Board receives fiduciary governance refresher; counsel stresses attendance, conflict disclosure

The retirement board received a semiannual fiduciary governance training from counsel, who reviewed core fiduciary duties and urged trustees to maintain strong attendance, timely disclosure of conflicts and careful use of trust resources.

Ashley Dunning and counsel Cecilia (presenting) organized the session around traditional fiduciary principles — duty of loyalty, duty of care, diversification, competence and administration in accordance with plan terms. Counsel stressed that board members must come prepared for meetings, notify staff of conflicts ahead of time so they can be managed publicly and avoid using trust resources for non‑trust purposes.

The training also outlined examples of poor governance: repeated absences or tardiness, failure to read materials, undisclosed conflicts of interest, shutting down deliberations or speaking for the retirement system without board authorization. Counsel noted that those behaviors can erode staff morale, increase litigation risk and undermine public trust.

Commissioners discussed practical issues raised during the session, including earlier distribution of meeting materials to allow time for review and the handling of travel and training that may conflict with board meetings. The board’s staff said travel approval memos already identify whether an item conflicts with a meeting and why the conference is relevant; the board noted it could flag or pull consent items that raise questions.

A member of the public, Fred Sanchez of Protect Our Benefits, called in to thank the board for the training and said the session helped the public understand trustees’ responsibilities.