City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: DECEMBER 4, 2024
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JAMES F. PARAJON, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of (1) Appointment of a Police Officer Representative and Firefighter Representative to the City of Alexandria Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Board and (2) Appointment of a General Schedule Representative and Alternate and Medic/Fire Marshal Representative and Alternate to the City of Alexandria Supplemental Retirement Board. (3) Consideration of Appointment of Management Representative and Alternate to the City of Alexandria Supplemental Retirement Board and Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Board.
BODY
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ISSUE: Appointment to the City of Alexandria’s Pension and Retirement Boards.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
(1) Appoint the following employee-elected individuals to the City of Alexandria Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Board for the period of January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2028:
a. Ryan Klein as Police Officer Representative; and
b. Dylan Kempton as Firefighter Representative.
(2) That City Council appoint the following individuals to the City of Alexandria
Supplemental Retirement Pension Board for the period of January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2028:
a. Kimberly Hurley as General Schedule Representative;
b. Robert Stackhouse as General Schedule Alternate;
c. Elizabeth (Honaker) Fox as Medic/Fire Marshal Representative; and
d. Darryl Stanton as Medic/Fire Marshal Alternate.
(3) That City Council appoint the following individuals to both the City of Alexandria Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Board and the Supplemental Retirement Board effective January 1, 2025:
a. Arthur Wicks as Management Representative; and
b. Alethea Predeoux as Management Alternate.
After appointment, management representatives will remain on both boards until removed by City Council or ending their employment with the City.
BACKGROUND: The Firefighter and Police Officer Pension Board (“Board”) consists of eight members and three alternates who serve as the trustees of the trust and fiduciaries of the Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Plan (“Plan”) and its assets. The Board acts for the City on matters concerning the assets of the Plan, including selecting and monitoring investment funds and appointing investment managers, custodians, and advisors. The Board is also charged with consulting with City management to recommend modifications to the Plan. The Plan requires Board meetings to be held each quarter of the calendar year, but meetings are generally held more often.
City Council has the authority to appoint Board members to the Firefighter and Police Officer Pension Board. The Board members are either nominated by the City Manager or elected by the Voting Participants, which include both active sworn Firefighters and Police Officers as well as retired and deferred vested Plan participants who were sworn Firefighters or Police Officers. The City Manager nominates four representatives and one alternate to represent City management. Firefighters nominate and elect through secret ballot two participant representatives and one alternate. Police Officers also nominate and elect through secret ballot two participant representatives and one alternate. If City Council does not appoint a representative nominated by the City Manager or the Voting Participants, the nomination and election process must be repeated until all Board member positions are filled. The chairman and secretary are elected by the Board members.
The Supplemental Retirement Board (“Board”) was created on December 11, 2012, and includes General Schedule, Deputy Sheriff and Medic/Fire Marshal employees. The Board is comprised of eight members and five alternates who serve as the trustees of the City of Alexandria’s Supplemental Retirement Plan’s (“Plan”) trust and fiduciaries of the Plan and its assets. The Board acts for the City on matters concerning the Plan’s assets, including selecting and monitoring investment funds and appointing investment managers, custodians, and advisors. The Board is also charged with consulting with City management to recommend modifications to the Plan. The Plan requires Board meetings to be held each quarter of the calendar year, but meetings are held more often.
City Council has the authority to appoint Board members. The Board members are either nominated by the City Manager or elected by the Board. The City Manager nominates four representatives and one alternate to represent City management. The Board elects two representatives and two alternates to represent General Schedule employees, one representative and one alternate to represent the Deputy Sheriffs, and one representative and one alternate to represent the Medics and Fire Marshals. If City Council does not appoint a representative or alternate nominated by the City Manager or the Board, the nomination process must be repeated until all Board member positions are filled. The chairman and the secretary are elected by the Board members.
Participant representatives and participant alternates of both boards serve four-year terms, which are staggered so that members’ terms overlap but are not concurrent. Management Representatives and the Management Alternate serve until they resign, are removed from the Board by City Council or end their employment with the City.
