CITY OF SAN DIEGO RETIRED EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION 4185 Galt Street, San Diego, CA 92117-1126 GENERAL MEMBERS MEETING MINUTES         June 13, 2006   President Nancy Acevedo called the meeting to order. David Wescoe, our new SDCERS' Administrator, was introduced and made a few comments. He pointed out that the Board has had 35 different SDCERS Board Members in the last 13 months, a new actuary, new auditor, and a new fiduciary attorney. He found President Preovolos very dedicated. He praised Joe Flynn's knowledge of pension topics.  He added that there is no crisis, SDCERS does not have to be 100% funded and the $1.4 billion does not need to be paid off this year. Stability, he said, rests on investment returns in the next 5-15 years. He sees SDCERS as an "instrument" and not a "player" in the political process. Wescoe stressed that he wants to improve communication and customer service for members. Check out the new SDCERS' web site. Minutes of  May 9, 2006 were approved as submitted. In response to David Wescoe, Ross McCollum commented that he saw a crisis in management and politically. Wescoe's comments were good, he added, but retirees need to also comment on what is happening. RETIREE REPRESENTATIVE- Joe Flynn Joe said the Mayor is working on funding items that were not specifically required for the City's annual payment to SDCERS. The crisis is diminishing and other topics are coming up. Joe said Wescoe wants to put faces on the numbers. Joe recommended retirees attend SDCERS Board meetings (on the third Friday of the month, re-play late afternoon/early evening of the same day on Channel 24), SDCERS Committee Board meetings and the Navigant Report Committee. NAVIGANT REPORT COMMITTEE AT SDCERS Virginia reported that Ice Miller is SDCERS' tax counsel for complying with the IRS regulations under the current Voluntary Compliance Program for "tax qualified plans". The June topic, for the Navigant Report Committee, will be Ice Miller's report on past costs and administration of retiree healthcare. These are the City's responsibility, as the IRS does not allow pension funds to be used for retiree healthcare. (Update: At the June SDCERS Board meeting, the Board voted to send a $34 million "bill" to the City for past healthcare costs and administration of healthcare to comply with the IRS.) RETIREE HEALTHCARE HISTORY Bob West reviewed the history behind retiree healthcare from the position paper that is posted on CSDREA's web site. PROGRAM: HEATH INSURANCE PANEL  Bob introduced the panel. Care Counsel- Nancy Fase Guernon- Care Counsel is a free, confidential service dealing with the confusion of healthcare. They help retirees make informed decisions. There is a RN on staff to give direction for healthcare. Health topic resources include a medical dictionary, prescription comparisons, and a complimentary web site. Care Counsel helps with errors in Doctor's charges and also does advocacy for retirees. 1-888-227-3334 Monday-Friday 8:30am to 5:00pm. City of San Diego, Risk Management Claims and Insurance Manager, Val Van Deweghe, explained that the City is consolidating plans to negotiate better prices. New hires will no longer get retiree healthcare. The City budgeted $21million in the FY 2007 Budget for retiree healthcare. Pacificare -Michael Kin, Account Executive and Gregory Tunnell, Associate Account Manager, as well as Kaiser- Pete Thurman, Executive Account Manager and Yazmin Stutzel, Medicare Consultant reported no changes in 2007 plans. SDCERS- David Arce, Operations Division Manager, Caroline Hootman, Health Insurance Retirement Assistant, and Laurie Harper, Health Reimbursement Benefit Representative were available for questions. STATUS OF RETIREMENT FUNDS- $4.024 billion, down $227 million. TREASURER'S REPORT- Sylvia Tatum (from written report) Grand Total Reserve-Operating Balance on 5/1/06     $17,331.77 Receipts for May         $2,280.38          Expenditures for May  $2087.21 Grand Total Reserves- Operating Balance 3/31/06     $18,419.16 Legal fund is $3,692.03 as of 5/31/06. Deposit for May was $870. Meeting Adjourned. Submitted by P.Karnes, Secretary, 7-10-06.