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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-09-13 Commissioners of Trust Funds Minutes Town of Reading Meeting Minutes li-i t.1 I_`E K Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Commissioners of Trust Funds 7811 NOV -8 PM 1, 12 Date: 2018-09-13 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Lower Level Conference Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session:. Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Andrew Friedman, Elizabeth Klepeis, John Daly, Neil Cohen and Endri Kume Members - Not Present: Others Present: Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Endri Kume Topics of Discussion: Mr. Cohen called the meeting to order at 7:04PM. Open Session for topics not reasonably anticipated 48 hours in advance of the meeting Mr. Kume informed the Commissioners that Mr. Richard Holmes had resigned and provided the email correspondence. Mr. Cohen asked Mr. Kume to send a letter thanking Mr. Holmes for his service. Meeting Notes Ms. Klepeis made a friendly amendment and moved with a motion to approve the meeting notes of 5/24/18 as amended. On a motion by Ms Klepeis seconded by Mr. Daly the Minutes of the 05/24/18 meetino notes were approved as amended by a vote of 4-0-1 Mr. Friedman abstained as he was not present on 5/24/18. Review Portfolio. Discuss investment changes Mr. Cohen provided a short generaloverviewto Mr. Friedman for the investment Trust Fund Portfolio. Mr. Cohen noted that the portfolio was not actively traded and its allocation was 25% equity and 75% bonds. Only quality investment grade "A" or better were considered when selecting bonds. Mr. Cohen also mentioned there were a few old stocks in the portfolio that were purchased a long time ago, but the Commissioners had moved away from purchasing stock. He explained that the current strategy was to hold bonds to maturity, and once a year, decide on selling and or purchasing SPDRs and ETFs. The goal of the portfolio was long-term growth. Ms. Klepeis asked Mr. Kume to forward an old Trust Fund presentation to Mr. Friedman. The presentation was prepared for the Select Board and was supposed to provide background Page I 1 and financial information for all the Trust Funds. Ms. Klepels also noted that this presentation has all the background information and will help Mr. Friedman to better understand what each Trust Fund is supposed to do. The presentation also has the specific restrictions for some of the Trust Funds. Ms. Klepeis also noted that the portfolio was accounted on a Book Value rather than Market Value. Mr. Daly point out that once a bond matures or is called the Broker at Wells Fargo will replace it with a new one. The Broker has the necessary guidelines and specifics on what bonds to buy and will ultimately ask for confirmation before closing the deal. Mr. Friedman asked if it was possible to get some specifics on what services or benefits the Trust Funds provide to the Community. Ms. Klepeis noted that the Trust Funds presentation would be a great start. Mr. Cohen asked Mr. Daly to provide a portfolio review and if there were any changes at this time. Mr. Daly mentioned that the trade war was still at the center of the discussion and a certain source of uncertainty. Mr. Daly noted that there is $273K in cash that the Commissioners might want to consider investing. He suggested to look at some different options and provided the following details: 10 year Corp. bond 4.5% 1 year CD 2.4% 2 year Corp. bond 3.2% 5 year Corp. bond 3.9% Mr. Daly opened the discussion for the Investment of cash. Ms. Klepeis asked to consider investing the $200K it in two bonds each with a different maturity date. Mr. Friedman asked what the estimated impact on the portfolio would be if the market went down. Mr. Daly responded that usually, if the market goes down, we were looking at a 5%- 10% hit. Mr. Friedman also asked if there was a difference in price between a callable bond versus an non-callable bond. Mr. Cohen mentioned that it would be a difference however most of the bonds that we buy were callable. There was an agreement, and Ms. Klepeis made following motion: On a motion by Ms. Klepeis. seconded by Mr. Daly. it was approved to invest $100K in a 5 Year bond and 4100K in a 10 Year bond by a vote of 5-0. Mr. Cohen noted that during this time of the year we take a look at the SPDRs and EFTS and make a decision If we want to take In some of the profit and sell a few lots. Mr. Daly mentioned that the market was in our favor and it would be best if we waited a little longer and circle back in the next meeting. The consensus was to wait until the next meeting. Mr. Kume provided a cash Flow forecast for the year. The forecast was strictly based on the prior year bond performance and cash Flow. There were no investments forecast in the model. The forecast was only to get a general idea of