ABOUT

BOARD OF RETIREMENT MINUTES 2-12-09

PRESENT

• William de la Garza, Chair
• Simon S. Russin, Vice Chair
• Yves Chery, Secretary
• Sadonya Antebi
• Edward L. Blecksmith
James P. Harris (Alternate Member)
• Ed C. Morris (Alternate Retired)
• William R. Pryor
• Les Robbins
• Mark J. Saladino

ABSENT

• Si Frumkin

STAFF ADVISORS AND PARTICIPANTS

• Gregg Rademacher, Chief Executive Officer
• Robert Hill, Assistant Executive Officer
• Janice Golden, Assistant Executive Officer
• David L. Muir, Chief Counsel
• Johanna M. Fontenot, Senior Staff Counsel
• Fern M. Billingy, Senior Staff Counsel
• Cynthia Lau, Legislative Affairs Officer
• Kimberly Hines, Manager, Claims Processing Division
• John Popowich, Manager, Member Services Division
• Joyce J. Green

1. CALL TO ORDER

   The meeting was called to order by Chair de la Garza at 9:00 a.m., in the Board Room of Gateway Plaza.

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

   The Board Members and staff recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. BOARD MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENTS (For Information Only)

   Nothing to report.

4. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF JANUARY 15, 2009

   A motion was made by Mr. Chery, seconded by Mr. Morris, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 15, 2009.

   The motion passed unanimously.

5. OTHER COMMUNICATIONS
   1. For Information
      1. January 2009 All Stars

         Mr. Hill announced the eight winners for the month of January, (Stephanie Kawai, Freddie Verzosa, Julia Ray, Paul Carranza, Mike Umeda, John Laraya, Deanna Hernandez, and Cathy Lumpkin) of the Employee Recognition Program. Maria Manlutac was the winner of LACERA’s Web Watcher Award. Pam Gomez, Kiyoko Wald, Imelda Saldivar, and Everett Scott were the winners of LACERA’s RideShare Program.

      2. Chief Executive Officer’s Report (Memo dated February 5, 2009)

         Mr. Rademacher recognized staff’s diligent work in contacting members who were scheduled to retire before the final Consumer Price Index (CPI) was released. Mr. Rademacher thanked Janice Golden, John Popowich, staff from the Call Center, Outreach Program, and Communications Team for informing 79 members of the potential impact a negative CPI could have on their retirement.

         Mr. Rademacher provided a brief overview of his Chief Executive Officer’s Report with emphasis on the LACERA’s “March Madness” which is a surge of members retiring prior to the cost of living adjustments.

         Mr. Rademacher updated the Board on a SACRS legislative proposal that was considered at the SACRS Fall Conference in November, 2008. The proposed legislation, to be co-sponsored with CRCEA, would clarify the roles of the Alternate Retired Member and revise the process for filling Board Member vacancies. A vote on the proposal was delayed until January 23, 2009, at which time votes could be submitted to the SACRS business office. The vote took place with 12 yes votes, 7 no votes and 1 abstention. Prior to the vote CRCEA withdrew its request for co-sponsorship by SACRS.

         In response to the State’s fiscal crisis and the State’s inability to pay for State programs, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors implemented a “hard” hiring freeze to control their costs. LACERA is also evaluating its staffing plan and moving forward prudently to avoid our own budgetary crisis.

         Mr. Rademacher reported that the Board of Investments will begin holding one meeting a month. The Board of Investments will meet the second Wednesday of each month.

6. CONSENT AGENDA

   The following agenda items were placed on the consent agenda and unanimously approved on a motion by Mr. Saladino, seconded by Mr. Pryor.

