Book 1 Page 331 11-30-2022 9:00 a.m. MINUTES OF THE CITY OF SARASOTA FIREFIGHTERS PENSION PLAN BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING OF NOVEMBER 30, 2022 Present: Chair Michael Hartley, Vice Chair Charles Joseph, Secretary/Treasurer Shayla Griggs, Trustee Scott Snow, and Trustee Heather Mushrush. Others: Pension Plans Administrator Debra Martin and Pension Specialist Peter Gottlieb appeared in person. Attorney Pedro Herrera appeared telephonically. Absent: None. 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Chair Hartley called the Sarasota Firefighters' Pension Plan (Plan) Board of Trustees membership meeting to order at 9.00 a.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Presenter(s): Secretary/reasurer Griggs. Secretary/Treasurer Griggs led the Board and meeting attendees in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. PLEDGE OF CIVILITY: Presenter(s): Chair Hartley. Chair Hartley stated for the record, "We may disagree, but we will be respectful to one another. We will direct all comments to issues. We will not engage in personal attacks. 4. ROLL CALL: Pension Plans Administrator Martin called roll; all trustees were present. 5. PUBLIC INPUT: None. 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 6.1. Approval Re: Minutes of the Firefighters' Pension Plan Board of Trustees Regular Meeting of October 26, 2022. Presenter(s): Chair Hartley. Vice Chair Joseph made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 26, 2022 meeting; Secretary/reasurer Griggs seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 7. INVESTMENT PERFORMANCE REVIEW: 7.1. Presentation and Discussion Re: Cohen & Steers; Performance Review as of September 30, 2022. Presenter(s): Brian Casey, Vice President; Evan Serton, Senior Portfolio Specialist; Cohen & Steers. Brian Casey and Evan Serton of Cohen & Steers appeared before the Board and introduced themselves. Mr. Casey stated that slowing economic growth and rising interest rates are favorable to global infrastructure investments because companies in that sector tend to have inflation linkage and price control. He discussed how domestic needs for infrastructure improvements as well as federal spending packages will benefit the portfolio. He provided a brief firm overview, advised the investment team added a research analyst, and asserted its global presence is a competitive advantage. Mr. Serton explained that Cohen & Steers seeks to invest in publicly traded companies which own and operate infrastructure assets as well as collect fees for the usage for those assets. Cohen & Steers invests in utilities, communications, transportation, and midstream energy companies; the companies in each of these sectors generate visible and stable cash flows because they provide essential services and have generally predictable pricing structures. These factors contribute to infrastructure being a more stable and predictable investment class than equities. He pointed to the page in the presentation materials titled, Significant subsector dispersion in 2022, and stated that, year to date, both global equities and fixed income are down more than 20% while infrastructure is down less than 10%, although subsectors within infrastructure performed over a wide range. Mr. Serton explained the page titled Global Listed Infrastructure Performance, and Global Listed Infrastructure Performance Attribution, elaborating on the biggest contributors and detractors. To Chair Hartley's questions, Mr. Serton explained that midstream energy companies own and operate facilities which warehouse and/or transport raw energy, such as oil or natural gas, from their points of extraction to the next phase of production. While Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) are a form of midstream companies, not all midstream companies are MLPs. He noted that Cohen & Steers does not hold limited partnerships in this strategy, and instead prefers C-corporations which have similar returns but are higher quality companies than MLPS, which may engage in in financially unsound practices to generate payouts from their cash flows to their general partners. He noted that the MLP universe is shrinking as investors favor more financially sound C-corporations. To Chair Hartley's questions, Mr. Serton explained that water utilities have underperformed within the utility subsector because rising interest rates have diminished the appeal of the dividends paid by those companies. He explained that within the portfolio, the communications subsector consists of companies which own and operate towers for cellular telephone networks. While this is a stable industry, their stocks were associated with the technology sector which recently suffered a