City of San Diego Retired Employees Association
October 10, 2017
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, Ted Myrus, Ty Rogers, Mary Ann Stepnowsky, John Tsiknas, Dave Twomey, and Janet Wood

Guests Present: Chris Brewster, Art Brown

AGENDA: There were no changes to the agenda.

MINUTES: The minutes of the September 2017 Board meeting were approved.

COMMUNICATIONS: We received thanks from Mary Bush for members’ support during her recent illness.

There was discussion about a recent communication regarding a celebration of life for Gene Gordon. It was decided that we will pass on such announcements only for REA members.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Karen reported that we are making money on our Russell 3000 investments. Dividends will remain in the Legal Defense Fund. Our next payment installment will be November 1.

M/S/C to approve the October Treasurer’s Report.

RETIREMENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT

Charlie informed us that he is on an ad hoc committee to find a replacement for Mark Hovey.

DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS

  1. MEA is instigating a lawsuit against the City for underpayment of overtime earned in the last three years. Recent retirees are eligible to join in this suit, and should contact MEA if they feel they are eligible. It is not a class-action suit.
  2. The Nominating Committee has received no new nominees for Board positions.

INFORMATION ITEMS:

  1. Open enrollment for supplemental/alternative medical and dental insurance is closed but other types of insurance can be purchased year-round. We will have brief informational articles in the newsletter highlighting the benefits of these types of insurance.
  2. Brad reported 23 people have signed up for the Old Globe tour.
  3. Mary Ann will forward a prototype of the revised REA website design for review and comment. The goal is to have it up and running by the end of the year.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Advocacy: As noted above, although Charlie will be our advocate on SDCERS’ ad hoc committee to screen candidates to replace Mark Hovey, the Advocacy Committee will also draft a letter to the SDCERS Board stating the qualities we want to see in a new CEO.

We will revive our series of meet-and-greets with City Council members and other elected officials.

The next meeting is October 26.

Retiree Issues Task Force (RITF): No report.

Other Retired Public Employee Associations: Chris Brewster provided a synopsis of issues discussed at the Retirement Security Roundtable. He reported that in anticipation of the SCOTUS ruling against union dues and the subsequent loss of membership, some unions are recruiting retirees to rejoin the union to bolster membership.

Active Employee Associations: No report.

Communications: No report.

Membership: Membership is 1497. We need to reprint the membership application to include full SSN. Charlie explained that this requirement is essentially an IT issue at SDCERS. Prospective members will also be allowed to provide the SSN by phone.

Sunshine: No report.

Newsletter: Deadline for next issue is October 20.

General Membership Programs: The November meeting will be will be Carl Luna. Jim proposed that we buy some classy, possibly REA-themed aprons for our lunchtime help. It was also suggested that they be comped at the Holiday Party.

M/S/C to purchase aprons for the lunch volunteers and comp them at the Holiday Party.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 10:35am.

Respectfully submitted

Brad Jacobsen
Secretary