Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget And Admin topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Pension trustees approve budgets, add $25,000 for legal/IME costs and raise administrator fee
Summary
The Police and Fire pension trustees voted to approve proposed fiscal-year budgets, authorize an extra $25,000 for legal and independent medical‑exam costs, and approve a 3% administrative-fee increase for administrator Debbie Grant (contracted at $600/month, effective Oct. 1).
President Chris Keoughan called the joint police-and-fire pension board to order and led votes that approved the proposed budgets for fiscal year 2025–26, a $25,000 supplemental allocation to cover legal and IME (independent medical examination) costs, and a 3% increase to the administrator’s fee.
Why it matters: Trustees said they want clearer line‑item detail so plan beneficiaries can see how disability‑related IME and legal costs affect the fund. The board asked staff to separate disability/IME expenses from other legal fees in the packet and to supply a separate spreadsheet on request.
The board first moved and approved the routine “expenses paid” listing after a brief question to staff about red-letter negative balances on the posted sheet. Trustees clarified that the red lettering reflected current balances in the ledger rather than an immediate statutory overrun, and asked staff to confirm and, where useful, post a sanitized version for public notice.
On the police side, trustees raised concerns that the combined legal-fee line includes IME costs that can vary widely by case. A trustee asked staff to separate out IME charges; staff agreed and said the disability-related amounts could be printed as a separate line item. Staff later identified $23,869 as the amount overdrawn for disability costs from September through April and said a separate line-item spreadsheet could be produced for the next meeting.
During the meeting President Chris Keoughan moved that Debbie Grant be authorized an additional $25,000 to cover legal fees and IME expenses; a trustee seconded the motion and the board proceeded with the vote.
On the fireside agenda trustees considered a 3% administrative-fee increase for Debbie Grant (presented in the packet as $1.50 per month). The board approved the 3% increase by voice vote and discussed contract language that spells out the effective date and monthly compensation. Trustees clarified that the contract will reflect $600 per month compensation for the fire side, effective Oct. 1, and staff agreed to update and circulate the revised agreement for execution.
The board approved the overall proposed budget for both the fire and police plans, while noting that some line items (including Foster & Foster and Salem Trust items) may be revisited if information changes. Trustees agreed to keep a conservative reserve approach on the police side and to revisit any needed adjustments later in the fiscal year.
What’s next: Staff will separate disability/IME costs into a dedicated spreadsheet for trustees, update contract paperwork to reflect the $600/month compensation and Oct. 1 effective date, and post clarified line items in the agenda packet for the next meeting.