   1. Recommendation as submitted by Gregg Rademacher, Chief Executive Officer: Approve attendance of Board Members and staff, as designated by the Chief Executive Officer, at the Manatt Focus Forum Public Pension Funds “Navigating Through The Storm” held February 26-27, 2009, at the Le Meridien Hotel in San Francisco, California; and approve reimbursement of all travel costs incurred in accordance with LACERA’s Education and Travel Policy. (Memo dated February 5, 2009.)
   2. Recommendation as submitted by Earl W. Buehner, Senior Staff Counsel: Approve attendance of Board Members and staff, as designated by the Chief Executive Officer, at the Klausner & Kaufman, P.A. 11th Annual Client Conference on March 15-18, 2009 to be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and approve reimbursement of all travel costs incurred in accordance with LACERA’s Education and Travel Policy. (Memo dated February 3, 2009.)
   3. Recommendation as submitted by Gregg Rademacher, Chief Executive Officer: Approve attendance of staff, as designated by the Chief Executive Officer, at the CVS Caremark Client Forum to be held in Henderson, Nevada, from March 11-13, 2009; and approve reimbursement of all travel costs incurred in accordance with LACERA’s Education and Travel Policy. (Memo dated January 16, 2009.)
7. NON-CONSENT AGENDA
   1. Recommendation as submitted by William de la Garza, Chair, Insurance, Benefits and Legislative Committee: That the Board adopt a “watch” position on SB11 which would authorize San Bernardino County’s Board of Retirement to set up a postemployment health benefits fund for collective investment of assets by participating agencies. (Memo dated January 22, 2009.) SB 11 would authorize the Board of Retirement of San Bernardino County to establish a fund for the collective investment of assets held by public agencies solely for providing health benefits to former or retired employees of a local public agency and their dependents. The purpose is to take advantage of economies of scale, and to utilize existing investment expertise in order to reduce the cost of funding for these benefits. The fund would be a legal entity that is separate from the retirement system. The bill would provide specified immunity for the retirement system and the board with respect to the fund and would also authorize the board to terminate the fund at its discretion at any time, in a specified manner. A motion was made by Mr. Pryor, seconded by Mr. Russin, to approve the recommendation. The motion passed unanimously.
   2. Recommendation as submitted by Gregg Rademacher, Chief Executive Officer: Approve attendance of Board Members and staff, as designated by the Chief Executive Officer, to attend the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Staffing Management Conference and Exposition on April 28-30, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada; and approve reimbursement of all travel costs incurred in accordance with LACERA’s Education and Travel Policy. (Memo dated February 5, 2009.) A motion was made by Mr. Morris, seconded by Ms. Antebi, to approve the recommendation. The motion passed unanimously.
   3. Recommendation as submitted by Beulah S. Canevari, Manager, Financial & Accounting Services: That the Board determine the Consumer Price Index changed by 0.0% for the year ending December, 2008, and approve cost-of-living increases and respective COLA Accumulation adjustments for retired LACERA members and beneficiaries, based on retirement plan and date of retirement or death, to become effective April 1, 2009 in accordance with applicable California Government Code Sections. (Memo dated January 16, 2009.) A motion was made by Ms. Antebi, seconded by Mr. Robbins, to approve the recommendation. The motion passed unanimously. D. Information only as submitted by Gregg Rademacher, Chief Executive Officer: Rescheduled Board of Retirement Meetings for 2009. (Memo dated February 4, 2009.) No action taken.
8. PUBLIC COMMENT

   Ms. Green spoke on her request that the Board forgo repayment of her overpaid retirement allowance.

9. GOOD OF THE ORDER

   (For discussion purposes only.)

10. EXECUTIVE SESSION
    1. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL–ANTICIPATED LITIGATION (Subdivision (b) of California Government Code Section 54956.9)
       1. Case of Donald Lassig.
       2. Case of Joyce J. Green
       3. One case

          The Board met in Executive Session to discuss the above anticipated litigation with its legal counsel.

          The Board reconvened in open session, at which time Mr. Muir made the following statement for the record:

          In the case of Donald Lassig, on a motion by Mr. Morris, seconded by Mr. Blecksmith, the Board granted Mr. Lassig’s request to treat his additional pay covering the maintenance of a search dog as compensation earnable and to adjust his retirement allowance accordingly.

          The motion passed with Ms. Antebi voting no.

          In the case of Joyce J. Green, on a motion by Ms. Antebi, seconded by Mr. Harris, the Board unanimously denied Ms. Green’s request for a waiver of an overpayment in the amount of $7,450.82, but agreed that Ms. Green could enter into a contract to repay the overpayment in installments at the rate of $25 per month.

          In the third matter, no further report was required.

    Green Folder Information
    (Information distributed in each Board Members Green Folder at the beginning of the meeting.)

    1. LACERA Legislative Report – CERL & Other. (Dated February 11, 2009)

11. ADJOURNMENT

Assistive Listening Devices are available at the meeting upon request. American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters are available with at least three business days notice before the meeting date. Persons requiring an alternative format of this public notice pursuant to Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 may request one by contacting Cynthia Guider at (626) 564-6000, x3327 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, but no later than 48 hours prior to the time the meeting is to commence.

3/5/09