public school retirement system
of the city of st. louis
board of trustees
regular monthly meeting
april 15, 2002
The April meeting of the Board of Trustees of the
Public School Retirement System of the City of St. Louis was called to order at
approximately 4:30 p.m., Monday, April 15, 2002, in the Retirement Office. The presiding officer was John Miriani,
Chair.
Present for the meeting were
Joseph Clark, Amy Collins, Norbert Eisele, Mary Franklin, John Mahoney,
John Miriani, William Purdy, Lois Jean Turner, John Goffstein, Jim Rubie and
Gail Lakin. A quorum was present.
Helen Lynch arrived at 5:00
p.m. Paulette McKinney arrived at 5:10
p.m. Marlene Davis was absent.
William Purdy
asked John Miriani if he would entertain a motion regarding attendance at the
New England Pension Consultants (NEPC) Annual Client Meeting. John asked Bill to reserve his motion until
later in the meeting.
William Purdy
made a motion, seconded by Mary Franklin, to approve the minutes of the meeting
of the Board of Trustees conducted on December 17, 2001. Joseph Clark challenged the accuracy of the
minutes but was not prepared to discuss his concerns. John Miriani directed that approval of the minutes of the Board
of Trustees meeting of December 17, 2001 would be postponed to the next meeting
to give Mr. Clark an opportunity to express his points of concern.
William Purdy
made a motion, seconded by Amy Collins, to approve the minutes of the Special
Meeting of the Board of Trustees conducted on January 16, 2002. Lois Jean Turner challenged the accuracy of
the minutes.
John Miriani
asked Joseph Clark if he intended to challenge the accuracy of the remaining
minutes listed on the agenda for approval.
Joseph Clark said he planned to challenge the accuracy of all but the
minutes of the Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees of January 16, 2002.
John Miriani
suggested postponing the approval of all of the minutes listed on the agenda
and moving on to the next agenda item.
Hearing no objection to his suggestion, John Miriani asked Gail Lakin if
there were any communications to the Board of Trustees.
III. READING OF COMMUNICATIONS TO THE BOARD OF
TRUSTEES
Gail Lakin
distributed the attached letter from retired member, Peggy Parker, inquiring
about cost of living adjustments. John
Miriani asked Gail Lakin to respond to Ms. Parker's letter on behalf of the
Board of Trustees.
William Purdy
referenced the agenda for the NEPC Client Conference, copy attached, that had
been distributed to all trustees and made a motion, seconded by Lois Jean
Turner, that the Retirement System pay eligible expenses of trustees wishing to
attend. A roll call vote was taken.
Joseph Clark Yes Amy
Collins Yes Norbert Eisele Yes
Mary Franklin Yes John
Mahoney Yes John Miriani Abstained
William Purdy Yes Lois
Jean Turner Yes
With
seven yes votes, motion passed.
Lois Jean Turner made a motion, seconded by Joseph Clark, that the
Retirement System pay eligible expenses for her attendance at the pension
workshop that was being conducted in conjunction with the American Federation
of Teachers (AFT) Convention in July.
Lois Jean requested expenses for July 13th through July 16th.
Helen Lynch arrived.
Amy Collins made a motion, seconded by Norbert Eisele, to postpone a
vote on Lois Jean's motion to the next meeting in order to give Lois Jean an
opportunity to share the agenda for the workshop with the other trustees. A roll call vote was taken.
Joseph Clark No Amy
Collins Yes Norbert Eisele Yes
Mary Franklin No Helen
Lynch No John Mahoney Yes
John Miriani Abstained William
Purdy No Lois Jean Turner No
With three yes votes, motion failed.
William Purdy made
a motion, seconded by Lois Jean, to table a vote on Lois Jean's motion until
later in the meeting so that one of the Retirement System staff could retrieve
a copy of the agenda via the internet.
A voice vote was taken and passed.
Paulette
McKinney arrived.
IV. PRESENTATIONS BY INTERESTED PARTIES
Henry Hampel,
a retired member, presented the attached question asking if a law existed that
would require the state to pay benefits to retired members if the Retirement
System was unable to meet the obligations.
John Miriani advised Mr. Hampel that Gail Lakin would respond to his inquiry in
writing.
V.
CONSENT
AGENDA
The items on
the Consent Agenda were addressed separately.
Helen Lynch
made a motion, seconded by Lois Jean Turner, to approve the attached list of
retirements and benefits through March 1, 2002. A voice vote was taken.
Motion carried unanimously.
Lois Jean
Turner made a motion, seconded by John Mahoney, to approve the attached refunds
and bills paid in February and March, 2002.
A voice vote was taken. Motion
carried unanimously.
VI. REPORT OF THE CHAIR
No report.