Participant Representatives and Alternates for the Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Board are as follows:
Participant Representatives and Alternates for Firefighters:
Name Term
Patrick Evans (Representative) 1/1/2023 - 12/31/2026
Rick Muse (Alternate) 1/1/2023 - 12/31/2026
Vacant Representative
Proposed - Dylan Kempton Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2028
Participant Representatives and Alternates for Police Officers:
Name Term
Shirl Mammarella (Representative) 1/1/2023 - 12/31/2026
Vacant Representative
Proposed - Ryan Klein Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2028
Vacant - (Alternate)
To Be Determined Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2026
Participant Representatives and Alternates for the Supplemental Retirement Board are as follows:
Participant Representatives and Alternates for General Schedule Employees:
Name Term
Jim Moore 1/1/2023 - 12/31/2026
Dana Wedeles (Alternate) 1/1/2023 - 12/31/2026
Vacant Representative
Proposed - Kim Hurley Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2028
Vacant Alternate
Proposed Robert Stackhouse Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2028
Participant Representatives and Alternates for Deputy Sheriffs:
Name Current Term
Robert Gilmore (Representative) 1/1/2023 - 12/31/2026
Cassandra Branch (Alternate) 1/1/2023 - 12/31/2026
Participant Representatives and Alternates for Medics and Fire Marshals:
Name Term
Vacant Representative
Proposed - Elizabeth (Honaker) Fox Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2028
Vacant Alternate
Proposed - Darryl Stanton Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2028
Management Representatives and Alternate for both the Firefighter and Police Officer Pension Board and the Supplemental Retirement Board are as follows:
Name
Julian Gonsalves, Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office
Katherine Key, Performance Analyst II, Office of Performance Analytics
Kendel Taylor, Director of Finance
Proposed - Alethea Predeoux, Deputy City Manager, City Manager’s Office (Alternate)
Proposed - Arthur Wicks, Capital Improvement Program Manager, Office of Management & Budget
DISCUSSION: In accordance with Plan rules, Firefighter and Police Officer Plan participants held separate nomination and election processes to find candidates to fill the two expiring terms for employee representatives. Voting was done electronically through a secure online voting system called Election Runner. Each eligible Voting Participant was sent a personalized username and passkey. They were also given the option to request a paper ballot if they could not access the online election software. No paper ballots were requested or submitted. Votes were received via Election Runner (election software) through November 10, 2024, at 5:00pm. After the voting period closed an analytical report of the votes were pulled. The Firefighter and Police Officer representative’s terms will be effective as of January 1, 2025, and will end on December 31, 2028.
The call for nominations resulted in one interested candidate for the Firefighter representative and the uncontested election of Dylan Kempton as Firefighter representative. Mr. Kempton has served on the pension board since January 2021. Mr. Kempton is a Firefighter IV with the Alexandria Fire Department where he has served for seven years.
The call for nominations resulted in three interested candidates for the Police Officer representative, Joseph Cavanaugh, Ryan Klein and Edward Milner. The Police Officer Voting Participants voted to elect Ryan Klein in a contested election. The contested election was held via an on-line software called Election Runner. 29% of the eligible voting members participated in the on-line election and Mr. Klein received 53% of the votes. Mr. Klein has served on the pension board since October 2023 as the participant alternate and he has served for seven years in the Alexandria Police Department.
A special election will be held to fill the Police Officer Participant Alternate vacancy that has been created by Mr. Klein’s appointment to the Participant Representative.
In accordance with Plan rules, the City of Alexandria Supplemental Retirement Board issued a call for nominations for General Schedule and Medics and Fire Marshal Representatives and Alternates. The call for nominations was posted on AlexNet and sent out via department communicators on September 30, 2024. Interested candidates submitted a resume and statement of interest to the Board stating their background and why they were interested in serving on the board. The Supplemental Retirement Board representative and alternate terms will be effective as of January 1, 2025 and will end on December 31, 2028.
The call for nominations resulted in seven interested candidates for the General Schedule representative and alternate vacancies. The election resulted the recommendation of Kimberly Hurley as General Schedule representative and Robert Stackhouse as the General Schedule alternate. Ms. Hurley has worked for the City for 17 years and currently serves as the Division Chief of Organizational Development & Equity in the Department of Community and Human Services. Mr. Stackhouse has worked for the City for 2 years and currently serves as a Performance Analyst in the Office of Performance Analytics.
The call for nominations resulted in four interested candidates for the Medic and Fire Marshal representative and alternate vacancies. The election resulted the recommendation of Elizabeth (Honaker) Fox as the Medic and Fire Marshal representative and Darryl Stanton as the Medic Fire Marshal alternate. Ms. Fox is an EMS Lieutenant with the Alexandria Fire Department where he has served for 14 years. Mr. Stanton is a Deputy Fire Marshal with the Alexandria Fire Department where he has served for 5 years.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
STAFF:
Kendel Taylor, Director of Finance
Kadira Coley, Retirement Administrator.