MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING
September 2, 2020
CALL TO ORDER
President Jeff Cawdrey called the Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association to order at 10:10 a.m. (Today’s meeting conducted via conference call due to National Emergency of Coronavirus)
ROLL CALL
MEMBERS PRESENT:
Jeff Cawdrey, President
Chris Stine, Vice President
Trustee Steve Berkery
Trustee Jeff Halloran
Trustee Joe Vigil
Trustee John Jacobsen
Trustee Rick Godinez
Trustee Craig White
Trustee Frank Aguirre
Trustee Tim Freeman
Trustee Mike Sailhamer
Trustee Gayle Sonoda
Trustee Tyler Tomich
Trustee Danny Wu
Trustee Steve Tufts – Pension
Trustee Tim Larson – Pension
Trustee Juan Albarran – Pension
Todd Layfer – Executive Director
Liberty Unciano – Controller/Treasurer
MEMBERS ABSENT:
Trustee Kenneth Breskin
Trustee Chris Bustamante
Trustee Jim Duffy
Trustee J.D. Fox
Trustee Henry Gasbarri
Trustee Gene Bednarchik
INVOCATION & Flag Salute
Rick Godinez led the invocation. Jeff Cawdrey led the flag salute.
RATIFICATION OF MINUTES
Jeff Cawdrey entertained a motion to ratify the August 5, 2020 Board Meeting Minutes. Juan Albarran moved. Tim Larson seconded. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to ratify the August 5, 2020 Board Meeting Minutes.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
1) Jeff Cawdrey referred to the nomination of Chris Stine for Vice President in 2021 and asked if there were any objections. There was no discussion or objections.
2) Jeff Cawdrey referred to the nomination of Jeff Cawdrey for President in 2021 and asked if there were any objections. There was no discussion or objections.
3) Jeff Cawdrey referred to the Group 3 Trustees up for election this year and indicated that they must submit their intent to run for Trustee by October 15, 2020.
4) Jeff Cawdrey provided a brief update on the Pension meeting and indicated that UFLAC had presented their two medical plans. He indicated that they had discussed UFLAC receiving a premium credit for the lack of utilization of the plan due to Covid 19 and who they felt should be entitled to it. He stated that he asked Heather Leavitt of Bradawn to create a report of LAFRA’s medical plan utilization which showed that LAFRA is not experiencing a drop in medical claims cost.
5) Jeff Cawdrey referred to the upcoming October Board meeting and indicated that Trustees have requested to meet in person at the LAFRA office. He indicated that they will have safety protocols to follow when entering the building and will have a minimum footprint in the office. Todd Layfer briefly discussed the remote working protocol with staff and following City and County guidelines.
6) Jeff Cawdrey referred to the Cemetery Plot Policy and allowing members to utilize their Death Benefit to purchase no more than two LAFRA owned plots. He indicated that there have been many questions from members inquiring how they could use the benefit which can also include the Life & Accident Death benefit if available. Some Board members felt that the goal of this policy was to deplete the current inventory of cemetery plots held by LAFRA. Steve Berkery along with the Relief Committee suggested that they continue to sell the current inventory and revisit any modifications to current policy in the future.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
The Board entered into Executive Session at 11:02 a.m.
The Board adjourned from Executive Session at 11:23 a.m.
Member updates were discussed during Executive Session. No actions were taken.
VICE PRESIDENT REPORT
1) Chris Stine referred to the Annual IFEBP Conference and indicated that it has been canceled. He stated that he would direct Irma to ask the International Foundation for a refund since we would not know who will be attending next year’s conference.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR REPORT
1) Todd Layfer informed the Board that the LAFRA employees had successfully completed the Sexual Harassment Prevention training by the due date of August 31st. He indicated that the next training session will be the HIPAA training on September 15th.
2) Todd Layfer informed the Board that the RF Code billing from the City was received and under last year’s amount. He stated that we reviewed the billing to ensure all charges were appropriate and indicated that we will pay it in the next couple of weeks.
3) Todd Layfer referred to the LAFRA Flag Box agreement and indicated that the Relief Committee approved the new vendor Onfire Woodworking owned by LAFRA member James Morlock. He indicated that Jim Dolan will be in contact with Onfire Woodworking and will coordinate the inventory and delivery of the boxes.
