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Record of Proceedings

Fire Pension Board Meeting - December 11, 2025

City Council & Commissions — Thursday, December 11, 2025
BodyPuyallup, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateThursday, December 11, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 11:14

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it
0:04

You know, Dennis.

0:05

Okay.

0:06

Yes.

0:06

I was on the left board.

0:08

Yes.

0:08

Oh, yeah.

0:09

Previous two years.

0:10

Yeah.

0:11

Okay.

0:17

Shall we get started?

0:19

Sir.

0:19

Sure.

0:20

Okay.

0:21

We're here for the fire pension board.

0:25

Uh Thursday, December 11th, 2025 at uh 1058 a.m.

0:31

Calling the meeting to order.

0:33

Do we have a motion to approve the agenda?

0:37

All move.

0:38

I'll second.

0:39

Second.

0:41

Motion carries.

0:44

The consideration of minutes.

0:45

Do we have an approval of the consideration of minutes for September 11th, 2025?

0:54

I wasn't here, so I can't make it a motion.

0:57

I can move approval on that.

1:00

We have a second.

1:01

I will second that.

1:04

Motion and second.

1:05

All those in favor say aye.

1:08

Motion carries.

1:10

Financial update.

1:13

November 30th.

1:16

Yes.

1:16

So that's normally me.

1:18

So page four, it looks like is the fire pension fund.

1:23

It's it is its own separate fund as of November 30th.

1:28

Um not really anything has changed since the last quarter.

1:32

Uh we started with just over a million dollars in there.

1:35

Uh we did receive a good chunk of fire insurance premium tax from the state, 93,000.

1:42

Um, and with pension payments going out, we are looking to be uh just under a million dollars at the end of the year.

1:52

Just as kind of a you guys know this, it's you hear it hear me say it pretty much every single time, but um regardless of whatever the balance is in this fund, it's like the city's on the hook for paying whatever those pension payments are until there aren't any anymore.

2:10

So um we're consciously bringing it down a little bit, but that doesn't mean that our liability or that our our responsibility for it goes away.

2:22

I'm happy to answer any questions you've got.

2:27

I'll make a motion to accept it as per sandwich.

2:30

I second the motion.

2:32

Motion was seconded.

2:34

All those in favor say aye.

2:36

Aye.

2:37

Right.

2:40

And was that uh just speaking on 4A or both 4A and speak?

2:44

That was 4A.

2:45

And then um 4B is at this particular moment it's informational because we haven't gotten the official updated pay scales from Central Pierce Fire.

2:57

The contract you're probably already aware does call for a two and a half percent increase.

3:02

Um, but they don't have an adopted budget yet, so they won't give us an official adopted new pay scale.

3:11

So we'll we will wait.

3:13

We don't know how they round and stuff like that.

3:16

So we will wait until we get that.

3:17

Uh we should have that in time for the increases for folks to go into effect in January.

3:23

January one.

3:24

Then it'll be adjusted in April, right?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Pension Fund Management█████████████████████████████████████████████86%
Personnel Matters███████14%
Summary of Proceedings

Fire Pension Board Meeting - December 11, 2025

The Fire Pension Board of Puyallup met on Thursday, December 11, 2025, at 10:58 a.m. in City Hall conference room 503, with Zoom access. The meeting covered financial updates, pension increases, W-2 processing improvements, and recipient verification procedures. All agenda items were approved, and no public comments were received.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda: Motion by a board member, seconded, carried unanimously.
  • Approval of September 11, 2025 Minutes: Motion and second, carried unanimously. (Note: The draft minutes from the agenda were attached; no minutes transcript was available.)

Discussion Items

  • Fire Pension Report as of November 30, 2025 (4a): Staff reported the fund began the period with just over $1,000,000. The city received $93,000 from the state fire insurance premium tax. After pension payments, the year-end balance is projected to be just under $1,000,000. Staff emphasized that regardless of the fund balance, the city remains liable for all future pension payments until obligations end. A motion to accept the report was made, seconded, and carried.
  • January 2026 Pension Increase (4b): This item was informational only. The union contract calls for a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment, but the official updated pay scales from Central Pierce Fire are pending as they have not adopted their budget. The increase is expected to take effect January 1, 2026, with an additional adjustment in April for DRS COLA changes. Staff will bring the final numbers once received.
  • W-2 Process Confirmation and Status (5a): Staff acknowledged past issues with incorrect W-2s and 1099-Rs being sent to retirees. To prevent recurrence, a staff member will serve as a second set of eyes on the files before distribution. One board member mentioned they had not received their Medicare Part B notice but had successfully submitted an adjustment after discovering two years of missed Medicare payments.
  • Recipient Verification Status Update (5b): Staff sent letters to all retirees requesting notification of any changes, especially Medicare Part B premium adjustments. Staff and the board are also actively monitoring obituaries and other sources for death notifications to avoid payment errors. Two retirees are known to be remote and difficult to track; no recent deaths have been found.

Key Outcomes

  • Financial Report Accepted: The November 30, 2025 Fire Pension Report was accepted by unanimous vote.
  • Pension Increase Timing: The 2.5% pension increase is pending official pay scales from Central Pierce Fire; expected implementation January 1, 2026, with a subsequent COLA adjustment in April.
  • Verification Process Improved: A two-pronged approach was affirmed: mailing verification letters and conducting proactive searches for death notifications twice a year. Staff will continue to act as a second check on W-2 and 1099-R distributions.
  • Next Meeting Scheduled: The next Fire Pension Board meeting is set for March 12, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. at City Hall.

Meeting Transcript

You know, Dennis. Okay. Yes. I was on the left board. Yes. Oh, yeah. Previous two years. Yeah. Okay. Shall we get started? Sir. Sure. Okay. We're here for the fire pension board. Uh Thursday, December 11th, 2025 at uh 1058 a.m. Calling the meeting to order. Do we have a motion to approve the agenda? All move. I'll second. Second. Motion carries. The consideration of minutes. Do we have an approval of the consideration of minutes for September 11th, 2025? I wasn't here, so I can't make it a motion. I can move approval on that. We have a second. I will second that. Motion and second. All those in favor say aye. Motion carries. Financial update. November 30th. Yes. So that's normally me. So page four, it looks like is the fire pension fund. It's it is its own separate fund as of November 30th. Um not really anything has changed since the last quarter. Uh we started with just over a million dollars in there. Uh we did receive a good chunk of fire insurance premium tax from the state, 93,000. Um, and with pension payments going out, we are looking to be uh just under a million dollars at the end of the year. Just as kind of a you guys know this, it's you hear it hear me say it pretty much every single time, but um regardless of whatever the balance is in this fund, it's like the city's on the hook for paying whatever those pension payments are until there aren't any anymore. So um we're consciously bringing it down a little bit, but that doesn't mean that our liability or that our our responsibility for it goes away. I'm happy to answer any questions you've got. I'll make a motion to accept it as per sandwich. I second the motion. Motion was seconded. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Right. And was that uh just speaking on 4A or both 4A and speak?

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