MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
April 4, 2012
CALL TO ORDER
President John Jacobsen called the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Firemen’s Relief Association to order at 10:10 a.m.
ROLL CALL
MEMBERS PRESENT:
- John Jacobsen, President
- Juan Albarran, Vice President
- Andrew Kuljis, Secretary
- Trustee James Coburn
- Trustee Jeff Cawdrey
- Trustee Gene Bednarchik
- Trustee Chris Stine
- Trustee Doak Smith
- Trustee Chris Hart
- Trustee Craig White
- Trustee Francisco Hernandez
- Trustee Steven Domanski
- Trustee Gary Matsubara
- Trustee Kurt Stabel
- Trustee Mark Akahoshi
- Trustee David Peters
- Trustee Steve Tufts
- Trustee Barry Hedberg
- Trustee David Lowe
- Trustee Tim Larson
- David Ned Smith – Executive Director
- Todd Layfer – Controller
MEMBERS ABSENT:
- Trustee Robert Steinbacher (Excused)
- Trustee Michael Overholser (Excused)
- Trustee Rick Godinez (Excused)
- Trustee David Ortiz (Excused)
GUESTS:
- Dennis Mendenhall, Retired
- Bob Olsen, Retired Fire & Police
- Bill Quinn, Retired Fire & Police
INVOCATION & Flag Salute
Andy Kuljis led the invocation. David Lowe led the flag salute.
RATIFICATION OF MINUTES
John Jacobsen entertained a motion to ratify and dispense with the reading of the minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting held March 7, 2012. David Lowe so moved. David Peters seconded the motion. There was no further discussion or objections.
Motion carried to ratify and dispense with the reading of the minutes of the Board of Trustees meeting held March 7, 2012.
MEMBER APPEAL
Jacobsen informed the Board that an ex-member of the Relief Association was present to address the Board and ask to be reinstated as a member of the Relief.
James Coburn provided some insight to the ex-member’s situation and why he chose to no longer be a member of the Relief after his retirement. He also added that the ex-member had been cautioned by the committee about terminating his membership at that time. It was also noted that the ex-member had decided to take his wife’s medical plan after retirement so that he wouldn’t have an out of pocket expense. The member can no longer take his wife’s medical plan now that she is retiring. The member retired at the age of 47. James Coburn informed the member that if he was allowed to be reinstated, he would have to pay the accumulated back dues.
The member appeared before the full Board to state his case. He explained his reasons for not continuing his membership with the Relief. The member was told that he would be informed of the Board’s decision.
James Coburn made the following motion.
The committee recommends and I so move to reinstate the ex-member as a Relief Association member upon payment of back dues. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to reinstate the member as a Relief Association member upon payment of back dues.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
1) Jacobsen informed the Board that Bill Wick was present and wanted to address the Board about the upcoming Pension Commissioner election. Bill Wick addressed the Board about his plans for running for Pension Commissioner and spoke on his motivations and qualifications for the position. He stated that he would appreciate any support as individuals from the LAFD.
2) Jacobsen stated that the Open Enrollment materials have already been mailed to the membership. He stated that open enrollment begins April 16th.
3) Jacobsen referred to the six hospitals that were still in negotiations with the Anthem Blue Cross network and indicated that the Medical Committee had decided to honor those particular facilities as a PPO facility until they reached an agreement with Blue Cross. He mentioned that they had sent notifications by website and email to those members affected. He indicated that it was recently learned that those hospitals have reached a contract agreement with Blue Cross, however it has not been placed in writing. It was noted that when the agreement is official we will notify members.
4) Jacobsen indicated that the Pension audit is at its final stages and stated that they have reviewed the draft and made some verbiage changes. He also indicated that they will produce a management report to be included with the audit that states that LAFRA agrees with five of the recommendations, but disagrees with two recommendations.
5) Jacobsen mentioned that the Medical Committee had a meeting yesterday with Medco reviewing various issues as our pharmacy benefit manager. He indicated that we are looking at possible enhanced benefits and efficiencies that Medco would be able to save the medical plan. One of the discussion topics was the merger with Express Scripts. He noted that will should see no impact of this merger in the next year and members will be able to continue to use Walgreens if they desire even though Express Scripts and Walgreens are having a contract dispute.
6) Jacobsen referred to the DME processing and indicated that HSB has now been processing those claims for about one month. He indicated that the process is working very well and should be seamless to members.
VICE PRESIDENT REPORT
Juan Albarran encouraged the Trustees to attend and spread the word about the upcoming Corbin Bowl event on May 6th, C Shift.
INVESTMENT COMMITTEE REPORT
Kurt Stabel provided a write up of the Investment Committee activities for the Board’s review. He mentioned that they visited potential and current fund managers in New York to talk with these companies to determine their investment strategies. He referred to the Titan managers and stated that they provided a solid view of their process and indicated that he felt comfortable with their arrangement.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
1) David Smith mentioned that they had their first Hope for Firefighters Executive committee meeting. He reported that they have received a pledge from US Bank as the event’s Silver Sponsor with a donation of $15,000. He mentioned that Juliet has been working with the fire stations to sign up and cook in the booths. So far, 14 stations have signed up. He stated that the Muster picnic will be on Saturday, May 19th at Fire Station 27. He mentioned that they have asked the committee to do without the presale of fire bucks because it was hard to get staffed and had poor sales results. He stated that the committee has agreed to have the building offices to do the presales of the fire bucks. He indicated that they are considering having two lines at the popular food booths and asking fire stations to make more food. He mentioned that Linda Lara has contacted Steve Robinson to come back and sell merchandise at the event.
ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
Chris Hart presented the following motions.
The committee recommends and I so move to pay the usual and customary bills in the amount of $724,733 and $225,481.35. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to pay the usual and customary bills in the amount of $950,214.35.
The committee recommends and I so move to pay the professional fees in the amount of $28,095.14 and $57,093.11. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to pay the professional fees in the amount of $85,188.25.
The committee recommends and I so move to approve supporting the LAFD Civilian Employee Recognition Program in the amount of $200.
Motion carried to support the LAFD Civilian Employee Recognition Program for $200.
The committee recommends and I so move to approve up to $700 for the LAFD Sertoma Golf Tournament. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to approve up to $700 for the LAFD Sertoma Golf Tournament.
The committee recommends and I so move to approve the Draft Cell Phone Policy and refer to the Policy Committee for review. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to approve the Draft Cell Phone Policy and refer to the Policy Committee for further review.
MEDICAL COMMITTEE REPORT
David Peters presented the following motions.
The committee recommends and I so move to accept the applications to the Medical Plan. There was no discussion and no objections.
Motion carried to accept all applications to the Medical Plan.
David Peters stated that the IRS has penalized the medical plan because of improper Tax I.D.s for 2007 in the amount of $67. He stated that HealthScope Benefits has been instructed to pay the penalty and address the issue as they are responsible for correcting the errors.
RELIEF COMMITTEE REPORT
James Coburn presented the following motion.
The committee recommends and I so move to pay:
The Sick & Injury benefits in the amount of $25,991.12
The Estate Planning benefit in the amount of $10,125,
The Relief Death Benefits in the amount of $31,500,
There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to pay the above Relief benefits.
James Coburn read the names of members who recently passed and asked for a moment of silence from the Board.
MEMORIALS
Donald L. Carter
Harold W. Boener
John E. Townsend
Carl A. Latham
Rosario J. Abbate
Mack E. Stevens
Paul McLaughlin
ASSISTANCE COMMITTEE
James Coburn presented the following motions.
The committee recommends and I so move to accept the donations in the amount of $3,296.34 to the Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firemen’s Fund. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to accept the donations in the amount of $3,296.34 to the Widows, Orphans & Disabled Firemen’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.
EMERGENCY ADVANCEMENTS
James Coburn presented the following motion.
The committee recommends and I so move to approve the emergency advancement applications for active and retired members. There was no discussion or objections.
Motion carried to approve the emergency advancement applications for active and retired members.
GRAPEVINE/WEBSITE REPORT
Chris Hart reported on the status of the website’s progress and indicated that they are working on getting it to where they want. He stated that they are working on splitting the LAFRA website to separate the WODFF information. He indicated that they will have drafts of both sites for the Board’s review at the next Board meeting.
SECRETARY REPORT
Andy Kuljis reported on the retired breakfasts and luncheons he’s attended and mentioned that he appealed to the members about considering the WODFF when completing their Estate Planning forms.
SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE REPORT
Doak Smith reported that the Scholarship Program is running on track and stated that so far, they have eight applicants. He stated that the Essay exam will be held on April 28th.
SETTING OF DATES
1) Corbin Bowl – May 6th
2) Lane Kemper Softball Tournament – May 16th
3) Grass Valley – May 16th – 20th
4) Hope for Firefighters – June 7th
5) Over the Line Tournament – September 12th
6) LAFD Invitational Golf Tournament – September 24th
7) IFEBP Annual Employee Benefits Conf. – November 11th – 14th
8) LAFRA Open House – December 1st
RETIREMENT DINNERS
1) Robert Holloway – April 12th Kyoto Grand Hotel (Albarran)
2) Lon Roberts – April 21st LAFD Air Operations (Hernandez)
3) Gary Ingham – April 28th 94 Aero Squadron (Lowe)
4) Rudolfo Martinez – April 28th Friendship Auditorium (Bednarchik)
5) Fred Lopez – April 29th Sportsmen’s Lodge (Godinez)
6) Luis Jaramillo – May 5th Marriott Courtyard Monrovia (Kuljis)
7) Chuck Currey – May 11th Altadena Town & Country Club
8) Wayne Nakamura – May 23rd Sportsmen’s Lodge (Akahoshi)
9) Richard McClure – May 30th Castaway (Bednarchik)
10) Gail Martin, Jr. – June 11th Sutter’s Mill Restaurant (Bednarchik)
11) Wes Shundo – July 28th Elk’s Lodge #966 San Pedro (Larson)
ADJOURNMENT
John Jacobsen entertained a motion to adjourn. David Lowe so moved. Chris Hart seconded. There was no discussion and no objections.
Motion carried to adjourn.
The Board of Trustees meeting adjourned at 12:00pm.
John Jacobsen, President