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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-11-28 Commissioners of Trust Funds Minutes � OFR Town of Reading Meeting Minutes o O�O'IN[OA Board - Committee - Commission - Council: Commissioners of Trust Funds 2819 JAN -8 Hi 4: 24 Date: 2018-11-28 Time: 7:00 PM Building: Reading Town Hall Location: Conference Room Address: 16 Lowell Street Session: Open Session Purpose: General Business Version: Final Attendees: Members - Present: Jahn Daly, Elizabeth Klepeis, Neil Cohen and Endri Kume Members - Not Present: Andrew Friedman Others Present: Minutes Respectfully Submitted By: Endri Kume Topics of Discussion: Mr. Cohen called the meeting to order at 7:OOPM. Open Session for topics not reasonably anticipated 48 hours in advance of the meeting Mr. Kume shared an email that he received from the Town Clerk requesting that all Board, Committee, Council and Commissioner Members complete the online training for ethics. All the members had received the same email and they confirmed that they were aware of it. Meeting Notes Ms. Klepeis moved with a motion to approve the meeting notes for 10/24/18. On a motion by Ms. Klepeis. seconded by Mr. Kume the Minutes of the 10/24/18 meeting were aooroved, by a vote of 4-0-0 Ms. Klepeis moved with a motion to approve the meeting notes for 11/15/18. On a motion by Ms Klepeis seconded by Mr. Daly the Minutes of the 11/15/18 meeting were approved. by a vote of 3-0-1. Mr. Cohen abstained as he was not present at the meeting. Review Cash Flow and Trust Balances Reports Mr. Cohen asked Mr. Kume based on what factor the interest was allocated amongst the Trust Funds. Mr. Kume stated that the factor was the original balance that they were funded with and It was later clarified that the interest was based on the rolling total balance of the fund. Mr. Kume also shared where all the interest for the Trust Funds was coming from. Ms. Klepeis noted that we might need some more cash available to make sure we can support all the activities through the end of the year. Mr. Kume noted that the cash projection Is only a projection that serves just as a guide to see where we will land at the end of the Page I 1 year. Mr. Cohen made a suggestion for one of the reports to update the column header to indicate the end of the period instead of the end of the year. Review Portfolio. Discuss Investment changes Mr. Daly informed the Commissioners that the market was down compared to October. Dow had lost 600 points and SP was down 60 points after Fed Chairman Powell speech. The Trust Funds portfolio was impacted by the fall and at one point during November the SPDRs were down 10% and Russel 2000 IWM down 12%. As of today Mr. Daly stated that the SPDRs were down 6% and Russell 2000 IWM down 8%. Mr. Daly indicated that at this point it was difficult to predict what that market will do, however there was another Fed hike planned for December and most likely 4 increases in the next year. Mr. Daly stated that amongst Investors there is no fear of an economic recession. Other factors that might impact the market were the China meeting this week with G20 and the tariffs. Mr. Daly Informed the board that President Trump had indicated that he might consider increasing the tariffs from 10% to 25% in January. Mr. Daly asked the Commissioners If there was a need at this point to put some cash on the side by selling some of the SPDRs. Ms. Klepels mentioned that it would be a good idea to do so even though we missed the opportunity in October when the market was up. Mr. Cohen mentioned that if we sell the two oldest SPDRs lots we should have around $100K in capital gains. Ms. Klepeis agreed and added that it would be a good Idea to sell an additional lot of the Russell 2000 in order to bring the gains up to $150K and this should be enough for the year. With no further discussion Mr. Daly moved with a motion. On a motion by Mr. Daly, seconded by Ms. Klepeis, the decision to sell 350 shares of SPDR with an original ourchase date of 12/22/09. 370 shares of SPDR with an original purchase date of 5/25/12 and 600 shares of Russel 2000 with an original purchase date of 02/27/12 was approved by a vote of 4-0-0. Mr. Daly asked the Commissioner how we plan to use the gains from the proceeds. He advised that we wait and see how the G20 meeting goes. US and China are expected to meet over the weekend and it would be a good idea to try and meet next week. The Commissioners agreed. Reading Response Program Ms. Klepeis gave a brief liaison report. She informed the board that in the last meeting Philips and Eileen from Hallmark were looking for a replacement service or a base line provider that will act as a middleman between Philips and us. The LyR contract was reviewed and edited from the Town Counsel and was awaiting LyR sign off. One of the products that Philips offered at a lower price then Hallmark was the lockbox at clients' premises. Ms. Klepeis stated that this was a great service for Lifeline clients who are elderly. The lockbox with the key to the property is placed outside of the residence and Philips manages all the access code. Philips has indicated that the codes can be shared with the Fire department. On a motion by Ms. Klepeis seconded by Mr. Daly. Lockbox service through Philips at $30 per piece for a maximum of 50 people was aooroved by a vote of 4-0. Next Meeting Next meeting was scheduled for December 0, 2018 at 713M. On a_motion by Ms. Klepeis seconded by Mr. Kume, the Commissioners voted to adiourn its meeting at 8:10p m. by a vote of 4-0. Respectfully submitted, Secretary Page 1 2