Clermont Fire 11-21-2019 Quarterly Meeting MinutesCity of Clermont
Minutes
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T PENSION BOARD MEETING
ChoiceoFCham�ions November 21, 2019
The Firefighters Retirement Plan Board of Trustees met on Thursday, November 21, 2019 in the Clermont City Hall
Council Chambers. Firefighter Board Members present: Ryan Moore, Judy Proli, and Judd Lent. Attorney Bonni
Jensen was present. Burgess Chambers & Associates member present: Larry Cole. Staff members present: Finance
Director Joe Van Zile, Assistant Finance Director Pam Brosonski, and Risk and Benefits Manager Nadine Ohlinger.
The Resource Centers staff members present: Scott Baur and A.C. Lovingood. Others present: Chief Joseph Bishop
and Jim Purvis.
CALL TO ORDER
The Board Meeting was called to order at 11:08 AM.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Former Trustee Jim Purvis was present at the Board Meeting, The Trustees took a moment and thanked Mr. Purvis
for his service to the Board. Mr. Purvis thanked the Board and
AGENDA MODIFICATIONS
The Board requested that the Benefit Approvals be moved to the next agenda item to discuss. No other
modifications were requested.
BENEFIT APPROVALS
The Board was presented with the benefit approval for Chief Bishop. Scott Baur provided the Board with
information regarding Chief Bishop's view that his time as the Fire Chief of the department when it was a volunteer
department should be considered as full-time employment for his pension and not considered volunteer time.
Attorney Bonni Jensen joined the Board Meeting via phone and informed the Board that she found nothing in the
materials provided by the City and Chief Bishop that indicates his time as Fire Chief from 1990 through 1999 made
him a full-time employee. Ms. Jensen stated that the stipend that the Chief received from the city is not enough to
define full-time service. Annual reports during that time period also state that Chief Bishop was a volunteer until
1999 when the volunteer fire department was converted to a paid fire department. The Board reviewed all of the
information provided and Chairman Judd Lent noted that in the March 23, 1999 City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes, it clearly states that the city hired him as Clermont's first full-time Fire Chief. Trustee Judy Proli stated
that the Chief would not ask for something that he did not rightly deserve and should be paid as a chief. Ms. Jensen
explained that Chief Bishop was paid for his volunteer service and recognition for his volunteer service time. Ms.
Jensen also noted the impact to the plan if the Chief s volunteer time from 1990 through 1999 is counted as full-time
service. She also noted that if the Pension Plan recognizes this time period as full-time service the Plan would need
to treat all plan members equally. Ms. Jensen then stated that the Board should recognize Chief Bishop.
Chief Bishop provided the Board with files containing his service, job requirement, and compensation from 1990 to
1999. The Chief reviewed this information with the Board, explaining how this period of time meets the definition
of full-time employment. Chief Bishop stated that the City Council Meeting Minutes at the time were not always
accurate, including council members with a political agenda. Clermont has had a fire chief continuously since 1884
and recently two fire chiefs preceded him as paid employees of the city. In 1990 he took over 100% of the duties as
the fire chief from a previous paid city employee. Chief Bishop acknowledged that in 1998 there was a discussion
about making him full-time, however he had a salary and no other volunteers in 1990 received a paid salary. He
provided a letter to the Board appointing him as the Fire Chief, stating that the evidence points to him as an
employee. Chief Bishop stated that in those nine years, he responded to majority of the calls to the fire station,
noting that at times, he was the only firefighter that responded. He then reviewed his job requirements, letter
appointing him as the Fire Chief in 1990, and his annual salary with the Board. Chief Bishop produced IRS
documentation of what was considered part-time employment and full-time employment. Chief Bishop argued that
he actually worked full-time based on his schedule form the nine years in question, as he was on duty 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. The city intended for his position to be volunteer, however the duties of a fire chief, along with
the pay and hours that were worked, from the IRS's definition, meets the criteria of a full-time employee.
Attorney Bonni Jensen addressed Chapter 175 of the Florida State Statue that describes the definition of volunteer
service. She explained the difference between a constituted fire department and a constituted volunteer fire
department. The benefit is the same, but Clermont did not have a constituted fire department until 1999. Chief
Bishop inquired about any documentation that indicates a status change for the fire department. Ms. Jensen stated
that no such document establishes status of department change. Chief Bishop then compared the Clermont
Volunteer Fire Department to several other volunteer fire departments that were similar. Ms. Jensen stated that the
chief s employment status is not at issue, but rather the status of the department, being an employee does not clarify
whether the he is or is not an employee. Joe Van Zile stated that the city paid all volunteers on a W-2. Chief Bishop
stated that no other firefighter received a salary, just him. Ms. Jensen explained that a volunteer firefighter can still
be an employee of the city.
Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to confirm that Chief Bishop's employment with the Clermont Fire
Department from 1990 till 1999 was volunteer service. Chairman Judd Lent seconded the motion. The
motion passed 3-0.