VII. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Gail Lakin advised that the Board of
Trustees meeting scheduled for November 18, 2002 would conflict with a Monday Night
Rams' Football Game. She asked if the
Board wanted to re-schedule its meeting.
By consensus, the Board decided to move its meeting to November 25,
2002.
VIII. REPORT OF THE INVESTMENT CONSULTANT
No report.
IX. REPORT OF THE ACTUARY
No report.
X. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES
Benefits
Committee
Joseph Clark had no report,
but advised that he would schedule a meeting in the month of May.
Lois Jean Turner made a
motion, seconded by Mary Franklin, to take her earlier motion from the
table. By voice vote, motion passed.
Lois Jean Turner distributed
the attached agenda for the AFT Convention and reiterated her earlier motion
that the Board grant approval for Lois Jean Turner to attend the Biennial
Convention of the American Federation of Teachers in Las Vegas from July 13 –
16, 2002 with all attendant expenses that prevail. Following extended discussion, John Mahoney made a motion,
seconded by Helen Lynch, to move the motion.
A roll call vote was taken.
Joseph Clark Yes Amy
Collins No Norbert Eisele No
Mary Franklin Yes Helen
Lynch No John Mahoney Abstained
Paulette McKinney Yes John
Miriani Abstained William Purdy Yes
Lois Jean Turner Yes
With five yes votes, motion failed.
Personnel/Professional
Committee
Amy Collins reported that
two recommendations resulted from the Committee Meeting of April 11, 2002,
minutes attached.
·
The
first was that the Retirement System would issue a Request for Proposals (RFP)
for actuarial services and, after the actuarial services decision had been
finalized, would issue an RFP for investment consulting services. Amy Collins made a motion, seconded by Mary
Franklin, that the Board accept the Committee recommendation. By voice vote, motion passed.
·
The
second was that the Retirement System's legal counsel would review the
contracts for actuarial and investment consulting services. Amy Collins made a motion, seconded by
Norbert Eisele, that the Board accept the Committee recommendation. By voice vote, motion passed.
Investment
Committee
Helen Lynch distributed and reported on the
attached correspondence from Doris Ewing regarding liquidation of the South
Africa Fund investment, the Crisken REIT investment and the Asset-Liability
Study.
Ad
Hoc Rules and Regulations Committee
Lois Jean Turner had no report. John Miriani advised that he was suspending
the Ad Hoc Rules and Regulations Committee until it was needed again.
XI.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.
XII. NEW BUSINESS
John Miriani requested that the Personnel and
Professional Committee evaluate the merit of adding two trustees to the Board
specifically to include individuals with expertise in pension related issues.
Amy Collins and Helen Lynch distributed the
attached proposal to amend Chapter A. Rule XI by eliminating Section 2.
Joseph Clark asked John Goffstein if the
current Rules required that meetings of the Committees of the Board of Trustees
be tape recorded. John Goffstein said
he did not believe the current Rules imposed such a requirement. Joseph Clark asked John Goffstein to provide
his opinion in writing.
Following discussion about procedures for
amending the Retirement System's Rules, Joseph Clark also asked John Goffstein
if his firm would provide a legal interpretation of Rule XIII to advise when
discussion and debate of a proposed Rule change could occur. Specifically, Joseph Clark asked for a legal
opinion regarding whether additional trustee discussion could take place at the
Board of Trustees meeting when the proposed Rule change was presented for a
"second reading" and vote.
Regarding the National Council on Teacher
Retirement Trustee Workshop, to which attendance will limited to two trustees
per retirement system, Norbert Eisele made a motion, seconded by Amy Collins,
that the names of those trustees who wished to attend be submitted for a
"lottery" to determine which trustees could attend and which would be
placed on a waiting list for available openings. A roll call vote was taken.
Joseph Clark No Amy
Collins Yes Norbert Eisele Yes
Helen Lynch Yes Paulette
McKinney Yes John Miriani Abstained
Lois Jean Turner No
With four yes votes, motion failed.
XIII. REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY
No report.
XIV. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at approximately 7:10
p.m.
attachments
Letter from Peggy Parker Dated March 7, 2002
NEPC Annual Client Conference Agenda
Presentation from Henry Hampel
Retirements and Benefits through March 1, 2002
Bills Paid in February and March, 2002
Information Regarding the AFT Convention
Minutes of the Personnel and Professional Committee
Meeting of April 11, 2002
Letter from Doris Ewing to Sam Folin Dated April 5,
2002
Memorandum from Doris Ewing Dated April 15, 2002 –
Crisken REIT
Memorandum from Doris Ewing Dated April 15, 2002 –
Asset-Liability Study
Proposed Amendment to Chapter A. Rule XI