4) Todd Layfer provided a building update and indicated that the trees in the back-parking lot have been trimmed. He reported that the security camera system for the building has been updated. He also stated that we have other potential projects to improve in and around the building.
5) Todd Layfer referred to the Flu Shot Outreach and indicated that we will be placing an ad in the Grapevine and the LAFRA website to encourage flu vaccinations.
INVESTMENT COMMITTEE REPORT
John Jacobsen stated that we have sold our investment in IVA based on the recommendation from Beacon Pointe. He indicated that Beacon Pointe had sent IVA a letter informing them of LAFRA’s decision to terminate the relationship
John Jacobsen stated that we currently have sizable investment in an Index Fund and indicated that Beacon Pointe recommended that we split that investment with two other funds.
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
Tyler Tomich presented the following motions.
The committee recommends and I so move to pay the usual and customary bills in the amount of $794,609.81. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to pay the usual and customary bills in the amount of $794,609.81.
The committee recommends and I so move to pay $6,564.59 for an upgraded security video recording system. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to pay $6,564.59 for an upgraded security video recording system.
MEDICAL COMMITTEE REPORT
Frank Aguirre presented the following motion.
The committee recommends and I so move to approve the medical plan bills totaling $733,775.02. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to approve the Medical Plan bills totaling $733,775.02.
The committee recommends and I so move to renew a 3-year agreement with Express Scripts as our PBM effective January 1, 2021. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to renew a 3-year agreement with Express Scripts as our PBM effective January 1, 2021.
RELIEF COMMITTEE REPORT
Steve Berkery presented the following motion.
The committee recommends and I so move to pay:
The Sick & Injury benefits in the amount of $33,558.07
The Estate Planning benefit in the amount of $6,000
The Life & Accident Death Benefits in the amount of $12,000
The Life & Accident Withdrawals in the amount of $2,495
The Relief Death Benefits in the amount of $20,000
There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to pay the above Relief benefits.
The committee recommends and I so move to approve the 3-year agreement with Onfire Woodworking to produce LAFRA Flag boxes. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to approve the 3-year agreement with Onfire Woodworking to produce LAFRA Flag boxes.
Steve Berkery read the names of members who recently passed and asked for a moment of silence from the Board.
MEMORIALS
Bobby D. Hill
Jose M. Perez
Alec Macko
John C. Wolfe
ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE
Mike Sailhamer presented the following motions.
The committee recommends and I so move to accept the donations in the amount of $6,239.04 to the Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firefighter’s Fund. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to accept the donations in the amount of $6,239.04 to the Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firefighter’s Fund.
The committee recommends and I so move to approve the financial assistance applications for surviving spouses, active and retired members. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to approve the financial assistance applications for surviving spouses, active and retired members.
ADVANCEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT
The committee recommends and I so move to advance funds for both active and retired members. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to advance funds for both active and retired members.
GRAPEVINE/WEB REPORT
Danny Wu mentioned LAFRA’s editorial photo policies on the selection of photos for the cover and inside the Grapevine magazine.
BYLAW COMMITTEE REPORT
Joe Vigil informed that the Election Committee recommends utilizing online elections this year for Trustees.
The committee recommends and I so move to utilize Election Buddy online election services for this year’s election process. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to utilize the Election Buddy online election services for this year’s election process.
SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE REPORT
Rick Godinez reported that the Scholarship Exam is still on hold until we can open our building.
MARKETING & DEVELOPMENT REPORT
Rick Godinez indicated that the Golf tournament is canceled but stated that the staff continues to stay in touch with the sponsors. He indicated that we have raised close to $90K in sponsorships. He referred to the online auction and indicated that it is set to open mid-October. He mentioned that we have been working with Muertos Coffee, who have been promoting and raising funds for our WODFF.
ADJOURNMENT
Jeff Cawdrey entertained a motion to adjourn. Tim Larson so moved. Gayle Sonoda seconded There was no discussion and no objections.
Motion carried to adjourn. The Board of Trustees meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
Jeff Cawdrey, President