sell-off. Although the communications subsector was the biggest detractor from the portfolio, Cohen & Steers used the sell-off as an opportunity to increase its holdings in anticipation of a rebound. Mr. Serton explained why inflation has, historically, been beneficial for infrastructure investments. Turning to the page titled, Elevated inflation likely to persist, he asserted inflation will fall over time but remain elevated for an extended period. A high, but declining inflationary environment is advantageous for the global listed infrastructure class, and it has an average annual return of approximately 13%. He cautioned the Board that, when the equity market rallies, the global listed infrastructure will rally to a lesser degree. Conversely, as the equity market declined, the global listed infrastructure class fell considerably less. To Chair Hartley's question, Mr. Casey stated there have been no changes in the firm or strategy, and that Cohen & Steers' New York employees are working in the office 4 days a week and remotely 1 day a week. He added that as of November 29, 2022, the strategy was up 7.4% which brings the year-to-date return at -2.4%; fiscal year-to-date, the portfolio is up 11%. To Chair Hartley's question, Mr. Serton stated that continued weak economic growth will adversely affect sensitive corners of the market. While the infrastructure sector is generally insulated from many market forces, some subsectors are influenced by supply and demand, as the midstream energy market will be affected by the war in Ukraine; Cohen & Steers has positioned their portfolio accordingly. The Board had no further questions for Cohen & Steers and thanked them for their presentation. Book 1 Page 332 11-30-2022 9:00 a.m. Book 1 Page 333 11-30-2022 9:00 a.m. 7.2. Presentation and Discussion Re: UBS Asset Management, Performance Review as of September 30, 2022. Presenter(s): Ronald Lanier, Managing Director; UBS Asset Management. Ronald Lanier of UBS Asset Management appeared before the Board and introduced himself. Mr. Lanier briefly described the Trumbull Property Fund (TPF) as UBS' large core equity fund in which investment properties are generally owned outright by the fund, while properties held in Trumbull Property Income fund (TPI), which is a participating mortgage debt fund, are usually financed. Mr. Lanier reviewed the Trumbull Property Fund Investment Results page of the materials, noting one of its benchmarks is the NFI Open End Diversified Core Equity (NFI-ODCE), which is part of the National Counsel of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF), and is a common benchmark for real estate investment funds. He noted that rising interest rates have slowed property appreciation in the asset class which have reduced quarter-to-date returns, but it has had significant positive growth over the trailing 1-year. He acknowledged that the TPF is underperforming its benchmark due to lingering effects of past difficulties which he would discuss, however the fund is performing defensively as expected relative to equities. Turning to the page titled, Trumbull Property Income Fund Investment Results, Mr. Lanier noted the benchmark is the Hybrid Debt Index (HDI) which is a combination of an equity and debt indexes. He noted the TPI is even more defensive and therefore investors should expect it to underperform the NFI-ODCE benchmark, as well as that the HDI does not have a net retum. Mr. Lanier discussed the page titled, Trumbull Property Fund highlights, noting UBS will increase its leverage to match the ODCE index of approximately 21% or 22% to help performance when the market rebounds, although UBS does not anticipate a rebound for several quarters. He reviewed the page titled, Full market cycle total returns - peak to peak, and explained their relative underperformance in 1Q2020-302022 was a caused by retail properties and office holdings at the time COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns brought in-person shopping to a halt and businesses transitioned to remote work; UBS is liquidating those properties. To Chair Hartley's question, Mr. Lanier stated that in 2019, UBS significantly wrote down its portfolio value because its independent property appraiser, which regularly provides market value estimates of the portfolio holdings, determined the values of shopping malls were not supported by the current market. The year prior, UBS had internally added a new portfolio manager to the strategy who identified an underlying issue regarding those valuations and addressed it with the independent appraiser. Chair Hartley clarified that the TPF generates returns based on property values while the TPI's returns are based on the income generated from the