City of San Diego Retired Employees Association
April 9, 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, Karen Butler, 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: Chris Brewster, Art Brown, and Joe Flynn
AGENDA: There were no changes to the agenda.
MINUTES: The minutes of the March 2019 Board meeting were approved.
COMMUNICATIONS: There were some complaints from members about Jim’s references to border policies in his President’s Message; the complainants felt that he had strayed too far from the purpose of REA. Jim agreed not to do it again, and we will just drop the issue rather than apologize and possibly ignite a flame war.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Karen had nothing significant to report.
M/S/C to accept the April Treasurer’s Report.
The Investment Committee reported that we had another very good month.
M/S/C to accept the Investment Committee Report
RETIREMENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT
Charlie reported that there was no Board meeting and that the new rep for Retired Police and Fire will be at the May meeting. There was discussion about the outcomes of the Prop B decisions. Best outcome is that new employees will be able to join SDCERS, bringing more money into the system. The City has hired a consultant who will provide a roadmap of how to move forward without making specific recommendations as to strategies.
DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS:
- The Audit Committee has not met yet.
- Dave brought some new promotional materials for Restoring Respect; these have our logo on them.
- Dave presented draft wording for an ad/feature in SCROLL, inviting non-City retirees to our meetings, and perhaps to be part of the Lunch Bunch. It was decided that this is a good idea.
INFORMATION ITEMS:
- The aprons for the Lunch Bunch have arrived.
- Joan Hernandez will look into pricing for magnetic name badges for REA Board members.
- Chris Brewster gave a PowerPoint presentation of the various cases that are potential challenges to the California Rule. Of the three, one involves the state judiciary and is not relevant to municipal employees. The other two cases have been heard by different appellate courts with opposing decisions. They will be heard at the CA Supreme Court.
- Joan McNamara is still looking around for the next outing, which will probably be in May or June.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Advocacy: Advocacy: Mike and Joan McNamara met with Councilmember Monica Montgomery and, like the others, it went well. Montgomery herself raised the issue of Prop B; Mike will mention it at future meetings. Next up is Council Member and mayoral candidate Barbara Bry. The next Advocacy Committee meeting will be April 25 at the Mission Valley Library.
Retiree Issues Task Force (RITF): No report
Other Retired Public Employee Associations: Chris informed the Board that he and other members of the Roundtable will be doing a presentation at the California Counties’ Retirement Association on April 16.
Active Employee Associations: No report.
Membership: Membership is now at 1559.
Sunshine: No report.
Newsletter: Deadline for the next issue is April 20 or earlier.
Website: Mary Ann is now up to speed on postings and is feeling really confident.
General Membership Programs: Dave will contact County Assessor-Tax Collector Dan McAllister to speak at the August meeting.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:50am.
Respectfully submitted,
Brad Jacobsen
Secretary