[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6585418,"mediaKeyId","5608501-b1801afe6a9ad7de5c7a942fee41cbf8","parentId",5608501,"title","El Paso employees trust authorizes request for proposals for annual audit; staff to fast-track selection","audioSeconds",783,"startMs",3387000,"endMs",4170000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5608501-b1801afe6a9ad7de5c7a942fee41cbf8&start=3387&end=4170","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5608501-b1801afe6a9ad7de5c7a942fee41cbf8/thumbnail_3387000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6585418/El-Paso-City/El-Paso-County/Texas/El-Paso-employees-trust-authorizes-request-for-proposals-for-annual-audit-staff-to-fast-track-selection","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6585418-29c30bff12bf1ba170e59bf6f35d306e/orig.mp4?Expires=1773663295&Signature=owt3mdeKj7FzbS2h6ExePjh1DK-k0J6FwC12UkVaaK3p537AEACbPdYg5q6g9NX4bvtir52Jw7FFlVFdfEkFAlCBXgC91loPb4nkGrgRTMgRxZI-oA9pqc9Tc6uHJJDdS99E~BSKK1Idippfp3hGfiPBPMNssA-laMlg6VcKsMkonvruISn4B5-hEV6YRbOnfnrDWZmfW8lxC8HMX9d3s9jVY7D~U3dWVsClh3MjMRMcb-YdXal9CHdVYzip8BJHplhS42ipALdgsQdyczUyY~Yr~Krw5VU75f0VKRB2N2lh~h3geZxkLxp-mHzgHWAzzgyrnhTJOlXPYYA9khulRg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of El Paso TX","date","2025-08-20T16:09:43.733Z","article","The City of El Paso Employees Retirement Trust on Aug. 20 approved issuing a request for proposals (RFP) for annual audit services and authorized staff to distribute a draft RFP immediately.

Robert Ash, the trust's executive director, said the Financial Oversight Committee (FOC) reviewed recent audits and recommended reissuing the audit engagement for proposals rather than automatically extending the current auditor. He identified timing pressure because the trust's fiscal year ends Aug. 31 and custodial-bank closing schedules push audit work into mid-October.

The draft RFP in the meeting backup designates evaluation factors emphasizing audit experience with other public pension plans and qualifications of audit staff. Staff said proposals would be solicited immediately with responses expected around Sept. 10; the FOC planned interviews and hoped to have an audit firm in place by October. Ash noted the trust remains under contract with Carr, Riggs & Ingram (CRI) and has not terminated the firm; the contract includes a termination-for-convenience clause and extensions made in 2024 mean CRI could continue if no alternative is selected in time.

Trustees discussed the need for a firm capable of meeting the city's timetable for consolidated reporting. Representative Fierro and others said seeking an RFP every several years is a best practice to obtain fresh perspectives and to assess the current firm's staffing and delivery capabilities. Trustees approved issuing the RFP on a motion recorded in the meeting and no member registered opposition.

Staff explained evaluation logistics and said cost would be one consideration but that the committee would weigh experience and capacity to deliver within the required timeframes. The motion to issue the RFP passed on a unanimous voice vote; staff will publish the RFP, receive proposals, and report back to the FOC and board.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Retirement Trust Board 8/20/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Trustees voted to issue an RFP for external audit services after the Financial Oversight Committee recommended seeking proposals. Staff projected proposals due Sept. 10 and anticipated a selection in October to meet municipal audit timelines.","taxTitle","El Paso City, El Paso County, Texas","taxId",2792,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6585424,"El Paso employees trust adopts FY2025–26 budget of $101.37 million",669,2731000,3400000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5608501-b1801afe6a9ad7de5c7a942fee41cbf8&start=2731&end=3400","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5608501-b1801afe6a9ad7de5c7a942fee41cbf8/thumbnail_2731000.jpg","/articles/6585424/El-Paso-City/El-Paso-County/Texas/El-Paso-employees-trust-adopts-FY202526-budget-of-10137-million","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6585424-cb634a158ac6b69d6b0c3d99c0e6b483/orig.mp4?Expires=1773663295&Signature=IBMT9Mp3Nxnr~nMu5qlF5kS5h04N2z6oNkFBAfBvCowJv6q~cZ6UG6BZ7x-XXzwvTBGkTcMa99Bu0rMSZykUk2lcJ4Ktc-HEyW0YMV8oTdQjwaCbcXJSNYyVjKlX0XQVHa1sM7TchVBwmVkM9zaOMVDR5ucSlH3PrHENqfmH5iq5JVgBLSFEkwfZXOAsu90wWLt4E9qkaPG-wlG6Cuwc3-JDhTMvrDceHldQsUeBW0H-ABmKpcPKSp~uGtfS9nSrfv~hRNAMIBpkq~FrdPqYOXY~KVg1cQBtW~fpbCIWDDmSKFq8dYpEx~tn2kbfrw3pkwbcEyEvDJO4hGwwgHtIjQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City of El Paso Employees Retirement Trust voted on Aug. 20 to adopt the proposed fiscal-year 2025–26 budget totaling $101,365,234.

Mr. Umkes moved to approve the budget resolution adopting the FY2025–26 budget; the motion was seconded by Ms. Hamblin and passed on an affirmative voice vote with no recorded opposition.

Staff presenter Mr. Sanchez summarized the condensed budget and told trustees the total remained unchanged from last month except for a $2,076 increase in salary and benefits tied to updated CPI figures. He explained that the majority of the $8.6 million increase from the prior year's budget reflects a methodological change: certain operating costs previously approved month-to-month (including roughly $4,300,000 in investment fees) are now being included in the annual budget for transparency, not because of new expenditures.

