Trustees of the Trust Funds Meeting Minutes, March 2, 2016
Board Members in Attendance: Martha Benesh, Helene Matesky, Chris McAleer, and Linda Terry.
Chairman Linda Terry opened the meeting at 11 am.
The minutes of the January 19, 2016 meeting were approved without any changes. (3 in favor and none opposed)
Investment Policy Update - Linda discussed the latest changes to the Trustees of the Trust Funds Investment Policy which is reviewed each year. The changes are regarding the guidelines of the Prudent Investor Rule which differs from the Prudent Man guidelines that we currently follow. The new policy permits Trustees to invest and manage the Trust Funds as a prudent investor would, by considering the purposes, terms, distribution requirements and other circumstances of the funds judging the portfolio in its entirety and not based on each individual investment. Trustees will follow these guidelines very carefully assuming that Warrant Article 34 passes. Trustees voted to adopt the new Investment Policy. (3 in favor and none opposed.) Linda will file copies of the Investment Policy with the NH Department of Revenue and NH
Attorney General’s office and post a copy on the Trustees of the Trust Funds page on the Town website.
Warrant Article Background -Linda distributed background information she prepared on Warrant Article 34 which will be voted on at next week’s Town Meeting. She felt it was important for people to understand the new law which allows Trustees to draft a Warrant Article and, if approved, would allow us to hire investment advisers and pay fees directly out of the funds instead of with tax dollars.
Martha pointed out that current and past Trustees have always taken their fiduciary responsibility seriously but have not had the funds to hire any professional advisors to assist in managing the funds and meet all the state reporting requirements. This new law and Warrant Article allow the Trustees to hire professional advisors who have the expertise to increase the returns on the funds under the care of the Trustees.
In the background summary Linda pointed out that funds are currently invested with the New Hampshire Public Investment Deposit Pool (NHPDIP) which has an investment return of 0.39%. The Trustees feel that we can identify and hire investment advisors who should be able to find the right mix of investments and do better than the NHPDIP rate without significant risk.
After a discussion it was decided that Linda would prepare a brief summary of the reasons for the Warrant Article for distribution through ENEWS. In addition, both she and Chris McAleer will be available by phone to answer any questions people may have about the Warrant Article. More detailed information on the reasoning behind the new law and Warrant Article will be available on the Town website for review before Town Meeting.
Investment Advisor Review - Chris continues his research and discussions with investment advisers and review of the services they provide. He passed out a list from the NH Attorney General’s office website of investment advisors and noted that two of the firms he has already contacted (Cambridge Trust and Charter Trust) are on the list. He pointed out that the list also includes many independent advisers but felt that the smaller one-man operations were not the right type of firm for larger municipal investments.
He will continue his discussions with Cambridge Trust and Charter Trust, both from Concord, and set up appointments for representatives of those firms to meet the Board the last two weeks in March. Chris also mentioned that he thinks we should consider contacting TD Bank investment advisors since TD Bank consistently receives very high ratings and has been rated the number one bank in North America.
Withdrawal Request – Helene distributed copies of a request from the Board of Selectmen to withdraw $3833.45 from the Office Equipment Maintenance Fund 0047. The Board discussed invoices submitted for the purchase of a laptop computer for the Supervisors of the Checklist, a laptop for the Highway Department and a Desktop computer for the use of the Assessors. Attached were invoices as follows: $45.97 – 2/2/2016 -Staples; $1,187.57 – 01/22/2016 Northledge Technologies; $1,240.64 – 01/08/2016 Northledge Technologies; $1,359.27 – 01/11/2016 Northledge Technologies. The Board approved the withdrawal (3 in favor, none opposed.)
School District Warrant – Helene passed out copies and reviewed Warrant Articles of the upcoming School District Annual Meeting. If approved, Trustees of the Trust Funds should receive the following deposits - $10,000 for the CR School Buses; $3,000 for the Whitney Maintenance Trust; $15,000 School Building Maintenance. In addition, the School District will vote to discontinue the School Technology Fund with funds transferred to the School District’s General Fund.
Treasurer Expenses – The Board voted to reimburse Helene for $119 after reviewing a Staples invoice for ink cartridges, paper and other expenses. (3 in favor none opposed)
As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:30 pm.
Helene Matesky
March 3, 2016
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