properties; Mr. Lanier agreed and stated that the page titled, TPF performance VS. NFI-ODCE, shows the TPF's net income is slightly higher than the ODCE's overe every interval except 3Q2022. Mr. Lanier discussed retail shoppers' shift from purchasing goods at brick-and-mortar stores to on-line stores, which he called, "the Amazon Effect," which predated and was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic; as purchasing venues shifted to on-line outlets, commercial distribution centers became more valuable, which benefitted the portfolio. Mr. Lanier discussed the page titled TPF fund restructure, noting it was in response to the number of redemption requests caused by the write downs in 2019; the redemptions are almost entirely paid out. UBS assigned a specific portfolio manager to the Non-Strategic Group to facilitate liquidation of this portion of the portfolio. He reviewed the TPF Diversified Core & Non-Strategic page, noting that the disparity between the Property-level returns for the Diversified Core and the Non-Strategic side confirms UBS chose to retain or liquidate the correct properties. He discussed the pages titled, Transaction activity - dispositions from NSA, Non-Strategic asset ('NSA") disposition forecast, and TPF Diversified Core VS. ACOE, noting the All Core Open End Equity Index (ACOE) is an MSI benchmark which provides more robust and automated data which aids in completing sector analyses; the ACOE contains 21 portfolios, while the ODCE contains 26 portfolios, and both include UBS's TPF. The TPF Diversified Core VS. ACOE page shows the TPF is competitive with its benchmark on a property-level basis. Mr. Lanier reviewed the Property type allocation (%) on the page titled TPF sector strategies, Capital Flows, noting share value appreciation and new redemption requests have increased the size of the redemption pool as quarterly redemption payments have decreased throughout 2022. Mr. Lanier was unsure if a payment from the redemption pool will be made in January 2023, however income distributions will continue at the same rate it has been paid. He discussed the pages titled TPF fee programs, Fund governance, and Independent Board of Trustees = Roles and responsibilities. He noted that on the Board of Trustees, Matt Johnson is the Head of Real Estate = US at UBS. Turning to the page titled Trumbull Property Income Fund, Mr. Lanier reviewed the Highlights, Strategy/Charactenstcs, and Execution. Ont the page titled, Investment returns from participating mortgages, Mr. Lanier explained how the TPI's returns are determined, noting this formula is the first of its kind in the industry. He reviewed the pages titled TPI performance, TPI VS Hybrid Debt Index, TPI VS Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index noting the portfolio's consistent relative outperformance of its index, TPI in periods of rising interest rates, Risk-retum profiles versus NFI-ODCE funds, the Total return focus. The TPI is, by US Banking Regulations, subject to a board of trustees, described on the pages titled Fund governance and Independent Board of Trustees - Roles and responsibilities. Scott Owens of Graystone Consulting appeared before the Board telephonically and introduced himself. He asked Mr. Lanier to explain why UBS is increasing its leverage in the TPF when cap rates are low and interest rates are high. Mr. Lanier stated that the current environment does not favor increasing leverage, as UBS finds better property values through the appraisal process and when it sells properties; when interest rates stabilize, increasing the portfolio's leverage will aid in performance. Chair Hartley asked when UBS will appraise its properties similar to the process in 2019. Mr. Lanier noted that UBS appraises properties every quarter, but that in 2019, the market no longer supported property values in the retail sector; the COVID-19 pandemic then caused further disruption in that sector. He reviewed the pages titled Non-Strategic sales activity, noting which properties were sold above, at, or below their respective appraised values. He discussed the appraisal process and how UBS rotates through various appraisal firms based on their individual specialties, as well as that it shares sales information with the appraisers sO that they may adjust their valuations accordingly. Chair Hartley thanked Mr. Lanier for his presentation and service. 