City of San Diego Retired Employees Association
September 10, 2024
Board Meeting Minutes
NOTES: All votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Vice-President Clay Bingham at 9:32am.
Board Members Present: Clay Bingham, Liza Crisafi, Shirley Hall, Joan Hernandez, Brad Jacobsen, Stacey LoMedico, Joan McNamara, Estella Montoya, and Dick Wilken.
Guests Present: Joe Flynn
AGENDA: There were no additions to the agenda.
MINUTES: The minutes of the August 2024 Board meeting were approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Liza reported that we received a $250 check from Byron Frohn to offset printing and mailing costs of the hardcopy newsletter. Our 8-month CD will automatically renew on September 10 at a rate of 3%, which is the best rate we can get.
M/S/C to approve the August Treasurer’s Report.
INVESTMENT COMMITTEE REPORT: Liza reported that our rate of return for the month was 1.36% and Year to Date is 10.96%.
RETIREMENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT: No report.
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ITEMS:
1) The Retiree Health Fair will be on Wednesday October 30, from 10:00 to 2:00 at the Balboa Park Club. Board members are encouraged to attend.
2) The Board Retreat is scheduled for Friday, November 1 from 9:30 to 1:30 at Mission Trails Park.
3) Stacey reported that the SUP for the War Memorial Building may be expiring sooner than expected.
4) Joan Hernandez reported that our Food Drive netted only $1787.92, far lower than previous drives. Lack of persistent reminders may have been a factor.
IMAGE ENHANCEMENT UPDATES:
1) Estella reported that the Voice of San Diego had some bad links to our Food Drive. To make amends, VOSD will run a free advert on their main website emphasizing what REA has done this year.
2) Stacey said that we will be invoiced $800 per each of the three Junior Lifeguard Scholarships. This is in addition to the scholarships awarded to Tierrasanta and Kearny Mesa pools, for a total of $4000. We will also be invoiced $2500 each for Learn to Swim programs at Martin Luther King (74 participants) and Kearny Mesa (62 participants) pools.
3) There was a suggestion that we rename “Image Enhancement” to “Community Enhancement” or something similar; this will be discussed at the Board Retreat.
ACTION ITEMS: 1) There was some discussion about endorsing Proposition E on the November ballot; if passed, the City of San Diego will raise its sales tax by 1%. It was noted that other employee/retiree groups are endorsing the measure. The Advocacy Committee discussed the merits and there was a general consensus that it is a good measure but that REA should stay neutral.
M/S/C to not endorse Proposition E.
REA will keep all communications about the measure neutral while providing links to ballot information about it (ie, BallotPedia, SDVote.com) and encouraging members to vote in general.
After the discussion of whether to endorse the City sales tax measure, Dick briefed the Board on the form, purpose, and structure of REA in light of several new Board Members being added in recent years.
REA incorporated in 2002 as a private non-profit corporation. Unlike Charitable Organizations (501c3’s) which exist to serve charitable purposes, we are established as a (501c7). 501c7’s are classified by the Internal Revenue Service as “Social Organizations.” 501c7’s exist to serve/benefit its members. Its activities can be broader than “social.” We remain exempt from taxation so long as a majority of our revenues come from our members. REA operates under adopted By-Laws which are published on our web page. Under our By-laws, the membership elects the officers and members of our Board, approves any changes to the By-Laws, and approves increases in member dues. The Board governs and manages the organization. The Board meets monthly at 9:30 am immediately before the General Member meeting. Our Board meetings are open to our membership.
REA membership dues pay the expenses of our organization. Since we are not a charitable non-profit, our dues are not tax deductible.
2) There was discussion about providing a stipend or contribution on behalf of our program speakers. If the speaker is from a non-profit, their organization would receive the money; if from a governmental agency, a for-profit, or an individual, the speaker would choose a charity from a list drawn up by REA.
Board members recalled developing this proposal and creating the list of charities at a Board Retreat shortly after Dave Twomey’s passing, but so far the Board minutes do not reflect that this was ever discussed and voted on at a Board meeting.
It was proposed that in the meantime, REA should make a donation to Alzheimer’s San Diego for Nellie Hernandez’s several presentations and specifically for her August program.
M/S/C to donate $100 to Alzheimer’s San Diego.
OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS
Membership: No report.
Newsletter: Deadline for the next issue is September 19 at 8:00am. Material should be sent directly to Connor Sorensen and Mary Ann Stepnowsky.
OTHER RETIREE/ACTIVE EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION REPORTS
Retiree Issues Task Force (RITF): Dick reported that Benefit Outsourcing Solutions (BOS) is willing to include our recruiting information in the informational packet, either in their booklet or as a separate insert.
The next meeting will be September 24.
Retirement Security Roundtable: The next meeting will be October 2 at the County Retirement offices at 1:00; REA Board members are invited to attend.
MEA: No report
PROGRAMS: Clay will present his proposed 2025 speaker schedule at the Board Retreat.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:37am.
Respectfully submitted,
Brad Jacobsen
Secretary