what the cash Flow would look like in different months throughout the year. Mr. Kume informed the Commissioners of the few Parker Loan Interest Free applications that were received. Mr. Friedman asked what the application was for and how much was it for. Ms. Klepeis explained the Parker Loan Fund Issued out $2000 interest free loans to help residents of Reading with college tuitions for their children. She also explained that the funds are due back to the Town once the student graduates from college. The loan is backed up with an unsecured promissory note that all parties involved have to sign off. The applications were handed out for each Commissioner to review. Mr. Cohen noted that three of the applications were from the same family. Ms. Klepeis mentioned that having three kids go to college, at the same time, was very expensive. The rest of the Commissioners agreed. Mr. Cohen stated that he knew the Collins family and that he was going to abstain from that vote. He also asked the Commissioners to review the names on the application and see If they knew anyone personally. None of the Commissioners knew any of the applicants. The following motions were made and voted on: Page 1 2 On a motion by Ms. Klepeis, seconded by Mr. Daly. the application from DEVIN COLLINS for the Parker Loan was approved by a vote of 4-0-1 Chairman Cohen recused himself as he knew the applicant. On a motion by Ms. Kleoeis, seconded by Mr. Daly. the application from CHRISTOPHER BALBONI for the Parker Loan was approved by a vote of 5-0. On a motion by Ms. Klepeis. seconded by Mr. Daly, the application from GILLIAN SCIUTO for the Parker Loan was approved by a vote of 5-0. On a motion by Ms. Kleoeis. seconded by Mr. Daly. the application from SEBASTIAN ROBERT AMICO for the Parker Loan was approved by a vote of 5-0 On a motion by Ms. Kleoeis. seconded by Mr. Daly. the application from DOUGLAS ANTHONY GIBBS for the Parker Loan was approved by a vote of 5-0. On_a motion by Ms. Klepeis. seconded by Mr. Daly. the application from DANIEL RICHARD BRADLEY for the Parker Loan was approved by a vote of 5-0 On a motion by Ms. Klepeis. seconded by Mr. Daly. the application from JOSEPH XAVIER BRADLEY for the Parker Loan was approved by a vote of 5-0. On a motion by Ms. Kleoeis, seconded by Mr. Daly. the application from MEGAN BRADLEY for the Parker Loan was approved by a vote of 5-0. Reading Response Program Ms. Klepeis gave her liaison report. She informed the board that Hallmark Health Care was bought by Wellforce and is now Melrose Wakefield Healthcare. The Lifeline program, going forward, will be managed by Philips Lifeline. All the existing customers will be grandfathered in and there will be no additional cost for them. All new customers will have a different service charge that will be slightly more then what we are paying now. For new clients there will be a $50 setup fee if the sign up is over the phone and $95 charge if Philips has to go out. Ms. Klepeis also noted that Phillips runs promotions multiple times a year and some of these fees will be waived depending on the promotion that is going on at the time. One of the new products that Philip Lifeline is offering is a device that doesn't require a land line. This new device will work anywhere and it basically has a cellphone technology which will only last of 1.5 years, after that a new device will need to be purchased. The sign up cost for this new product is $100 for new patients. Ms. Klepeis suggested staying with Philips Lifeline and closely monitor how the cost plays out. Mr. Kume asked Ms. Klepeis if there was any chance that the new company will stop the service. Ms. Klepeis confirmed that the service was not going to be interrupted. MassTran continues to have issues with morning drives due to heavy traffic. Ms. Klepeis mentioned that the Lyft discussion is still on the table. The next meeting with Jane Burns will be on October 10th and the discussion is still open. At the moment there is no clear indication if Lyft will be a viable option or not. Mr. Kume asked when the last RFP for the transportation program was done and Ms. Klepeis answered that it was a long time ago. Ms. Klepeis also mentioned that if it goes out to bid again we may lose the low rates that we currently have with MassTran. Mr. Cohen asked about the mental health request that was mentioned in the last meeting. Mr. Kume answered that there was no official request for funds from Ms. Burns and no proposal. Klepeis mentioned that the Trust Funds are not to be used for salary support. She mentioned that the Town use to pay for hospitalization and hospital care related to mental Illness through a budget fund. Page 13 Next Meeting Next meeting was scheduled for October 24`h, 2018. On a motion by Mr. Daly seconded by Ms Kleoeis the Commissioners voted to adiourn its meeting at 9,10 p.m. by a vote of 5-0. . Respectfully submitted, Secretary Page 1 4