8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 8.1. Presentation and Discussion Re: Investment Policy Statement Revisions. Presenter(s): Scott Owens, CFA, CIMA, Associate Vice President, Institutional Consultant; Theodore Loewe, Vice President, Institutional Consulting Analyst; Timothy Haugaard, CIMA Graystone Consulting. Mr. Owens and Pension Plans Administrator Martin explained that, at issue, is the definition of the word "cost" as stated in Section 24-25(a)(6)d., which states, The board of trustees shall not invest more than ten (10) percent at cost of its assets in real estate. Portfolio allocations for real estate funds prepared by Graystone differed from those prepared by Pension Administration because Graystone uses a "cost accounting" approach to determining the relative account balances and found the real estate allocation to be within compliance of the 10% limit; Pension Administration uses "equity accounting, as required by GASB 67, and found the real estate allocation to have exceeded the 10% limit. The Plan's attorney, after discussions with the investment consultant, current independent auditor, and Pension Administration, proposed cost, "at the time of purchase,' " be included in the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) to clarify the allocation limitation. Pension Plans Administrator Martin noted that, "at the time of purchase," was stated in thel Notes to Financial Statements provided by an independent auditor prior to Mauldin & Jenkins and carried through on each Financial Statement through fiscal year ending September 30, 2021; she suspected that at the time 24-25(a)6)d. was codified, the Plan's attorney and independent auditor had discussed the matter and agreed on the limitation, but did not document their conversation and failed to explicitly include, "at the time of purchase," in the ordinance. At Chair Hartley's request, Pension Plans Administrator Martin confirmed the updates and changes to the IPS were agreed upon by Pension Administration, the independent auditor, and the investment consultant, Book 1 Page 334 11-30-2022 9:00 a.m. Book 1 Page 335 11-30-2022 9:00 a.m. and reviewed by the Plan's attorney. Chair Hartley asked if the changes stated in the Investment Guidelines section were in accordance with the Board's requests. Theodore Loewe of Graystone Consulting appeared before the Board telephonically and introduced himself. He affirmed the Board had approved those changes to the IPS at its October 26, 2022 meeting. Secretary/Treasurer Griggs acknowledged the considerable efforts made by Pension Plans Administrator Martin and Pension Administration Staff to finding resolution to this issue; she thanked Attorney Herrera, Mr. Owens, and Ms. Wester for their efforts and guidance as well. Trustee Snow made a motion to adopt the proposed IPS dated November 30, 2022; Trustee Mushrush seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously (5-0). 9. NEW BUSINESS: 9.1. Presentation and Discussion Re: Gabriel, Roeder, and Smith: Contribution Volatility and Amortization Policy. Presenter(s): Brad Armstrong, ASA, EA, FCA, MAAA, Senior Consultant & Actuary, Gabriel, Roeder, and Smith. Mr. Armstrong appeared before the Board and introduced himself. Mr. Armstrong noted the volatility in the investment portfolio returns in Fiscal Years ending September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2022, and that the Board currently has an actuarial policy of amortizing gains and losses over a closed, 1-year period. He recommends the Board lengthen the term of its amortization policy. Chair Hartley and Mr. Armstrong noted that Sarasota County (County) has paid its final required employer contribution to the Plan under the existing interlocal agreement with the City of Sarasota (City). As the interlocal agreement ends September 30, 2023, absent a new agreement requiring otherwise, the City will be responsible for all required employer contribution amounts, which are comprised of any Plan income needs which are not satisfied by the investment portfolio. If the investment portfolio returns were, for a period of time, significantly negative, the realized or unrealized investment losses would be amortized over a 1-year period, and the City alone would then be responsible for significantly increased required employer contributions. By extending the amortization period to 10 years, the City's required employer contribution amount would be reduced and "smoothed" over a longer time period. Mr. Armstrong noted the number of people currently receiving benefits under the Plan, and that their average age was 70 years; currently, the average life expectancy is 85 for males and 87 for females. He advised that the Board would want to choose an amortization policy which is less than the expected lifespan of the Plan's youngest female participant or beneficiary sO that the Plan's liabilities would be satisfied before the last benefit recipient received their final payment. He stated that pension plans typically adopt 5- or 10-year amortization policies, although they may choose