Fourth Period

Fourth Period…1996-January 1, 2006

1996 & 1997

Ralph Goldsmith became the new president and Phil Metz, who ran unopposed, remained treasurer. As previous presidents, Ralph pledged to continue CMERA’s efforts in seeking needed benefits.

There were a number of key issues considered at the January 25, 1996 Board of Directors meeting. These included what progress was being made on the benefit for older UC retirees, the need to audit CMERA’s books and what progress the Legislative Committee was making on revising the Constitution and By-Laws. This last item was discussed in detail, especially the need to increase the membership fee to cover expenses. The committee noted that it would consider all comments in making the final revisions.

At the CRS Board of Trustees meeting on February 7, 1996 the City Manager John Shirey informed everyone that UC Board of Directors had agreed to provide their older retirees with the same benefit recently received by City and MSD retirees. In his letter of February 22, 1996 Ralph congratulated Shirey on his success and thanked him on behalf of CMERA and the retirees involved.

On March 26, 1996 William Keating, chairman of the UC Board of Trustees, addressed a letter to John Shirey confirming their willingness to provide their older retirees with the needed benefit. Unfortunately this letter also included a qualifying statement that UC was considering going private, and that the details of that move had to be included in the way the benefit increase would be provided. In other words there would have to be some give and take between the City and UC to make things happen, and thus the benefit would not take place as easy as everyone first thought.

At the April 4, 1996 Board of Directors meeting Ralph Goldsmith advised everyone of the university’s last letter and that the benefit for UC older retirees was still a matter that
had to be dealt with. Indeed UC privatization could have a serious affect on the City retirement system, since in the transition some UC employees could leave the system
while no new employees would be coming into the system. All new employees would have to join the state retirement system.

At the May 1, 1996 CRS Board of Trustees meeting, Mr. Shirey said in his discussions with Bill Keating that the City would be willing to pay for the benefit for their employees in the CRS, but not for the employer contribution. To this proposal UC said they would consider all these options.

At the May 18, 1996 membership meeting Ralph outlined the status of the older UC retiree benefit and that he would keep on top of this issue. It was also mentioned that Mr. Shirey has been very concerned about health care costs for active employees as well as retirees ever since he became City Manager. At the present time modifications were being considered for active employees but it was something CMERA would have to watch very carefully. Lastly it was noted that due to rising costs the Legislative Committee was considering the need to increase membership fees. One cost cutting item that was being considered was e mailing information and newsletters instead of using the U.S. Mail. Membership fees will be considered further at the next membership meeting with the revised Constitution and By-Laws.

Ralph called a special Board of Directors meeting for June 13, 1996. At this meeting Harvey Wilbekin mentioned that there was a clear stumbling block to getting the UC retirees their benefit. The City Solicitor’s recent opinion placed payment responsibilities for all UC retirees fully with the university. That means the City Manager’s previous offer was no longer valid, and that he hoped to meet with the solicitor in a few days on this matter. That meeting was held on October 10, 1996 without any resolution to the problem.

At the October 19, 1996 membership meeting Ralph brought everyone up to date on the benefit package for older UC retirees. The privatization of UC was causing a real problem as to how this benefit should be financed. AFSCME had taken steps toward legal action and CMERA was challenging the City Solicitor’s opinion. The revised Constitution and By-Laws were reviewed including increasing membership fees to $5.00. They were approved and for revisions see Page 4a. The passage of these documents also eliminated the office of Vice President and replaced it with the office of President-Elect. Ralph then introduced Jim Nuxoll and Jim Jester who were candidates for this new office. Everyone was further reminded that all ballots had to be returned by November 30, 1996.

A Board of Directors meeting was held on February 13, 1997 and Ralph announced that Jim Jester was the lucky winner for the new office of President-Elect. After considerable discussion about the UC retiree’s benefit it was agreed that CMERA should push the

CRS Board of Trustees again on this matter.

On March 5, 1997 Ralph did write the Board of Trustees providing a background on the UC older retirees problem. This letter urged the Board to resolve this issue and provide
these UC retirees with the same 2% increase that City and MSD retirees received on July1, 1995. CMERA will continue to pursue this matter vigorously until resolved.

Those at the membership meeting on May 17, 1997 were advised that the older UC retirees benefit was still high on everyone’s list. CMERA did meet with Dwight Tillery and several other Board of Trustee members, and hopefully they could influence the Board to put pressure on the University to take some action on this important benefit. Everyone was reminded of the increase in dues to $5.00 in accordance with the amended By-Laws. Ralph Goldsmith asked again for e-mail addresses from those that have one, and said that he will be sending the newsletter out by e-mail as part of CMERA’s effort to cut costs.

Those at the October 18, 1997 fall membership meeting were advised that the ballots were in the mail and they should be returned promptly. They were also told, that at long last an ordinance was now before City Council that would provide older UC and hospital retirees with the same 2% monthly increase that City and MSD retirees received back in 1995. This success was due to the continued efforts of CMERA, City Council members and the CRS Board of Trustees.

On November 13, 1997 City Council did pass Ordinance No. 397-1997 that would increase older UC and hospital retirees benefits by 2% a year, starting with those that retired before January 1, 1983, with a maximum of 24%.

On December 2, 1997 Chuck Hayley, chair of the Nominating Committee, sent Ralph a note announcing the election results. The winners were Jim Nuxoll President-Elect, Phil Metz Treasurer, and Joe Bischof Secretary. Ralph said he would advise them of their good fortune.

1998 & 1999

At the spring membership meeting it was announced that CMERA was pushing for additional benefits since the performance of the system was doing well. Hopefully these efforts would prove successful.

