City of San Diego Retired Employees Association
April 12, 2022
Board Meeting Minutes
NOTES: All votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted
The meeting was held via Zoom
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by Vice-President for Advocacy Mike Bresnahan at 9:15am.
Board Members Present: Jim Baross, Mike Bresnahan, Chris Brewster, Karen Butler, Shirley Hall (at 9:30), Joan Hernandez, Charlie Hogquist, Brad Jacobsen, Joan McNamara, Abby Salaiz, Mary Ann Stepnowsky, John Tsiknas, Dave Twomey, and Janet Wood (at 9:45)
Guests Present: Joe Flynn
AGENDA: An item was added to the agenda, under Action Items: Appointment of Abby Salaiz as Treasurer.
MINUTES: The minutes of the March 2022 Board meeting were approved.
TREASURER’S REPORT: Abby reported that income from dues is normal.
M/S/C to accept the March 2022 Treasurer’s Report.
INVESTMENT COMMITTEE REPORT: John reported that we are still in the market’s correction mode but are improving. The appreciation for the Russell 3000 is 54.39% and for the Money Market it is 2.97%. The total value of the fund is $329,920.
RETIREMENT BOARD REPRESENTATIVE’S REPORT: Charlie reported that SDCERS is looking forward to having in-person Board meetings as soon as feasible. He reported that SDCERS considered hiring outside firms to conduct the search for Liza Crisafi’s replacement but they all wanted more than $100K, so the search will be done in-house; the SDCERS Board has the authority to raise the salary to entice particularly qualified candidates. Finally, he informed us that SDCERS was removing investments from Russia before the war on Ukraine.
COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ITEMS:
1) Dave reported that the Read Across America event was seen by 25,300 viewers of KFMB-TV 8’s six o’clock news and had 25K views on our VOSD sponsorship. Because of redistricting, Baker will be moving from CD9 to CD4. REA will be sponsoring a food drive in June with a goal of $5000 in contributions, up from $4000 in 2021.
2) It was proposed that the Board hold an informal in-person get-together on June 14 at the War Memorial Building. The room is available, sandwiches will be provided, and we can kick back and reconnect after two years of isolation. The idea was roundly supported.
3) There was discussion about why we request information about marital status and gender on our membership application. Two reasons were offered: Surviving spouse membership for the first, and general demographics for the second. It was suggested that for gender, “Non-Binary” and “Decline to State” be added.
ACTION ITEMS:
1) There was discussion about the MOU with SDCERS for a separate mailer to encourage joining REA, specifically about the Hold Harmless clause in the MOU. Chris recommended that we have the proper liability insurance in place prior to entering into the MOU. Joan McNamara is looking into whether we already have such coverage.
M/S/C to enter into the MOU provided that we do not send out our membership mailer until sufficient coverage is in place
2) In an REA Board action on January 11, 2022, Abby Salaiz was appointed REA Treasurer with her appointment’s effective date delegated to REA President Dick Wilken. The President notified the Board on March 23, 2022 that the transition was complete and that the appointment effective date would be March 25, 2022.
M/S/C to grant signatory rights to the City of San Diego Retired Employees’ Association’s California Coast Credit Union accounts to President Richard “Dick” Wilken and to Treasurer Abby Salaiz.
ADVOCACY COMMITTEE REPORT
The next meeting is Thursday April 28, at 9:30am via Zoom.
OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS
Membership: No report
Newsletter: Deadline for the next issue is March 19 at 8:00am.
OTHER RETIREE/ACTIVE EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION REPORTS
Retiree Issues Task Force (RITF): No report
Retirement Security Roundtable: Chris reported that there was good attendance at the last meeting. Interest was high about how the City is resolving the inclusion of Post Prop B-employees into the retirement system. He also reported that the State of Alaska is restarting a defined benefits plan for police and fire employees.
MEA: No report
Other Retired Public Employee Associations: No report
PROGRAMS: No report.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:10am.
Respectfully submitted,
Brad Jacobsen
Secretary