any period of time. That notwithstanding, there are significant investment losses in Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2022, and, unless the stock market recovers quickly, there will likely be losses in Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2023 as well. To maintain contribution stability, Mr. Armstrong proposes the Board adopt a 10-year, layered amortization policy. He explained that a layered amortization policy, ini its first year, appears the same as a closed policy; eachy year's gains and losses create their own 10-year period. He further noted that the difference between amortization payments when the policy is 1, 2, or 3 years are dramatically higher than when the policy is greater than 5 or 6 years, as noted in Chart 2 of the presentation materials. At Chair Hartley's request, Mr. Armstrong noted he recommends his clients adopt amortization policies based on their average participant's age. Plans with an average benefit recipient of age of 80 should have much shorter amortization periods than plans whose average benefit recipient is aged 70. Plans with amortization periods of 5 years likely have contribution credits as those provide offsets to contribution volatility. Chair Hartley noted that increasing the amortization policy decreases the contribution requirement, which lessens the amount of money the Plan may invest, which then limits the potential growth of the investment portfolio. Mr. Armstrong agreed and noted that if the investment portfolio had returned 7% or 8%, the City's required employer contribution payment will still increase by $1 million in the next fiscal year because it will be the sole contributing employer. He estimated the City's required employer contribution amount could increase ten-fold if there are substantial investment losses. Chair Hartley asked why the Plan would change its amortization policy if the City had not requested a change. Mr. Armstrong stated that a 1-year policy is extraordinarily brief considering the Plan's circumstances, and the significant volatility associated with a brief period may cause disruptions to the City's funding of other services, although he is unable to speak for the City's budgetary needs. Chair Hartley noted that the Plan's attorney had previously advised that, while it partners with the City, the Board should also attempt to put as much money into the Plan as possible and then invest as much as possible to maximize its investment gains which will minimize its unfunded liability. Mr. Armstrong noted that the Asset Valuation Method contains a Corridor, which is another tool to minimize contribution volatility for the City by smoothing assets over 3 years, as the smoothing component in the Asset Valuation Method is insufficient, however he is attempting to minimize volatility through the next year's valuation and not just the current valuation. He stated that as liabilities reach the Corridor, it accelerates the recognition of losses experienced in 2022. He expressed concern that, because the investment portfolio's performance since the beginning of the Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2023 has not been overwhelmingly positive, it may exacerbate the shortfall caused by the end of the County's employer contributions. He noted that the investment gains experienced in Fiscal Year 2021 will not be fully realized in Fiscal Year 2023, and there will be fewer favorable experiences recognized in Fiscal Year 2024 to offset the losses in Fiscal Year 2022 and to-date in Fiscal Year 2023 carried forward by the amortization policy. In this context, he asserted 10 years was a reasonable amortization period. To Chair Hartley's question, Mr. Armstrong noted that in the past, the Board has temporarily suspended the closed amortization policy for periods of time, but that under the Asset Valuation Method, it has maintained a 3-year or 4-year smoothing policy to remain aligned with the Market Value Method. He also noted that the Plan's Corridor at +/- 15% is more conservative than the Florida Retirement System's, which is +/-20%. He reminded the Board that its contribution requirement has historically included direct contributions from investment expenses, which is not required by the State of Florida. This alleviates pressures on fund managers to consistently liquidate investments to meet cashflow requirements. Chair Hartley noted that before the investment portfolio can achieve market gains each year, it must first return at least $13 million to cover investment expenses and retiree payroll obligations. Trustee Snow noted that the retiree payroll has consistently increasing each year due to the annual Cost of Living Adjustment; the Plan currently pays $1.066 million per