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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-08-27 Pension Board Meeting Minutes • Minutes • Regular Meeting of the Pension Board August 27, 2018 County Building, First Floor—Council Room, Hilo, Hawai`i CALL TO ORDER: The quarterly meeting of the Pension Board was called to order at 1:35 p.m. by Chair Nyala Neill. ROLL CALL: Present: Nyala Neill, Chair Emma Sousa, Vice-Chair Jerry Hamamoto, Member Mae Ikeda, Member Stewart Maeda, County Clerk Also Present: Deanna Sako, Director, Finance Department Craig Masuda, Deputy Corporation Counsel Kay Oshiro, Controller, Finance Department Linda Young, Payroll Processing Supervisor, Finance Department Dee Torres, Secretary, Office of the County Clerk-Council STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) APPROVAL OF MINUTES: November 27, 2017 Ms. Sousa moved to approve the minutes of November 27, 2017. Seconded by Mr. Hamamoto. The motion was carried by the following vote: AYES: Board Members Hamamoto, Ikeda, Sousa, and Chair Neill—4. NEW BUSINESS: 1. Ms. Neill proceeded with the application for pension from the County of Hawai`i for Mr. Lloyd K. Taira (County of Hawai`i P&R Band Member, retiring at the end of the month). At this time, Mr. Masuda asked the Finance Department to present their report. Ms. Oshiro, Accounts Division stated, since the applicant, Mr. Taira is retiring at the end of this month and has not yet retired, the information provided would be inconclusive. She stated that Mr. Taira has met the other qualifications, but the actual pension amount is pending his last paycheck, which comes after his last pay period cycle. So, the actual pension amount will be confirmed and forthcoming later. Ms. Neill asked we should wait for the actual amount of his pension or until the next meeting. Page 1 Mr. Masuda stated that we could approve the application at this time and authorize the Finance Department,to determine his pension amount based upon his last paycheck. So, we could approve the pension amount now, but the actual amount of his pension will be determined upon his last paycheck. (See attached Findings and Award of Pension, dated September 12, 2018). Ms. Neil asked for a motion to approve Mr. Taira's application at this time. Ms. Sousa made a motion to approve the pension application of Mr. Taira and the amount would be based on his last paycheck. Seconded by Mr. Hamamoto. Mr. Hamamoto asked for assurance that the Finance Department has approved Mr. Taira's application in its entirety excluding the final amount and that there were no other impediments. Ms. Oshiro replied that the Finance Department approved the application with the criteria provided in our packets to cover all other areas of concern. Ms. Sousa inquired, for clarification purposes, when an application is presented to the Pension Board, that the Finance Department has already verified all the information provided by the applicant as well as his/her department/division. The motion was carried by the following vote: AYES: Board Members Hamamoto, Ikeda, Sousa, and Chair Neill—4. 2. Mr. Masuda stated Item No. 2, Hawai`i County Charter Commission—Seeking Input(whether or not the County Charter affects the Pension Board's role and operations and any proposals that the board would have for the Charter Commission). Ms. Neill asked for any input from the Pension Board. Ms. Sako stated that the Pension Board is mentioned in Section 6-6.4 and Section 13-4 of the County Charter, and said basically, it follows the language in the HRS which requires the duties and the function of the Pension Board. The recommendation from the Finance Department would be to leave the language, "as is", but welcomed the board to discuss this matter and give feedback, if any, to the Charter Commission Ms. Sousa suggested that we should accept the recommendation by the Finance Department. Mr. Hamamoto asked if this meant that the board has no suggestions at this time. Ms. Sako reiterated, no suggested changes. Mr. Masuda also suggested that we file this communication without any further response to the Charter Commission and ask the Finance Director to give her written response to the Charter Commission stating the Pension Board has no input. Ms. Neil asked for a motion to file Item No. 2 (Charter Commission inquiry). At this time, Ms. Sousa made a motion to ask Finance Director Deanna Sako, on behalf of the Pension Board to follow the recommendations provided by the Finance Department and give our input to the Charter Commission. Seconded by Mr. Hamamoto. Page 2 Ms. Neill asked for any discussion on this matter. There was no further discussion. The motion was carried by the following vote: AYES: Board Members Hamamoto, Ikeda, Sousa, and Chair Neill—4. 3. Ms. Neill asked Ms. Young of Accounts (Payroll) to present the updated County of Hawai`i Pensioners' statistics. Ms. Young distributed the most current Statistics as of August 13, 2018. (Attached). Ms. Neill asked if there was any discussion regarding the updated statistics. Since there was none, Ms. Neill asked for a motion to file the 2018 Pensioners statistics. Ms. Sousa made a motion to accept and file the Hawai`i County Pensioners 2018 statistics. Seconded by Mr. Hamamoto. The motion was carried by the following vote: AYES: Board Members Hamamoto, Ikeda, Sousa, and Chair Neill—4. Ms. Sousa thanked the Pension Board members and staff for their hard work in simplifying to make the Pension Board run smoothly. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Ms. Neill announced that the next quarterly Pension Board meeting will be a mandatory Elections meeting to be held on Monday,November 26, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: Ms. Neill made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Mr. Hamamoto. The motion was carried by the following vote: AYES: Board Members Hamamoto, Ikeda, Sousa, and Chair Neill—4. The meeting was adjourned at 1:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, 40Pry c.-- Doreen "Dee" M. Torres, Secretary Approve.• Ny . Neill, Chair Attachments Page 3 Harry Kim Deanna S. Sako MtY os p, LIu},ui• •*.••=='•• !tom• • Director � :;� ' '� • Nancy Crawford • .' Deputy Director • .114 -11;•4P-'- • County of Hawaii Finance Department 25 Aupuni Street, Room 2103 • Hilo,Hawaii 96720 (808)961-8234 • Fax(808)961-8569 HAWAII COUNTY PENSIONERS 2018 As of August 13, 2018 we have a total of 19 Pensioners and Band Pensioners (9 females and 10 males). Pensioners: 0 Surviving Spouse: 3 Total: 3 Band Pensioners: 11 Surviving Spouses: 5 Total: 16 Ages of Pensioners: 60's 3 70's 3 80's 11 90's 2 100 0 Youngest Pensioner: Francis Takahashi Jr., County Band Pensioner; age 65 Oldest Pensioner: Juana Mendoza, Band Pensioner Spouse; age 98 Deaths to date in 2018: 2 New pensions awarded to date in 2018: 0 Hawai'i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer