Volunteer Firefighter Relief Fund Committee

City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes 146th Meeting November 15, 2021 The Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee held a regular meeting on Monday November 15, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. in Room 213, City Hall, Norwich, Connecticut and also utilizing the City of Norwich Turbobridge account. 1. Roll Call a. Members Present: Thomas Quinley, Yantic, Committee Chair Brigid Marks, Human Resource Director, Committee Vice-Chair Donald Leary, East Great Plain, Committee Secretary Shane Dupuis, Taftville* Karen Mankowski, Occum Joseph Kochanski, Laurel Hill Michael Dziavit, P&P Board Appointee * Via Turbobridge b. Members Absent: John Salomone, City Manager Joshua Pothier, Comptroller, Committee Treasurer Ronald Stolz, Citizen Appointee Daniel Dennis, Citizen Appointee c. Others Present: Art Meizner, guest, Hooker & Holcombe Thomas Quinley called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. 2. Roll call taken. 3. Quorum determined. 4. Reports: a. Art Meizner presented Hooker & Holcombe’s review of the plan’s investment results thru 15 November. a. Inflation has hit a 31 year high; feeling is that it will be short term. b. Page 1: The S&P managed to eke out a small gain for the quarter. c. Page 2: The S&P forward P/E ratio is 4.6 % above the 25 year average which indicates stocks are expensive. d. Page 3: Energy stocks have led the way with a 58.1% gain YTD. e. Page 5: the Treasury 30-year yield is up over 2% from last year at this time. f. Page 13 the fund is up 7.62% YTD. g. Mr. Meizner is considering recommending removing the Pimco investment grade bond fund for the next meeting. i. Motion made by Joseph Kochanski to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Karen Mankowski. Approved unanimously. b. Treasurer Report: For the quarter ending 30 September, reviewed as presented. 1  City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes 146th Meeting November 15, 2021 a. Motion made by Karen Mankowski to accept the Report as presented, seconded by Joseph Kochanski. Approved 5. Minutes: Minutes from the July 30th Special Meeting were reviewed. a. Motion made by Thomas Quinley to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Karen Mankowski. Approved unanimously. 6. Communications: None 7. Unfinished Business: None 8. New Business: a. Discussion of January 1, 2022 actuarial valuation, the Comptroller and Milliman recommended lowering assumed rate of return from 6.75% to 6.25%. i. Motion made by Karen Mankowski to accept the 6.25% rate of return as presented, seconded by Joseph Kochanski. Approved unanimously. b. Approval of bills. i. None at this time. c. New members i. No new applications at this time. d. Applications for benefits i. None at this time. e. Refunds i. None at this time. f. Notification of death. i. Taftville volunteer James Milhomme passed away on November 11, 2021. His wife, Theresa Milhomme, is eligible for a monthly survivorship benefit of $268.20 – calculated at 90% of James Milhomme’s benefit of $298. James Milhomme’s final $298 benefit payment was made in November 2021. Theresa Milhomme’s $268.20 benefit payments will begin in December 2021. 1. Motion made by Karen Mankowski to approve the survivorship benefit, seconded by Joseph Kochanski. Approved unanimously. ii. Mary Lodyko, surviving spouse of Yantic volunteer Ralph Lodyko passed away on November 6, 2021. Mary Lodyko was collecting a monthly survivorship benefit of $270 and her final benefit payment was made in November 2021. g. Reviewed the information on Taftville volunteer Charles Miclette’s benefit calculation. The information indicated that Mr. Miclette made all of the requirements for an active member and it is not clear how the error occurred. 2  City of Norwich Volunteer Firefighters’ Relief Fund Committee Minutes 146th Meeting November 15, 2021 i. Motion made by Joseph Kochanski to approve the retroactive increased payments back to January 2015, seconded by Karen Mankowski, Approved unanimously. h. Election of officers for 2022. i. Motion made by Karen Mankowski to reappoint the current slate of officers, seconded by Joseph Kochanski. Approved unanimously. ii. The slate of officers for 2022 is 1. Thomas Quinley, Committee Chair 2. Brigid Marks, Committee Co-Chair 3. Donald Leary Secretary 4. Joshua Pothier, Treasurer i. 2022 Meeting schedule: i. A motion was made by Donald Leary to set the following of regular meetings for 2022, second by Thomas Quinley. Approved unanimously. All meetings will take place in Room 213, City Hall, at 5:00 p.m. and will include information on utilizing the Turbobridge account for those who cannot attend in person. 1. Monday, February 28, 2022 2. Monday, May 16, 2022 3. Monday, August 15, 2022 4. Monday, November 21, 2022 A motion was made by Karen Mankowski to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Thomas Quinley. Approved unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 5:52 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Donald Leary, Secretary 3