. If they
do not match, the member’s department and Finance department will research and resolve the
discrepancy and then the Finance department will calculate the interest and issue the refund. If there
are any questions regarding the validity of the refund request or the party to whom the payment should
be issued, the matter will be brought up at the next meeting of the Committee. Refunds will be listed in
the quarterly Treasurer’s report.
New Applications for Benefits
Plan Members who have reached the minimum number of years of service and who will be turning the
minimum age to receive benefits within the next six months will be added to the agenda of the next
meeting of the Committee for approval of benefits at the appropriate rate for the years of credited
service purchased as of the date of approval and effective in the month of the member’s next birthday.
(Next one to fit this criteria is Yantic’s Paul O’Connell in April 2017)
Plan Members who have reached the minimum age to receive benefits and are expected to reach the
minimum number of years of service within the next six months will be added to the agenda of the next
meeting of the Committee for approval of benefits at the minimum number of years of service effective
in the month of the City’s receipt of payment by the Plan Member for the purchase of the credited
service and the annual roster verifying the satisfaction of the training and call requirements certified by
the chief of the member’s department. (Next one to fit this criteria is Yantic’s Hugh Schnip in
January/February 2017)
In the event that the Committee is not able to hold a meeting to approve a new application for benefits
prior to the Plan Member’s Normal Retirement Date, the Finance department may begin benefit
payments as long as it is satisfied that there are no questions about years of credited service purchased
and all requisite forms have been received from the Plan Member.
Increases in Benefit Payments for Retired Members Who Earn Additional
Years of Credited Service
The monthly benefit payments for Retired Members who have earned and purchased additional years of
Credited Service will be increased effective in the month of the City’s receipt of payment by the Plan
Member for the purchase of the Credited Service and the annual roster verifying the satisfaction of the
training and call requirements certified by the chief of the member’s department. No action is required
by the Committee.
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