Fire Pension Board Meeting - September 8, 2026
Fire Pension Board Meeting - September 8, 2026
The Fire Pension Board met on September 8, 2026, at 11:03 AM in Conference Room 503 of City Hall. The meeting was called to order by City Clerk Dan Vessels with a quorum consisting of Finance Director Barbara Lopez and Member Gary Turner. The board approved the agenda, the June 9, 2026 minutes with a correction, and reviewed financial updates and actuarial reports.
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
- The board approved the agenda with a motion and second.
- The minutes from June 9, 2026 were approved with a correction noting the mayor's absence.
Financial Update
- Financial Report as of August 31, 2026: Finance Director Barbara Lopez presented the report. The fund received fire insurance premium tax of just over $102,000, which has been steadily climbing. Interest income remains decent. Pension payments for the year are expected to be around $200,000. Professional service costs of $11,500 cover the actuarial report. The fund is performing well, and the city remains responsible for pension payments regardless of fund balance.
- Pension Calculations as of July 1, 2026: A COLA adjustment based on CPI was reflected in the calculations effective July 1. The board approved the calculations.
- Actuarial Valuation as of January 1, 2026: The actuarial valuation is required every two years. Key highlights: the total present value of future benefits is $2.173 million, with approximately 45% of that amount currently on hand. The city is not required to be 100% funded in advance. The report includes predictions of future pension payments. The board approved the valuation.
Other Business
- Member Turner inquired about survivor benefits for Floyd Butler, and it was noted that HR has been sending annual inquiries to ensure all benefits are properly administered.
- Discussion on Central Pierce Fire contract negotiations: a shift was added a year ago, resulting in a 25% increase, but it was noted that this did not help retirees. Future pay scales may affect pension calculations.
Key Outcomes
- The board approved the agenda, minutes (with correction), financial report, pension calculations, and actuarial valuation.
- The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8, 2026, at 11:00 AM.
- The meeting was adjourned at 11:12 AM.
Meeting Transcript
The time is 11 03 a.m. on Tuesday, September 8th. Uh City Clerk Dan Vessels is calling the fire pension board meeting to order. I'll note for the record that we do have a quorum with uh finance director, Barbara Lopez and Member Gary Turner. So do I have a motion to approve the agenda? So moved. Second. All is in favor. Aye. Uh consideration of minutes from the June 9th meeting. And I would like to have one correction. I would like it noted. If the mayor did not attend, we will make an adjustment. Is there a motion to a move to approve the agenda with the noted correction from member Turner? Move approval. I'll second. I'll vote in favor. I this might be curved. I just heard the elevator. I did too. Yeah. Could be. Give it a second. It could it could be uh Kurt could be the individual that was looking yeah. Um we've got security cameras, they don't see him anymore, but they don't know if he's in the elevator zone. I don't hear anything, so maybe that was somebody's all right. Um moving on to item four A, the financial updates. Barbara? Thank you. Um the financial updates pretty much the same. It's on page three of the packet. Um we did receive our fire insurance premium tax, which was just over 102,000 this year. So that's been steadily climbing. It's an indication that in fire insurance premiums have just been going up and up and up, but it does provide um a good chunk of the funding necessary for this fund. Um interest income is still coming in pretty decently. We do expect you know our pension payments to be right around 200,000 for the year. And then there is the professional service other costs of 11,500. That is the actuary cost of the actuarial report that we will be getting to here shortly. Um fund is doing well. Um we've still got significant funding moving towards the future. And as always, the city's responsible for paying these pensions regardless of the balance that's in that fund. What is the price of the after study? It is the 11th 500. Yeah, it is that's required every two years. It is required every two years by accounting standards. Um, so yeah, we have to pay for that every two years. And again, the city would always be kicking in the money for that to cover that particular piece of it. If you've got any other questions, I'm happy to answer them. I don't I will move to approve the financial reports. I second the motion.
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