Clermont Fire 03-29-2019 Joint Meeting MinutesCity of Clermont
Minutes
FIREFIGHTERS PENSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
POLICE OFFICERS PENSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
JOINT PENSION BOARD MEETING
MARCH 29, 2019
The Firefighters Retirement Plan Board of Trustees and the Police Officers Retirement Plan Board of
Trustees met in a joint meeting on Friday, March 29, 2019 in the Clermont City Hall Council Chambers.
Firefighters' Board members present: Judd Lent, Ryan Moore, and Jim Purvis. Attorney Bonni Jensen was
present. Police Officers' Board Members present: Scott Tufts, Mark Vitek, and Jason Sayre. Attorney
Scott Christensen was present. Burgess Chambers & Associates members present: Karla Engard and
Mitchel Brennan. Staff member present: Finance Director Van Zile. The Resource Centers staff members
present: Scott Baur and A.C. Lovingood.
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Lent called the meeting to order at 10:02am.
Trustee Tufts called the meeting to order at 10:02am.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
REPORTS
Request for Proposal: Custodian
Karla Engard reviewed the results from the custodian RFP starting with the vendor questionnaire that
they had sent out to the prospective custodians. Karla noted that The Resource Centers has the ability
to process disbursements if the Boards wanted to utilize that service. Ms. Engard stated that the search
is for a custodian who is capable to transition the funds held at Florida League of Cities and whom have
tracking abilities and excellent customer service. Ms. Engard informed the Board that her firm is very
familiar working with Fiduciary Trust, Salem Trust, and US Bank. All three custodians offer quarterly
reports and they have top notch technological platforms with the ability to backdate errors.
Ms. Engard reviewed the fees and proposed services from the five custodian proposals along with their
services. Salem Trust had fee proposals for all mutual fund investments and separate accounts for
managers, with higher fees for separate accounts. Ms. Engard said that they expect to begin with
mutual funds or ETF holdings then move to some separate accounts over time. Mitchel Brennan
explained possible trading costs depending on the type of manager and frequency of trades.
City of Clermont
Minutes
FIREFIGHTERS PENSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
POLICE OFFICERS PENSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
JOINT PENSION BOARD MEETING
MARCH 29, 2019
Ms. Engard did informed the Boards that TMI will acquire Salem Trust on Monday and does not foresee
any immediate real impact on the day to day operations. She continued to address trading charges in
detail and noted that management at Salem Trust will not change as a result of the anticipated TMI
transaction. Ms. Engard stated that Burgess Chambers & Associates recommends going with Salem
Trust with negotiated fees. Mr. Brennan discussed possible manager choices as they relate to estimates
of trading.
The Firefighters' Board of Trustees prefers an all-inclusive fee. Salem did not provide a fee above $30M
in assets, we also recommended Salem Trust as a preferred choice based on fees and services, Attorney
Scott Christensen believes agreement on fees with transition from fixed preferred to asset based would
require extra work with the agreement. Just leans to Salem Trust based on trading fee estimates.
Firefighter Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to select Salem Trust as custodian in Fixed Preferred,
giving council authority to further negotiate fees in the agreement. Jim Purvis seconded the motion.
The motion passed 3-0
Attorney Bonni Jensen informed the Board that they will need to have another special meeting.
Police Trustee Jason Sayre made a motion to select Salem Trust as custodian in Fixed Preferred, giving
council authority to further negotiate fees in the agreement. Mark Vitek seconded the motion. The
motion passed 3-0.
There was a further discussion regarding the all-inclusive fee or not exceed the fee with possible
transaction to separate accounts. There was also a brief discussion on timing of transitions based on
implications of signed agreements
Index Fund Recommendations
Mr. Mitchel Brannan reviewed the proposed initial manager and asset allocation. He suggested that all
assets be placed into mutual funds noting that Fidelity currently offers index fund that produces returns
with low cost fees which aligns with the investment policy of the Pension Plans. Mr. Brannan then
reviewed the Real Estate fund recommendation noting that the management fee may look high,
however independent Real Estate Manager fee rates are on average around 0.90%. There was a brief
discussion regarding the suggested mutual fund picks and how they align with the Plans' investment
policies.
City of Clermont
Minutes
FIREFIGHTERS PENSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
POLICE OFFICERS PENSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
JOINT PENSION BOARD MEETING
MARCH 29, 2019
Firefighter Trustee Jim Purvis made a motion to accept the suggested mutual fund picks by Burgess
Chambers & Associates. Trustee Ryan Moore seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0
Police Trustee Mark Vitek made a motion to accept the suggested mutual fund picks by Burgess
Chambers & Associates. Trustee Jason Sayre seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
Request for Proposal: Actuary
Mr. Scott Baur explained the omission from Southern Actuarial Services initially responding to the RFP
due to the firm moving five years ago and the RFP request being mailed to the old address in error. He
went on to explain that there was a rush to include SAS in the Actuary search. There was a discussion
regarding SAS and both Pension Plans came to a consensus to include SAS in the Actuary RFP. Mr. Baur
reviewed the three actuary firms that responded to the RFP, noting that they are all equal in their ability
to perform the actuary needs of the Pension Plans. A discussion regarding the length of time the costs
are guaranteed for and how some of the firms charge their fees. Finance Director Van Zile noted that
the city has had some issues with SAS in the past. The Pension Plan trustees continued their discussion
regarding the options for actuarial services along with possible issues, errors, and turnaround time. The
boards noted that SAS is already familiar with them and that their fees are very reasonable.
Firefighter Trustee Jim Purvis made a motion to hire Southern Actuarial Services giving council
authority to further negotiate fees in the agreement. Trustee Ryan Moore seconded the motion. The
motion passed 3-0
Police Trustee Mark Vitek made a motion to to hire Southern Actuarial Services giving council
authority to further negotiate fees in the agreement. Trustee Jason Sayre seconded the motion. The
motion passed 3-0.
OTHER BUSINESS
Bonni provided update on processing of the pending disability case for the Firefighters' Pension Plan
noting that the Board needed to schedule a special meeting for the Informal Disability Hearing.
NEXT QUARTERLY MEETING: Wednesdav, Mav 22, 2019 @ 9:00 AM
ADJOURN: With no further comments, this meeting adjourned at 11:52am.