MINUTES
HULL CONTRIBUTORY RETIREMENT BOARD MEETING
August 25, 2004
The regular meeting of the Hull Contributory Retirement Board, duly posted to be held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room, Town Hall, Hull, MA on the above date was called to order at 9:00 a.m. Present were Leonard Colten, Chairperson, Members Donald Brooker, Ann MacNaughton and James Yacobucci, and Retirement Administrator Marcia Bohinc.
The Board read and attested to the minutes of the July 28, 2004 regular board meeting with one modification.
The Board signed all bill warrants for August 2004.
The Board signed the contributory payroll for August 2004.
On a motion by Jim Yacobucci, seconded by Donald Brooker, the board approved the Application for Withdrawal of Accumulated Total Deductions for former Health Department employee Cheryl Hernan, effective August 31, 2004. Ms. Hernan resigned on July 16, 2003, with 11 months of service. Her refund of contributions is $2,274.51, with a balance of $17.33 interest to be transferred to the pension reserve. Voted unanimously.
In the April 28, 2004 regular meeting, the Retirement Board approved a make-up contribution for Assistant Building Inspector William McLearn for 22 months of creditable service for his service as a call firefighter from 1976 through 1979 and 1983 through 1989. In preparation for retirement, Mr. McLearn remitted the make up contribution in August for a total of $743.07. Upon further review, it was discovered that because the Town of Hull did not accept the provisions of G.L. c. 32 §4(2)(b½), Mr. McLearn was not eligible to be granted service credit for his call fire service.
Note: Section 4(2)(b) states that such service as a call fire fighter shall be credited only if such call fire fighter was later appointed as a permanent member of the fire department.
§4(2)(b½) provides that service as a call firefighter shall be credited as full-time service as provided in paragraph (b), except that credit for such service shall not be conditioned upon the appointment of said call firefighter as a permanent member of the fire department.
Action by the board is required to clarify this point to determine Mr. McLearn's total creditable service in order to finalize the calculation for his retirement allowance. Based on this, a motion was made by D. Brooker to notify Mr. McLearn that computation of his creditable service for his retirement was not accurate due to the Town not accepting G.L. c. 32 §4(2)(b½). Consequently, his service will be adjusted accordingly. The board will allow that if Mr. McLearn has any information to the contrary, that they would be happy to consider it for review. Seconded by J. Yacobucci, voted unanimously. M. Bohinc will correspond with Mr. McLearn and provide for a refund of his make up contribution and adjust his creditable service accordingly for the retirement allowance
calculation.
Prior to making contact with Mr. McLearn, D. Brooker requested that the non-acceptance of G.L. c. 32 §4 (2)(b½) by the Town be verified through the Town Clerk, the annual Town reports or any other available source.
Pursuant to that discussion, the Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) local options summary page was distributed to the board. This summary was complied based on a survey of public employee retirement systems about acceptance of certain local options governing various pension benefits under Chapter 32 of the Massachusetts General Laws. The fifteen local options included are the ones that generated the greatest interest and inquiries, however do not reflect all of the local option provisions found under Chapter 32.
Option Accepted
Veterans' Buyback Y
Call Firefighter Creditable Service S. 4(2)(b) N
Call Firefighter Creditable Service S. 4(2)(b½) N
10 Year Ordinary Disability Y
Supplemental Dependant Allowance Y
Granting of Original 1.3% COLA in FY 2000 by Retirement Board Y
Creditable Service During Layoff for Police/Fire N
Option C Pop-Up Y
Library Trustee Creditable Service N
Non-contributory Retiree of Cost of Living Adjustment Y
3 Year Average Compensation For Termination Allowance N
Retirement Board Member Compensation N
Indemnification of Retirement Board Members N
Cost of Living Adjustment Act Y
Granting COLA in FY 1999 by Retirement Board Y
The board discussed the request for make-up contribution for Library employee Marlene Flattich of her time for the period of permanent part-time employment, prior to her becoming eligible for the retirement system. The board referred to the Hull Supplemental Regulations, as adopted on July 14, 1997 and effective November 5, 1996. Specifically, provision 4 states "Except as expressly provided by these regulations, no individual in the employment or service of the Town shall be eligible to be credited with creditable service for any period of part time, provisional, temporary, temporary provisional, seasonal or intermittent (hereinafter, collectively, part time) employment or service prior to any individual's eligibility to become a member of the System (or the reinstatement of such
eligibility)."
Therefore, J. Yacobucci made a motion that based on the Hull Supplemental Regulations, the board should deny Ms. Flattich's request for additional service credit. Seconded by D. Brooker, voted unanimously.