Sanchez noted two components of staff pay planning reflected in the budget: an estimated 3.5% merit pool for merit-based salary adjustments (subject to individual performance) and a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) tied to the July CPI, which is 2.7% for the period referenced. The COLA, effective Sept. 1 if granted, is an all-or-nothing board decision under the trust's personnel rules; staff said the board has historically granted the COLA.

Trustees asked clarifying questions about wage brackets, annual adjustments tied to the Employment Cost Index (ECI) and prior class-and-compensation work. Staff confirmed no employees were currently at the top of their pay brackets and that the board-approved personnel rules govern wage bracket adjustments and the authority to implement annual ECI-based bracket changes.

The board approved the budget resolution after discussion and no member registered opposition.","The City of El Paso Employees Retirement Trust voted to adopt a fiscal-year 2025–26 budget totaling $101,365,234. Trustees approved staff COLA and salary assumptions and were briefed on methodology changes that increased the budget reporting total.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6585426,"El Paso employees trust reports $1.036 billion in assets; trustees hear private-equity, allocation concerns",2211,389000,2600000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5608501-b1801afe6a9ad7de5c7a942fee41cbf8&start=389&end=2600","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5608501-b1801afe6a9ad7de5c7a942fee41cbf8/thumbnail_389000.jpg","/articles/6585426/El-Paso-City/El-Paso-County/Texas/El-Paso-employees-trust-reports-1036-billion-in-assets-trustees-hear-private-equity-allocation-concerns","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6585426-848329a33daff384392fc6b962d9a071/orig.mp4?Expires=1773663295&Signature=lVs0wGmEaNHIodmVcrQVfpQp4P4xdPVOmXp1ACR9g8nSS3Pk3KU3MUbC2OrNO3Hhte6SBtP2Jwh3BOkIBSJvLgEmA8y88OawlzZByOPVpGQ2UZ1qVmq5oS1PvJfFqzo~yWtdRJZ3GScxkGjAKl1Q5peNE64R7Yiji80b-OqoVeG7~rOAL9T8vRwmNeqcism7DBCDeJowzWkHsmTSnCxpyH1mCOuRzyQTv~2HbogQyovloNxdX2u8dSjwBJazOO8VQ5BycECmXp2MiDFRimr9mbZBYnJNNed8zrBd66z~F31F1k32e21rJNbtIhvY9tJ3nqfiCK6Ko6yRujDOabRvIA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The City of El Paso Employees Retirement Trust on Aug. 20 received its monthly treasury and investment-performance reports showing net assets available for benefits of approximately $1,036,000,000 as of July 31, 2025.

Louis Meyer of the City of El Paso Comptroller's Office presented the treasury statements, saying total cash and investments were \"approximately 1,031,000,000\" and that receivables and liabilities were roughly $3,200,000 and $473,000 respectively. Meyer said net investment income for the 11 months was about $69,000,000 and total additions for the period were approximately $127,000,000. Benefits paid to retirees for the 11 months totaled about $76,000,000.

The trust's investment consultant from Kellum LLC, Alex Browning, gave the investment overview and economic context. Browning said the trust's fiscal-year-to-date return was near the board's annual target and cautioned that \"it's going to be pretty tight to get to that 7.25%\" target by the fiscal year end, noting July flash estimates and the limited private-equity write-ups given lower transaction volumes.

Browning described recent asset class performance: strong U.S. large-cap returns, international equities outperforming U.S. equities year-to-date (helped by a declining dollar), modest real-estate returns and fixed income providing an anchor with multi-year outperformance versus benchmark by a few dozen basis points. He noted the trust's total-fund fiscal-year-to-date return on a gross basis was roughly 7.71% with proxying of private-equity and real-estate to public indices for the flash report.

Trustees and staff focused discussion on private equity. Browning and board members said private equity remains illiquid and the plan is currently overweight private-equity relative to the Investment Policy Statement (IPS) top bound of 16%, while domestic fixed income sits below its target lower bound (21%). Browning said the overweight position is being managed through normal cash flows and rebalancing as realizations occur.

Robert Ash, the trust's executive director, and trustees requested follow-up work: Callan will be asked to review peer benchmarking for the trust's performance and the investment committee will examine manager-level performance and the private-equity pacing/commitment analysis. Trustees noted long-term private-equity outperformance but raised concerns about deal supply and rising retail (401(k)) demand into private markets altering pricing dynamics.

The board was also told that the quarterly report (with final figures rather than index proxies) will provide more definitive returns and that staff aims to manage cash flows to rebalance toward target fixed-income weight. No formal allocation changes were taken at the meeting; trustees directed the investment committee and staff to investigate options and report back.

The discussion also covered market risks and near-term drivers, including Federal Reserve actions, and the potential impact of any large rate cuts on private-market returns and real-estate valuations.

The trust's investment consultant listed recent manager activity and operational items that will appear in forthcoming materials to the board, including an international-equity search following termination of Lazard, the addition of TA Realty to real-estate allocations (funded April 1), and a watch placed on AllianceBernstein for small- and mid-cap U.S. equities.","At its Aug. 20 meeting the City of El Paso Employees Retirement Trust heard the monthly treasury and investment performance reports showing net assets of about $1.036 billion, discussed private-equity concentration above policy targets and directed staff and committees to review allocation and benchmarking.","actionData","errors"]

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El Paso employees trust authorizes request for proposals for annual audit; staff to fast-track selection

El Paso employees trust adopts FY2025–26 budget of $101.37 million

El Paso employees trust reports $1.036 billion in assets; trustees hear private-equity, allocation concerns