Clermont Fire 02-26-2020 Quarterly Meeting MinutesCity of Clermont
Minutes
�ERoNFIREFIGHTERS' PENSION BOARD OF TRUSTEES
T PENSION BOARD MEETING
ChoiceoFCham�ions February 26, 2020
The Firefighters Retirement Plan Board of Trustees met on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 in the Clermont City
Hall Council Chambers. Firefighter Board Members present: Ryan Moore, Judy Proli, Judd Lent, and John Rhames.
Attorney Bonni Jensen was present. Burgess Chambers & Associates member present: Larry Cole. Staff members
present: Assistant Finance Director Pam Brosonski, and Risk and Benefits Manager Nadine Ohlinger. The Resource
Centers staff members present: Scott Baur and A.C. Lovingood.
CALL TO ORDER
The Board Meeting was called to order at 11:01 AM.
PUBLIC COMMENT
There were no public comments.
AGENDA MODIFICATIONS
The Board reviewed the Agenda and no modifications were requested.
BOARD ELECTIONS & NOMINATIONS
The Board Election results were reviewed with the Board. Mr. Baur stated that the only nominations received were
from Judd Lent and Adam Watkins to continue on the Board for the seats that they currently occupy. Mr. Baur
informed the Board that they need to make their annual election for the Chairman and Secretary of Board.
Chairman Judd Lent stated that if the Board wishes, he would like to remain as Chairman of the Board.
Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to elect Judd Lent as Chairman of the Board. Trustee Judy Proli
seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.
Secretary Ryan Moore stated that if the Board wishes, he would like to remain as Secretary of the Board.
Trustee Judy Proli made a motion to elect Ryan Moore as Secretary of the Board. Trustee John Rhames
seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.
MINUTES
The Minutes from the November 21, 2019 Quarterly Board Meeting were presented to the Board for review. The
Board noted a few minor changes.
Trustee Judi Proli made a motion to approve the Quarterly Board Meeting Minutes dated November 21,
2019 as amended. Trustee Ryan Moore seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.
The Minutes from the January 30, 2020 Special Board Meeting Minutes were presented to the Board for review.
The Board opted to Table the Special Board meeting Minutes dated January 30, 2020.
REPORTS
Investment Monitor Report — Larry Cole, Burgess Chambers & Associates
Larry Cole presented the Quarterly Investment Monitor Report dated December 31, 2019 to the Board. For the
quarter, the Plan was up $1 million which translates to a 5.0% net increase. The best performing asset for the
quarter was the Fidelity large cap growth index, which returned 10.6%. The Fidelity large -cap value product
achieved the benchmark for the quarter of 7.4%. The Fidelity mid -cap core index was up 7.1% for the quarter. The
Fidelity small -cap index was up 10.0%. The Cohen & Steers global infrastructure product returned 2.7%. Mr. Cole
stated that in December, the SPDR convertibles ETF was liquidated and the proceeds were used to purchase the
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iShares convertible bonds ETF and the Fidelity international index was replaced with the American Funds
EuroPacific growth mutual fund. The Predex real estate mutual fund returned 1.4% for the quarter, the Fidelity U.S.
Bond index returned 0.1% for the quarter, and the Fidelity short-term bonds were up 0.4%. Mr. Cole then reviewed
the Investment Policy Quarterly Review with the Board noting that there are no violations to report at this time. Mr.
Cole then reviewed the trailing returns for the Plan. For the quarter, the Plan had a gross 5.1% rate of return
compared to the benchmark of 5.7%. The one-year rate of return was 22.7% compared to the target index of 20.3%.
The three-year rate of return the Plan earned 10.5%, beating the benchmark of 10.3%, and the five-year rate of
return is 7.6% which is just three basis points shy of the 7.9% benchmark.
Mr. Cole noted that the Plan has over $750,000 in cash and recommended that the Board invest $200,000 of
available cash into iShares Convertible ETF.
Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to move $200,000 in available cash and invest the funds into the iShares
Convertible ETF. Trustee Judi Proli seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0
Chairman Judd Lent asked Mr. Cole if the Board should start looking at investing in additional managers. Mr. Cole
stated that he has already begin the process.
ATTORNEY REPORT — Bonni Jensen, Klausner, Kaufman, Jensen, & Levinson
Memo — Fiduciary Duty for Local Officers — Ms. Jensen informed the Board that the Florida Legislative House and
Senate are considering a bill that adds a new section to Chapter 112 of the Florida Statutes, which would establish a
fiduciary standard for appointed public officials and executive officers acting on behalf of a government entity. Ms.
Jensen explained, if this bill is passed, Trustees would need to complete five hours of Board governance training for
each term served.
Memo — IRS Mileage Rate for 2020 — Ms. Jensen informed the Board that the IRS has lowered the Mileage Rate for
2020 from $0.58 per mile, down to $0.575 per mile.
