Board Meeting Minutes - 4/11/2017

City of San Diego Retired Employees Association
April 11, 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, Brad Jacobsen, Joan Hernandez, Ted Myrus, Ty Rogers, Mary Ann Stepnowsky, John Tsiknas, Dave Twomey, and Janet Wood

Guests Present: Chris Brewster, Joe Flynn, Shirley Hall

AGENDA: There were no changes to the agenda.

MINUTES: The minutes of the March 2017 Board meeting were approved. Thanks to Joan McNamara for providing them in Brad’s absence.

COMMUNICATIONS: We received no comments, complaints, or cancellations about the last-minute change in program for today’s meeting.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Karen asked for advice on when expenses should be posted: the month the check is cut, or the month the check clears? For example, the check for February’s catering was written in February, but it didn’t clear until March. Consequently, Karen recorded the expense in the March report, which means that the February report shows no catering expense. It was decided to continue with the practice unless and until any problems crop up.

M/S/C to approve the February and March Treasurer’s Reports.

RETIREMENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT

No report

DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS

The By-Laws require a second Board vote on amendments to the By-Laws; a
confirmation vote was held on the question of changing the requirements for a quorum of
the Board. The General membership will vote on the changes at the May meeting.
Mike Bresnahan presented a proposal from the Advocacy Committee for supplemental insurance coverage for REA members. He stated that the proposal from Pacific Group Agencies (PGA) best meets our needs, especially as PGA handles all of the paperwork and will handle any coverage issues or complaints that arise. Many details need to be worked out, including cooperation from SDCERS for use of payroll deduction directly to PGA. Mike has been in contact with MEA as this could be seen as competitive with their supplemental insurance plans that REA members can participate in, and Michael Zucchet expressed no immediate opposition. Finally, since retirees wanting to take part in the program would have to be REA members, this could be a membership booster.
Shirley Hall has volunteered to fill the vacancy on the Board.

M/S/C that the Advocacy Committee move forward with this project.

M/S/C to appoint Shirley Hall to the Board

INFORMATION ITEMS:

Our permit with Park & Rec was renewed, at a lower rate than before – $404 for three
years.
Alternative investment ideas for our Legal Defense Funds were presented. We are currently getting very low interest (0.2%) in our stable Money Market account, but could perform better. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) invest in over 3000 stocks across the board, have long-term returns of 7.5%, have an insignificant brokerage fee, and are liquid. Chris Brewster suggested that REA keep half of our Legal Defense Funds in the stable Money Market account, and invest the remainder in an ETF. It was decided that Chris and Karen will look into this and report back in May.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Advocacy: Due to a two-week closure of the Mission Valley Library, the April meeting
will be postponed. Mike will put out a notice of the new meeting date.

Retiree Issues Task Force (RITF): The next meeting is April 12.

Other Retired Public Employee Associations: Chris reported that the Retiree Issues Roundtable is getting stronger and more enthusiastic. There will be better communication among member groups about letter-writing campaigns, so that we can provide a unified front. A focus will be on proactively getting positive op-ed pieces in the media, instead of responding to negative pieces.

Strength of the Past, Voice of the Future

Board Meeting Minutes – 4/11/2017