City of San Diego Retired Employees Association
February 12, 2018
Board Meeting Minutes

 

NOTE: All votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted

Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Jim Baross at 9:30am.

Board Members Present: Jim Baross, Mike Bresnahan, Shirley Hall, Joan Hernandez, Charlie Hogquist, Brad Jacobsen, Joan McNamara, Ty Rogers, Mary Ann Stepnowsky, John Tsiknas, Dave Twomey, Dick Wilken, and Janet Wood

Guests Present: Art Brown, Clay Bingham, Chris Brewster, and Joe Flynn

AGENDA: There were no changes to the agenda.

MINUTES: The minutes of the January 2019 Board meeting were approved.

COMMUNICATIONS: There were several calls from retirees wondering about the lateness of the 1099s; they were mailed from the Midwest and delivery was affected by the polar vortex.

TREASURER’S REPORT: The category of “Unallocated Savings” was added.

M/S/C to accept the February Treasurer’s Report.

The Investment Committee reported that after a loss, we are now back in the black. There was continuing discussion about or investment strategies. It was noted that we have only been investing for a year, so it may be premature to change our strategies or pull out entirely. It was suggested that the Board undergo fiduciary duty training. Finally, a special report on our investments will be placed in the newsletter.

RETIREMENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT

Charlie reported that the Board will have two new members. There will be a special meeting on February 20 to create a values statement.

DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS

  1. The Audit Committee will consist of Karen, Jim, and possibly Art Brown.
  2. There was discussion about whether to develop a Hand-in-Hand program similar to RFPA’s outreach to families who have experienced a loss. It was noted that this is an enormous work pill and is fraught with opportunities to go wrong. The idea was shelved.

INFORMATION ITEMS:

  1. Kudos on the new website! Photos of the Board members will be posted.
  2. Twelve water bottles have been ordered as speaker gifts.
  3. Joan announced that the trip to the Japanese Friendship Garden on February 27 is full.
  4. It was suggested that we give complimentary aprons to our Lunch Bunch.
  5. Dave had a conversation with Carl Luna about what our support for Restoring Respect
    would look like; Carl will get back to him with specifics.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Advocacy: Mike and others met with Council President Georgette Gomez. She was unaware of REA but  is supportive. The next Advocacy Committee meeting will be February 28

Retiree Issues Task Force (RITF): There was a reminder to turn in appropriate paperwork  for Medicare Part B.

Other Retired Public Employee Associations: No report

Active Employee Associations: Mike Zucchet discussed some possible options for employees who have not been paying into the retirement system. There will a hearing on the First Amendment issues around Prop B at the 4th District court on May4. There was a good article in the U-T about the understaffing issues at the City.

Communications: No report.

Membership: Membership is now at 1556.

Sunshine: No report.

Newsletter: Deadline for the next issue is February 20.

General Membership Programs: There was discussion about our ban on speakers from profit-making enterprises; it was decided to approve or deny on a case-by-case basis. Charlie will do a presentation on San Diego’s military history at the April meeting. We will try to get Georgette Gomez for August.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 10:45am.

Respectfully submitted,

Brad Jacobsen
Secretary