ABOUT LACERA

OPERATIONS & OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MINUTES 5-7-09

PRESENT

• Yves Chery, Chair
• Ed C. Morris, Vice Chair
• Edward L. Blecksmith
• James P. Harris
• Sadonya Antebi, Alternate

MEMBERS AT LARGE

• Les Robbins
• Simon S. Russin

STAFF, ADVISORS, PARTICIPANTS

• Robert Hill
• Janice Golden
• Gregg Rademacher
• Fern Billingy
• Stephen Gibbs
• Gloria Harriel
• Kimberly Hines
• Nai-len Ishikawa

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Chery at 11:05 a.m.

1. APPOINTMENT OF VOTING MEMBER(S) IN THE EVENT ONE OR MORE REGULAR COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE ABSENT

   All regular members of the Committee were present.

2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF APRIL 9, 2009

   A motion was made by Mr. Morris seconded by Mr. Blecksmith, to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of April 9, 2009.

   The motion passed unanimously.

3. FOR INFORMATION
   1. Overpayment & Forgery Receivables (Period Ending March 31, 2009) Nai-len Ishikawa/Gloria Harriel/Stephen Gibbs

      Nai-len Ishikawa, Gloria Harriel, and Stephen Gibbs presented the status report on overpayment and forgery receivables for the period ending March 31, 2009. There are currently 233 overpayment and forgery cases. Overpayments are broken out into three categories:

      • Death related as a result of late death notification
        The majority of the cases are as a result of late death notification. This occurs when we are notified one or more months after the member is deceased. However, we have made improvements on detecting deceased members. We are now on-line with County DHR (Public Health) so we are learning of deaths quicker than previously. Also, we have placed a new backer statement on the direct deposit notice, indicating who to contact upon the death of a member. In the last six months, the number of new cases has decreased from 85 to 41 over the previous six month period.
      • Incorrect computation
        We are changing procedures to reduce the number of miscalculations, i.e. supervisors monitoring errors, and retraining of staff. We are also working with the Systems Division to upgrade some programs to locate errors sooner. The number of new cases in this area has decreased from 21 to 12 over the previous six month period.
      • Miscellaneous
        These are situations over which staff has no control, i.e. members cashing multiple checks at check cashing locations. A member reports a missing check, a new check is reissued and cashed, then the first check is cashed “in good faith” at a check cashing service, and LACERA is responsible for payment even though there was a stop payment on the check. To combat this, we now have a procedure in place to obtain permission from the member upfront to collect the overpayment if both checks are cashed. Therefore, LACERA can take the following months’ check for reimbursement of the overpayment. The number of new cases has decreased from 34 to 13 over the previous six month period.

      The total number of new cases has decreased from 140 to 66 over the last six month period, a reduction of 38%.

      At the end of 2008, we did a pilot program of five test cases with the collections branch of the Treasurer/Tax Collector. They have additional resources to track down and claim monies. In November/December they were able to collect a large sum of money on one very difficult case. We are currently working with them to see if we could utilize their services in the future.

4. MISCELLANEOUS
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
6. GOOD OF THE ORDER

   (For discussion purposes only)

7. VII. ADJOURNMENT

The Board of Retirement has adopted a policy permitting any member of the Board to attend a standing committee meeting open to the public. In the event five or more members of the Board of Retirement (including members appointed to the Committee) are in attendance, the meeting shall constitute a joint meeting of the Committee and the Board of Retirement. Members of the Board of Retirement who are not members of the Committee may attend and participate in a meeting of a Board Committee but may not vote on any matter discussed at the meeting. The only action the Committee may take at the meeting is approval of a recommendation to take further action at a subsequent meeting of the Board.

Documents distributed to members of the Committee less than 72 hours prior to the meeting will be available for public inspection at LACERA at the time they are distributed to a majority of the Committee, provided the documents are subject to public disclosure and relate to an open session of the Committee. Such documents may be viewed Monday through Friday during normal 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. business hours. LACERA is located at 300 N. Lake Avenue, Suite 820, Pasadena, California.

Persons requiring an alternative format of this agenda pursuant to Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 may request one by calling Cynthia Guider at (626)-564-6000, 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. Assistive Listening Devices are available upon request. American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters are available with at least three (3) business days notice before the meeting date.