Memo — Notary Public Law Chances — Ms. Jensen informed that Board that effective January 1, 2020, Florida's
Notary Public Law, Chapter 117, was changed by House Bill 409 which permits a Florida Notary Public to perform
remote online notarizations. Ms. Jensen went into detail of how a Notary would perform a remote online
notarization and stated that the Plan's Forms and Applications that require a Notarization will need to be updated.
Memo — Secure Act and IRS Limits for 2020 — Ms. Jensen reviewed the Secure Act that was signed into law on
December 20, 2019. The new law is primarily intended to expend opportunities to increase individual retirement
savings. Of most interest to governmental retirement systems is the Secure Act's new age 72 start date for the
required minimum distributions. Under prior law, qualified pension plans, including traditional IRAs, 401(k)
accounts, and SEP-IRAs were required to start minimum distributions by age 70.5. Effective 2020, the age limit has
been increased to 72. This new amendment only applies to individuals who reach 70.5 after 2020. The old age limit
still applies to anyone who has reached 70.5 before January 1, 2020. The Secure Act also removes the 70.5 age limit
on traditional IRA contributions. The IRS also updated the benefit limits for qualified plans for 2020. Employees
participating in 401(k), 457, and 403(b) plans, the contribution limit increased from $19,000 to $19,500. The annual
IRA contribution limits remain unchanged at $6,000, and the additional start-up contribution limit for individuals
aged 50 and over is also unchanged at $1,000.
Crawford Administrative Order — Ms. Jensen presented the Board with the Administrative Order Denying a Line of
Duty Disability Retirement. Ms. Jensen reminded the Board that Mr. Crawford has the right to appeal the decision
within 90 days from the date that he receives this order and if an appeal is not made within the 90 day period, the
decision of the Board will become final.
Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to approve the Administrative Order Denying a Line of Duty Disability
Retirement for Lawrence Crawford. Trustee Judy Proli seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0
Ordinance Restatement Update — Ms. Jensen provided the Board with the Proposed Ordinance Restatement for
review. Ms. Jensen reviewed the document with the Board along with some changes that were made to make the
Ordinance inline with the Police Pension Plan. There was a discussion regarding the option and cost of adding a
PLOP to the Ordinance.
Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to approve the Ordinance Restatement as amended. Chairman Judd
Lent seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0
KKJL Annual Client Conference — Ms. Jensen informed the Board that her firm, Klausner, Kaufman, Jensen &
Levinson will have their Annual Client Conference at the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on May 271h through
May 291 of this year.
ADMINISTRATOR REPORT — Scott Baur and A.C. Lovingood, Resource Centers
Overtime Payroll Issues — Scott Baur informed the Board that it has been discovered that overtime pay has not been
reported correctly and that the error has been brought to the City's attention. There was a lengthy discussion
regarding how far back the reporting error goes and how to best correct the issue.
Salem Trust Authorized Signer and Merger Update — Scott Baur presented the Board with the Salem Trust Merger
Update regarding the process of Salem Trust merging with TMI. Mr. Baur also presented the Board with an updated
Salem Trust Authorized Signer Form. The reason for updating the signers on the Salem Trust Accounts is to update
the list of Trustees whom all should have signing authority in addition to giving Mr. Lovingood signing authority.
Member Education Workshops — Mr. Baur informed the Board that he would like to schedule several Education
Workshops for the members of the Pension Plan so that the members will have a better understanding of the Pension
and have the ability to ask any questions that they have.
State Information Reauest: DeMarinis — Mr. Baur informed the Board that The Resource Centers received a letter
from the State of Florida requesting information with regards to Mr. DeMarinis' Pension. Mr. Baur stated that he is
unsure of the reason for the request, however as more information becomes available, he will update the Board.
Board Fiduciary Liability Policy — Mr. Baur presented the Board with a copy of the Fiduciary Liability Insurance
Policy for review.
2020 Conference List — Mr. Baur presented the Board with the 2020 Conference List that The Resource Centers has
created. Mr. Baur noted that not all conferences are listed and some of the conferences are more focused on Police
and Fire Pension Plans while other conferences are more focused on General Employee Pension Plans.
BENEFIT APPROVALS
The Benefit Approval dated February 26, 2020 was presented to the Board for review. It was noted that Robert
Lovvorn Jr. was not listed on the approval.
Trustee John Rhames made a motion to approve the Benefit Approval dated February 26, 2020. Chairman
Judd Lent seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.
PLAN FINANCIALS
The Pension Plan Balance Sheet for January 2020 and the Income & Expense Statement for January 2020 were
presented to the Board for review.
The February 26, 2020 Warrant was presented to the Board for review.
Trustee John Rhames made a motion to approve the Warrant dated February 26, 2020. Chairman Judd
Lent seconded the motion. The motion passed 4-0.
NEXT OUARTERLY MEETING: Wednesday, May 27. 2020 (a, 11:00 AM
ADJOURN: With no further comments, this meeting adjourned at 12:52 PM.
Respectfully submitted,