Board adopts updated investment policy (including new state divestiture rule) and approves auditor engagements

The Sarasota City Firefighters' Pension Plan Board of Trustees held three formal votes during its Sept. 24 meeting: approval of minutes from the July 23 meeting, adoption of a revised investment policy statement and manager addenda, and approval of audit engagement letters for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. All votes were taken by roll call and carried unanimously.

Minutes: Trustees moved and seconded a motion to adopt the minutes of the July 23, 2025 meeting. The motion passed by roll call vote with all trustees present voting yes.

Investment policy statement: The board voted to adopt a revised Statement of Investment Policy, Goals and Guidelines and associated manager contract addenda. The revisions reflect the board's recent allocation changes to a core manager and add language addressing recent state law changes. Board counsel explained that the Florida law known as the "Protecting Florida's Investments Act" (originally enacted in 2012) requires divestiture of public assets from companies doing specified business with certain jurisdictions; the statute was amended effective July 1, 2025 to add companies the SBA (State Board of Administration) identifies as participating in a boycott of Israel. The board's amendment incorporates that language; counsel said the plan already complied operationally with the statute and the IPS language was being updated for precision.

Roll call on the IPS amendment recorded each trustee voting yes and the motion carried.

Audit engagement letters: The board adopted two audit engagement letters for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30: (1) the plan's annual financial and compliance audit and (2) a final allocation audit related to the net pension liability between the city and the county (the latter was described as the last year for that allocation because the interlocal agreement had ended). The plan's audit fee was listed at $14,250 and the county-paid allocation audit fee was listed at $77,500. Trustees voted to approve both engagement letters; the motions passed by unanimous roll call vote.

What the board recorded: Each action was moved, seconded and approved by roll call. Minutes and the two engagement letters were adopted without amendment. The IPS change was described by counsel as an update to reflect (a) the board's change to a core manager allocation and (b) the state statute amendment effective July 1, 2025 requiring divestiture for listed companies. Counsel said the State Board of Administration publishes a quarterly prohibited list; if a company appears on that list public assets cannot be purchased and existing holdings must be divested within an approximately one-year window.

No formal dissent or abstentions were recorded on any of the votes.