month in retiree payroll. Mr. Armstrong stated the monthly payroll amount will crest soon; while the Plan's population may not have been directly affected by COVID-19, national and global populations have experienced greater death rates. Even if the Plan experienced fewer deaths due to COVID-19 than other populations, which leaves a healthier group of benefit recipients, the SARS CoV2 virus remains endemic, and will likely cause greater numbers of deaths in the future than would have otherwise occurred. To Trustee Snow's question, Mr. Armstrong affirmed he incorporates the assumed rate of investment return in his determinations of contribution requirements, and that as the number of retirees receiving benefits decreases over time, the Plan will correspondingly need less return from its investments and may adjust accordingly. He noted the current gross expected rate of return is 6.85%, and the actual gross return was approximately -11%. To Chair Hartley's question, Mr. Armstrong stated he hopes for a decision by the Board at today's meeting sO that he may incorporate it into the valuation he will present at the Board's January 25, 2023 meeting, although he has presented previous valuations as late as February or March. Chair Hartley expressed preference for a 5-year amortization policy over a 10-year, as the difference in payments noted in Chart 2 did not appear significant, and it directs more money into the Plan sooner. Book 1 Page 336 11-30-2022 9:00 a.m. Book 1 Page 337 11-30-2022 9:00 a.m. To Chair Hartley's and Trustee Snow's questions, Mr. Armstrong noted that if the employer contribution rate jumps from $1 million to $5 million based on the experiences as of today, in the next year's valuation the contribution rate may. jump from $5 million to $9 million. To Trustee Mushrush's question, Chair Hartley noted the Board has contemplated the amortization period every year; Mr. Armstrong noted the valuation has a page dedicated to the history of the amortization period. Secretary/Treasurer Griggs stated that although a longer amortization policy is better for the City, she also recognized her fiduciary responsibility to the Plan. Vice Chair Joseph noted that although a longer amortization policy benefits the City, there will be less predictability in the investment market. Chair Hartley noted that the Board could adjust its amortization policy each year as appropriate. Attorney Herrera appeared before the Board telephonically and asked if there would be any benefit to declaring a 10-year amortization policy and later reducing it to 5 years. Mr. Armstrong stated this would increase contribution volatility as it would be analogous to taking out a 30-year mortgage and later reducing the term to 15 years; while the amount of debt wouldn't change, the repayment term would increase the payments. Mr. Armstrong expressed a preference for a consistent policy instead of changing the amortization period annually to avoid any appearance of subjective decision-making. Trustee Snow asked Mr. Armstrong to discuss how volatility may change if the Board sets the amortization policy at 5 years and leaves that policy in place for 2 years. Mr. Armstrong stated that the only known quantities fori thet future are the investment losses experienced to date which willi increase the City's employer contribution payments for at least the next 3 years. To Chair Hartley's question, Mr. Armstrong informally estimated, under the existing amortization policy, the City will be required to make approximately $10 million to $11 million in required employer contributions for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2024; by extending the amortization period to 5 years, the City may be required to make approximately $3 million to $4 million for that time period. If the Board extends the amortization policy to 10 years, the City may be required to pay approximately $2 million. Mr. Armstrong offered to provide, at the January 25, 2023 meeting, a valuation report which includes valuation projections using a 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year amortization periods sO that the Board may make a decision on the matter using more definitive data. The Board informally agreed. Chair Hartley and Secrelarny/Treasurer Griggs noted the City Commission and City's Finance Director may wish to be involved in the discussion as it impacts the employer contribution amounts. Vice Chair Joseph noted that a 10-year amortization policy may prolong the City's liabilities while neither party knows how the market will perform. Further, if the City realizes gains and losses consistently with government entities, it will be retrospectively, and its income may now be reduced when prolonging the liability could be detrimental to its position. Vice Chair Joseph further noted that the Board reduced the amortization policy to 1 year because the interlocal agreement was reaching an end; had the agreement remained in place, the Board would have been able to maintain a consistent amortization policy over time. By informal consensus, the Board agreed to take up the matter in unfinished business at its January 25, 2023 meeting and thanked Mr. Armstrong for his presentation. 