The board was requested to review the current Supplemental Regulations and employment definitions for discussion in a future meeting.
Hull Housing Authority
M. Bohinc reported nothing new regarding the status of the negotiations for the receipt of the outstanding appropriations from the Hull Housing Authority (HHA). She was unsuccessful in contacting the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD); therefore forwarded the information to Chris McCabe as a retirement board member and the Town Manager to follow up. Mr. McCabe was not present at this meeting, and did not provided any information prior to the meeting. As a result, the board decided to defer action and determination of the next steps until the September meeting and Mr. McCabe's report.
The Board reviewed the current year-to-date trial balance and cash accounts' reconciliation without discussion.
Investments
The following investment materials were provided to the Board:
Investors Fund Performance - Updated through July 2004
PRIM Board Update - July 31, 2004
PRIT - Summary of Plan Performance - July 31, 2004
PRIT - Hull Profile 11/30/2000 through 06/30/2004
SSgA - Total Return through July 2004
Representatives from State Street Global Advisors attend the September meeting to review their current investment strategy and explain their lagging return.
Consultant Process
The advertisement for an Investment Consultant for the Hull Contributory Retirement System was published in the August 9, 2004 edition of Pensions & Investments. As of this date, approximately ten RFPs have been sent to specific selected and requesting companies, with a due date of September 15, 2004.
Rockland Trust requested a short meeting with some or all of the board members to have a discussion and ask questions to review the RFP with regard to their interest and qualifications. After discussion, and due to a number of reasons, the board, or any representatives thereof, decided that they would not meet with Rockland Trust.
The board discussed the MACRS 2004 Annual Meeting set for October 3 through October 6, 2004 in Danvers, MA. Registration is $150 per person and includes three meals and the banquet on Tuesday night. It was agreed that J. Yacobucci and M. Bohinc would register and attend the entire conference. Ann MacNaughton and D. Brooker will attend specific days based on the agenda, and if they decide to attend more sessions and/or the Tuesday banquet, they will register in person at the conference. The board signed an additional warrant for the registration fee for two people.
Old Business
The board reviewed correspondence from Attorney Michael Sacco dated August 19, 2004 regarding the DALA hearing on Tuesday, August 31, 2004 - Gary Taylor v. Hull Retirement Board. At this time, Mr. Sacco will be the only person representing the board at the hearing.
The board received a memo from Town Counsel James Lampke rendering his opinion that accidental disability retiree David Leary was entitled to Quinn Bill benefits for the period that he was receiving compensation under G.L. c 41 §111F. If the Town Manager concurs and additional payment is made, the payment will be considered regular compensation, thereby requiring Mr. Leary's retirement allowance to be recalculated. No allowance adjustments will be made until the payment of compensation is recorded in the payroll system. A copy of Mr. Lampke's memo will be provided to all board members.
In response to the board's request for additional information regarding a retiree payroll account, the Fleet Bank payroll account reconciliation summary for the period January 1, 1996 through December 31, 2003 was distributed. Due to limited availability of the Treasurer/Collector, that office has not reviewed the reconciliation with the retirement office.
Note: This payroll account will be a finding in the current audit, with a recommendation that it be closed. M. Bohinc will follow up with the Treasurer for resolution.
No further progress has been made in the search for office space for the Retirement Office. At this time, the board will not consider paying rent for office space; therefore the choices are limited to current Town of Hull space. This will be followed up with C. McCabe.
The Board read all informational mail:
MACRS Memo - Overrides of GovernorRetired State, County and Municipal Employees Association of Massachusetts Memo - Disability retirees vets allowance enacted
Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association of Massachusetts Memo - Governor's Veto of S1576
PERAC Memo #30/2004 - Notification of Employee Indictment and Suspension (with memorandum to Public Employees)
PERAC Memo #31/2004 - Update on Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Items Relating to Public Retirement
PERAC Memo #32/2004 - Governor Romney's Veto of Senate Bill 1576
Segal Bulleting - July 2004
The Babson Staff Letter - July 23, 2004
The Babson Staff Letter - August 13, 2004
Perspectives for Opus Investment Management - Summer 2004
Opus Investment Management - Fixed Income Information
Newsletter - Retired State, County and Municipal Employees Association of Massachusetts, September 2004
PERAC Memo #44/2001 - Insurance Article (Informational)
The Board scheduled the Regular Meetings for the remainder of the year for Wednesday, September 29, Wednesday, October 27, Wednesday, November 24, and Tuesday, December 21, 2004, all at 9:00 a.m. in the Selectmen's Meeting Room.
The Hull Contributory Retirement Board meeting adjourned at 10:20 a.m.
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