Bonni Jensen informed Chief Bishop that he has a right to appeal the order of the Board.
MINUTES
The Minutes from the August 28, 2019 Board Meeting were presented to the Board for review.
Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to approve the Minutes dated August 28, 2019. Trustee Judi Proli
seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
REPORTS
Investment Monitor Report — Larry Cole, Burgess Chambers & Associates
Larry Cole presented the Quarterly Investment Monitor Report to the Board. For the quarter, the Plan had a ending
market value of $20,025,395. For the third quarter, the Plan had a 0.9% rate of return compared to the benchmark of
1%. For the current year to date the fund earned 16.7% compared to the benchmark of 13.8%. The one-year rate of
return was 7.2% compared to the target index of 5.3%. For the three-year rate of return the Plan earned 9.3%,
beating the benchmark of 8.7%, and the five-year rate of return is 7.1% which is just two basis points shy of the
7.3% benchmark. Mr. Cole then made a few investment manager recommendations to the board which would
replace the existing ETF holdings in the Plan. These recommendations included Euro Pacific Growth Fund which
would replace the Fidelity Global ETF Fund. Mr. Cole provided detailed information on a convertible blend ETF.
He recommended moving from the current SPYDR Barclays Convertibles Securities over to the iShares Convertible
Bond ETF due to the same performance and lower fees.
Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to move from the SPYDR Barclays Convertibles Securities to the iShares
Convertible Bond ETF. Chairman Judd Lent seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
Standing Rebalance Letter — Mr. Cole presented the Board with a Standing Rebalance Authority letter allowing
Larry Cole at burgess Chambers and Associates the authority to instruct Salem Trust on how to rebalance the funds
in the Receipts and Disbursement account as stated in the Pension Plan's overall Investment Policy Statement.
Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to move from the SPYDR Barclays Convertibles Securities to the iShares
Convertible Bond ETF. Chairman Judd Lent seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
Attomev Report — Bonni Jensen, Klausner, Kaufman, Jensen, & Levinson
Memo — USERRA — Ms. Jensen Bonni Jensen presented a Memo to the Board regarding the uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994. Ms. Jensen reviewed the rights and responsibilities of
employers and retirement plans and the USERRA. Military breaks in service under the USERRA must be treated as
continuous employment and employers are required to make pension contributions only during the time employees
actually work for the employer, therefore, employers are not obligated to make contributions to a pension plan on
behalf of employees while they are serving in the military. Ms. Jensen concluded her review stating that those who
serve or who will serve in the military have substantial protections under USERRA; employers and retirement plans
need to ensure proper tracking of these individuals time while serving in the armed forces.
Records Management Liaison Officer — Ms. Jensen informed the Board that the City Clerk, Tracy Ackroyd is the
current Records Management Liaison Officer (RMLO) for the Clermont Police Officers Pension Plan. He explained
that the RMLO maintains the Board's records. Mr. Christiansen explained the options available to the Board. There
was a discussion regarding different possible situations and the Board decided to keep the City Clerk as the RMLO.
Ordinance Plan Restatement — Ms. Jensen informed the Board that she is working with Scott Christiansen to do a
Restatement of the Pension Plan as this will combine multiple changes made to the Ordinance into a single easy to
read document.
ADMINISTRATOR REPORT — Scott Baur, Resource Centers
2019 Share Account Allocation Report — Scott Baur presented the Board with the 2019 Share Account Allocation
Report for review.
SOC-1 Audit — Scott Baur presented the Board with a memo regarding The Resource Centers SOC 1 Audit and
Cyber Security. Mr. Baur started his discussion with Cyber Security Measures mentioned in his memo. He
informed the Board that the information is only a general overview of The Resource Centers current security
procedures that are in place to prevent a cyber security breach within the company. He noted that due to the Board
Meeting being a public meeting per the requirements of Florida Sunshine Laws, some of the safety steps taken are
not mentioned in the memo, however, if any Trustee would like more details on the steps taken, The Resource
Centers would be more than happy to schedule a meeting to review these details. Mr. Baur then reviewed The
Resource Centers SOC 1 Type 2 Audit noting that not all Pension Plan Administration firms have a third party come
in and perform this type of audit. The SOC 1 Audit results had no findings or exceptions found, which means that
all The Resource Center's Policies and Procedures are being followed correctly. Mr. Baur informed the Board that
The Resource Center has $3 Million in cyber liability
EXPENSES
The November 21, 2019 Warrant was presented to the Board for review.
Trustee Ryan Moore made a motion to approve the Warrant dated November 21, 2019. Chairman Judd
Lent seconded the motion. The motion passed 3-0.
NEXT OUARTERLY MEETING: Wednesday. February 26.2020 (a, 11:00 AM
ADJOURN: With no further comments, this meeting adjourned at 12:52 PM.
Respectfully submitted,