10. ATTORNEY MATTERS: Attorney Herrera discussed the State Ethics Commissions reporting requirements for gifts which is that gifts under $25 do not need to be reported. Gifts between $25 and $100 must be reported by the person making the gift, and the Board should not receive gifts over $100. He advised that Sugarman & Susskind is continuing its recent tradition of making charitable donations on behalf of each client; this year, they have selected the American Red Cross Hurricane lan Relief Fund but asked if the Board had any different charity in mind. By consensus, the Board agreed the American Red Cross Hurricane lan Relief Fund was an appropriate charity for a donation on the Plan's behalf by Sugarman & Susskind. He reviewed upcoming educational opportunities, specifiçally the Florida Division of Retirement's school for new trustees; it will be from December 12, 2022 through December 14, 2022. Trustee Mushrush advised she is enrolled to attend this school. He noted the FPPTA winter school will be at the end of January 2023. 11. OTHER MATTERS: 11.1. Presentation and Discussion Re: Selection of nominee for Seat 5, currently held by Trustee Snow, by the remaining Trustees. Presenter(s): Debra Martin, Pension Plans Administrator. Pension Plans Administrator Martin noted that Seat 5 is nominated and elected by the remaining 4 Board members, provided Trustee Snow wishes to serve another term. Trustee Snow agreed to serve if elected. Vice Chair Joseph nominated Scott Snow to Seat 5; Secretary/Treasurer Griggs seconded the motion. The motion carried (4-0). 11.2. Presentation and Discussion Re: Administrative Budget Expense Report, July 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022. Presenter(s): Debra Martin, Pension Plans Administrator. Pension Plans Administrator Martin presented the Administrative Expense Report. She noted the Auditing and Accounting line exceeded budget due to the additional work performed by Mauldin & Jenkins on the Accounts Receivable to the County, and the Legal and Judicial line was only 60.3% expended as of the end of the fiscal year because Sugarman & Susskind reduced its retainer and fee during the year. Chair Hartley asked if there are sufficient funds in the budget for travel now that COVID-19 restrictions are easing. Pension Plans Administrator Martin noted the 2023 budget has already been approved but could be adjusted by the Board as needed. Vice Chair Joseph asked if the budget had been sufficiently increased to account for pay raises received by Pension Administration staff. Pension Plans Administrator Martin advised the Board had approved the Fiscal Year 2023 budget before the City announced raises for the same timeframe, and that an adjustment will be requested at a later date. The Board had no further questions about the Administrative Expense Report. 11.3. Presentation and Discussion Re: Check Register, July 1, 2022 through September 30, 2022. Presenter(s): Debra Martin, Pension Plans Administrator. Pension Plans Administrator Martin presented the Check Register as it now makes payments via ACH. Chair Hartley asked if the Traveler's Insurance was an annual amount; Pension Plans Administrator Martin Book 1 Page 338 11-30-2022 9:00 a.m. Book 1 Page 339 11-30-2022 9:00 a.m. confirmed it was and amortized over 12 months. 11.4. Presentation and Discussion Re: Asset Allocation as of November 8, 2022. Presenter(s): Debra Martin, Pension Plans Administrator. Pension Plans Administrator Martin advised the Asset Allocation is presented for the Board' 's information. It was prepared earlier than usual due to the Thanksgiving Holiday. Vice Chair Joseph stated that he is still unsure if he will be able to attend the FPPTA winter school due to a changing schedule. He may attend a trustee school provided by the National Association of Police, which would require airline travel, ground transportation, and payment of taxes as it is out of state, however there are other cost savings. He was aware it would require Board pre-approval. He would contact Pension Administration before proceeding. The Board expressed support for all forms of related trustee education. 12. ADJOURN. Chair Hartley adjourned the meeting at 11:19 a.m. 5a bs Chair Michael Hartley/ Secretay/Treasure' Shayla Griggs