MINUTES OF THE VLCT PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INTERMUNICIPAL FUND, INC.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING
VIA ZOOM and at the VLCT OFFICE in MONTPELIER, VT
FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2022
Directors Present: Carl Rogers, Aaron Frank, Dave Atherton, Jared Cadwell, Stuart Hurd, Patrick Moreland, Bryan Young, Bruce Urie, Rob Gaiotti and Judy Frazer
Staff Present: Ted Brady, Joe Damiata, Fred Satink, Seth Abbene, Heather Hood, Phil Woodward, Trevor Whipple, Jill George and Kelley Avery
Others Present: Carolyn Rice and Jillian Mulcahy (Johnson Lambert)
President Rogers called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.
Upon motion (Cadwell/Moreland) duly adopted, the board voted unanimously to approve the agenda.
Upon motion (Frank/Moreland) duly adopted, the board voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the February 11, 2022 meeting.
Joe Damiata and Fred Satink provided a brief organizational update to the board including the following items:
- In addition to updates provided in Jessi Hill’s personnel memo in the packet, Adam Davis has resigned and today will be his last day. Staff is recruiting for his position.
- COVID-related worker’s compensation claims are subsiding.
- VLCT has transferred completely over to the new Nextiva phone system. The new system should provide better remote work capabilities.
- VLCT staff have conducted an RFI for a new Agency Management System (AMS). Staff has received several responses. They will narrow the choices down by conducting demos and will evaluate whether or not a full RFP is needed.
- The Strategic Planning Committee Meeting has been rescheduled for April 14th. This meeting will be fully in person.
- Staff has bound its first endorsement for the new PACIF drone coverage.
- There have been at least two success stories regarding the new Sensor Pilot Program. The loss control staff will summarize program results mid-summer.
- To date, approximately 18 applications have been received for the PACIF Grant Program, five applications for the John Lawe Scholarship Program and two requests for the KnowBe4 Training Program.
Mr. Satink provided a summary of Invest EAP service for 2021. Overall service continues to meet member needs, through the provision of counseling, SAP referrals, coordination of training, mental wellness support for first responders and related programming.
Seth Abbene introduced Carrie Rice and Jillian Mulcahy from Johnson Lambert to review the results of the 2021 PACIF Audit. Ms. Rice and Ms. Mulcahy issued a clean audit, with no material weaknesses. Audited financials show that net position increased by 2.6%, primarily due to investment returns and decreased reinsurance expenses.
Upon motion (Frank/Urie), duly adopted, the board voted unanimously to accept the 2021 PACIF Financial Audit as presented.
Joe Damiata reviewed the finalized “Needs Assessment” report from Redhand Advisors and the March 29 memo from staff to the board regarding a Risk Management Information System (RMIS) Request for Proposal. These documents were emailed to the board separately from the packet a few days prior to the meeting.
With Redhand’s recommendation that PACIF upgrade its internal systems, staff participated in limited scope demos with two vendors and contacted several municipal pools to better understand the potential benefits and challenges of implementing a new RMIS. With this information in hand, staff was planning to move ahead with the RFP process to identify potential RMIS vendors, but before doing so wanted to make sure the board was in agreement, given that if the RFP process was successful, the implementation of a new system would increase the costs associated with this system going forward. After some discussion, the board agreed that moving ahead with an RFP was appropriate.
Upon motion (Hurd/Cadwell) duly adopted, the board voted unanimously to authorize staff to pursue an RFP for a potential new Risk Management Information System.
Aaron Frank presented the Joint Investment Committee report to the board. The committee met on March 11 with Dan Smereck from Strategic Asset Alliance (SAA) and Amanda Abdella and Jason Bilodeau from Insight. PACIF’s consolidated return, net of fees through 2021 was at 0.66%, slightly below the benchmark. Positive returns in risk assets offset generally negative returns in fixed income investments. Both SAA and Insight believe unemployment will continue to fall in 2022 and that the markets will show some slow, positive growth, despite the war in Ukraine and continued market volatility. A peer review showed PACIF continues to perform well compared to its peers. Ted Brady revisited the potential for PACIF to consider Vermont-based, local investments and invited members of the committee to join a subcommittee to review this prospect.
Upon motion (Hurd/Atherton) duly adopted, the board voted unanimously to accept the Report of the Joint Investment Committee.
Neal Fox submitted his resignation to the board effective at the close of the meeting. The Board requested that staff solicit additional nominations and bring that information back to them at the next meeting.
The board also asked that the minutes reflect staff and the board’s deep gratitude for Mr. Fox’s many years of service to the PACIF Board and for his wisdom, perspective, and helpful insight during his tenure.
Staff and the board reviewed the 2022 meeting calendar. The May 20th meeting will need to be rescheduled as it conflicts with the upcoming VTCMA conference. Board and staff agreed the meeting will be rescheduled for Friday, June 3rd. In addition, staff asked if the board would like to have at least two meetings fully in person during the year. The board agreed and request that staff choose which meetings are most appropriate to hold in person.
Staff also noted that the next meeting, now scheduled for June 3rd, normally has an agenda item in which Guy Carpenter presents the annual BCAR Analysis and their Stewardship Report. Staff asked if the board had a preference as to who they want to present this information. After some discussion, the board requested staff to provide this information rather than Guy Carpenter.
Phil Woodward and Trevor Whipple provided the board with an overview of recent legislative activity on bills S.250 and S.254, the latter of which previously included language calling for an end to qualified immunity for law enforcement. Recent iterations of these bills passed the Senate with the language to end qualified immunity removed. Staff will continue to monitor the bills as they make their way through the House and will testify as needed.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:52 a.m.
Respectfully submitted
Fred Satink
Assistant Secretary