City of Alexandria, Virginia
________________
MEMORANDUM
DATE: JANUARY 3, 2023
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 Alternate and Firefighter Representative and Alternate to the City of Alexandria Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Board and (2) Appointment of a General Schedule Representative and two General Schedule Alternates and a Deputy Sheriff Representative and Alternate to the City of Alexandria Supplemental Retirement Board.
BODY
_________________________________________________________________
ISSUE: Appointment to the City of Alexandria’s Pension and Retirement Boards.
RECOMMENDATION:
(1) That City Council appoint the following employee-elected individuals to the City of
Alexandria Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Board for the period of January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2026:
a. Edward Milner as Police Officer Representative;
b. Shirl Mammarella as Police Officer Alternate;
c. Patrick Evans as Firefighter Representative; and
d. Ricky Muse as Firefighter Alternate.
(2) That City Council appoint the following individuals to the City of Alexandria
Supplemental Retirement Pension Board:
a. Jim Moore as General Schedule Representative - Term to end 12/31/2026;
b. Dana Wedeles as General Schedule Alternate - Term to end 12/31/2026;
c. Sharath Rereddy as General Schedule Alternate - Term to end 12/31/2024;
b. Robert Gilmore as Deputy Sheriff Representative - Term to end 12/31/2026; and
c. Cassandra Branch as Deputy Sheriff Alternate - - Term to end 12/31/2026.
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. In the event that 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 Fire Marshal/Medic 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 Fire Marshals and Medics. In the event that 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.
Current Participant Representatives and Alternates for the Firefighters and Police Officers Pension Board are as follows:
Participant Representatives and Alternates for Firefighters:
Name Term
Dylan Kempton 1/1/2021 - 12/31/2024
Vacant Representative
Proposed - Patrick Evans Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2026
Vacant Alternate
Proposed - Ricky Muse Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2026
Participant Representatives and Alternates for Police Officers:
Name Term
Jason North 1/1/2021 - 12/31/2024
Vacant Representative
Proposed - Edward Milner Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2026
Vacant Alternate
Proposed - Shirl Mammarella Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2026
Current Participant Representatives and Alternates for the Supplemental Retirement Board are as follows:
Participant Representatives and Alternates for General Schedule Employees:
Name Term
Jina Edwards 1/1/2021 - 12/31/2024
Vacant Representative
Proposed - Jim Moore Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2026
Vacant Alternate
Proposed Dana Wedeles Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2026
Vacant Alternate
Proposed Sharath Rereddy Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2024
Participant Representatives and Alternates for Medics and Fire Marshals:
Name Current Term
James Mikell 1/1/2021 - 12/31/2024
Kelsea Bonkoski (Alternate) 1/1/2021 - 12/31/2024
Participant Representatives and Alternates for Deputy Sheriffs:
Name Term
Vacant Representative
Proposed - Robert Gilmore Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2026
Vacant Alternate
Proposed - Cassandra Branch Once appointed, term will end 12/31/2026
Current 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
Jean Kelleher, Director, Office of Human Rights
Katherine Key, Performance Analyst II, Office of Performance Analytics
Jesse Maines, Division Chief, Transportation & Environmental Services (Alternate)
Kendel Taylor, Director of Finance, and Interim Deputy City Manager.
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 and alternates. The call for nominations was emailed to all active employees and mailed to all inactive Voting Participants and posted on AlexNet. An open house for all interested candidates was held on October 13, 2022. Interested candidates submit a nominating petition signed by twenty-five eligible Voting Participants and a Personal Statement detailing their relevant background and why they were interested in serving on the board. Each personal statement is provided to all eligible Voting Participants along with details on how to cast their votes. The Firefighter and Police Officer representative’s terms will be effective as of January 1, 2023 and will end on December 31, 2026.
The call for nominations resulted in one interested candidate for the Police Officer representative and one candidate for the Police Officer alternate. The uncontested election resulted in voting Edward Milner as representative and Shirl Mammarella as Police Officer alternate.
The call for nominations resulted in one interested candidate for the Firefighter representative, and one candidate for Firefighter alternate. The uncontested election resulted in voting Patrick Evans as representative and Ricky Muse as alternate.
In accordance with Plan rules, the City of Alexandria Supplemental Retirement Board issued a call for nominations for General Schedule and Deputy Sheriff Representatives and Alternates. The call for nominations was posted on AlexNet and sent out via department communicators. An open house for all interested candidates was held on October 13, 2022. Interested candidates submitted a statement of interest and were invited to attend the December 8, 2022, Board meeting to state their background and why they were interested in serving on the board. Three of the nominated candidates attended the meeting. The Supplemental Retirement Board representative and alternate terms will be effective as of January 1, 2023 and will end on December 31, 2026 with exception to one General Schedule alternate whose term will end December 31, 2024.
The call for nominations resulted in one interested candidate for the General Schedule representative vacancy and two candidates for the General Schedule alternate vacancies. This resulted in the uncontested election of Jim Moore as General Schedule representative and Dana Wedeles and Sharath Rereddy as the General Schedule alternates. Mr. Moore has worked for the City for eleven years and serves as the Safety Officer in Risk Management with the Department of Finance. Ms. Wedeles has worked for the City for twelve years and currently serves as the Strategic Initiatives Officer in the City Manager’s Office. Mr. Rereddy has worked for the City for two years and serves as the Energy Management Analyst in General Services.
The call for nominations resulted in one interested candidate for the Deputy Sheriff representative and one interested candidate for the alternate vacancy. This resulted in the uncontested election of Robert Gilmore as the Deputy Sheriff representative and Cassandra Branch as the Deputy Sheriff alternate. Mr. Gilmore has served on the pension board since December 2012. Mr. Gilmore is a Deputy Sheriff Lieutenant with the Alexandria Sheriff’s Department where he has served for over twenty-five years. Ms. Branch is a Deputy Sheriff Sergeant with the Alexandria Sheriff’s Department where she has served for eighteen years.
FISCAL IMPACT: None.
ATTACHMENTS: None.
STAFF:
Kendel Taylor, Director of Finance, and Interim Deputy City Manager.
Kadira Coley, Retirement Administrator