On June 3, 1998 City Manager Shirey send a letter to the CRS Board of Trustees recommending the following benefit increases for retirees due to the excellent performance of the systems investments.

1. Current and future retirees would have the 3% annual increase compounded starting in 1999.
2. The first 3% compounded increase would be received in one year instead of two years.
3. A catch up COLA as if the 3% compounding had been in place beginning in 1983 instead of 1999.
4. An increase in the lump-sum death benefit from $2,000 to $7,500.

In order to sell this package the City Manger recommended that the employer’s contribution to the system be lowered from 14% to 7% for at least the next 5 years starting in 1999.

On June 20, 1998 Jim Jester sent a letter to the CRS Board of Trustees supporting the City Manager’s proposal of June 3, 1998. This package was also supported by the CRS Benefits Committee.

On June 30, 1998 AFSCME also sent a letter of support.

On August 5, 1998 Paula Taylor, the Benefits Committee chair, recommended to the CRS Board of Trustees the following benefit improvements relative to the City Managers proposal.

1. A 3% compound cost-of-living adjustment one year after retirement for post-1998 retirees.
2. A catch-up 3% compound cost-of-living adjustment for retirees beginning two years after retirement for post-1982 retirees.
3. An increase in survivor benefit.
4. An increase in death benefit.

At the Board of Directors meeting on August 20, 1998 Jim Jester advised everyone that the Board of Trustees at its meeting of August 5, 1998 had approved the Benefits Committee benefit package. It was noted that Mr. Keller had cast the only negative vote. Tillery’s office was also going to contact Jim as to how CMERA might help when this package came before the Finance Committee of Council.

At the October 17, 1998 general meeting Jim Jester brought everyone up to date as to the status of the benefits package that was before City Council. He said that it was referred to the Finance Committee for their review, and then introduced Laurie Hacking, the new pension fund manager.

Laurie distributed a thirteen page handout that outlined the financial status of the system, and how the benefits would apply to retirees at different levels of retirement. She emphasized that the system was very sound, that there was no unfunded liability, the employee to retiree ratio was 1 to 1, and that as of 9/30/98 the system had assets of $2.3 billion. It was further noted that other benefits were being considered. Jim concluded the meeting urging everyone to attend the Finance Committee meeting on this matter.

On October 21, 1998 City Council passed Ordinance Nos. 388-1998 and 389-1998 providing the following benefits. These included the ability of assigning the death benefit monies to a third party, an increase in the death benefit from $2,000 to $7,500, a 3% cost-of-living adjustment starting one or two years after retirement, an increase in survivor benefits and compounding the cost-of-living adjustment.

A Board of Directors meeting was held on February 24, 1999. The main purpose of this meeting was to agree on a program for the May meeting. It was also announced that Laurie Hacking was no longer with the City and that they were looking for a replacement.

The spring membership meeting was held on May 15, 1999 with 87 in attendance. Everyone was advised about the benefit package that was passed on October 21, 1998, and was also told that the dental and vision benefit was still being held in the Finance Committee. The Board would continue to follow this package very closely.

At the September 16, 1999 Board of Directors meeting Jim advised everyone that the dental and vision ordinance had been indefinitely postponed. The Nominating Committee of Hayley, Flynn and Dye was moving quickly to develop a slate of officers. Finally it was announced that the membership meeting would be held on October 16, 1999.

Everyone at the October 16, 1999 membership meeting was told the dental and vision benefit was on hold even though the Benefits Committee will be pushing this item after Council’s election. The committee was trying to have the retirement office obtain a contract for $3.1 million. They thought this would be reasonable since the system had a current value of $2.4 billion. Ezell Adams answered a number of questions, and mentioned that although Tim Riordan was against this benefit, he still felt comfortable about the benefit since he thought they had seven yes votes on the Board of Trustees.

2000 & 2001

A number of key issues were raised at the January 1, 2000 Board of Directors meeting. The Nominating Committee said they were not successful in developing a slate of officers for the President-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary positions but would keep on trying. This raised another problem in that Joe Bischof, the Secretary and Statutory Agent will be going off the Board, and the state will have to be advised of this change. Fortunately Isabelle Schwarberg agreed to take on the agent responsibility. Jim Nuxoll, the new president, mentioned that the membership meetings will be held on May 20th and October 21.

The board of Directors met again on February 17, 2000 and the Nominating Committee announced the following slate of officers. They were John Browarsky for President-Elect, Don Winterhalter for Treasurer and Dick Brown Sr. for Secretary. The ballot will be ready for the May meeting and the new officers will serve until Dec. 31, 2001. During the meeting the committee said several people they talked to said they had some interest in serving on the Board. To maintain this interest the Board created an “intern” position and those interested would be invited to future Board meetings without voting rights. The status of the dental and vision benefit is still being followed very closely. The subject of increasing membership was discussed. Tom Stitt then agreed to work with the Legislative Committee in this effort.

There were 113 in attendance at the May 20, 2000 membership meeting. The ballots had been sent out with the newsletter, and the new officers were introduced before Tim Riordan made his presentation. He presented an eight page report that basically reported that the system was very sound, that there are 4,235 active members and 4,300 retirees, and the system has a current value of a little over $2.6 billion. It was announced that the dental and vision ordinance would be considered at the Finance Committee’s May 31, 2000 meeting. Everyone was urged to attend this meeting.

On May 25, 2000 Jim Nuxoll sent a letter to the Finance Committee outlining the importance of the dental and vision benefit for retirees and urging approval.

A Board of Directors meeting was held on July 6, 2000. There were 145 ballots received and the above mentioned slate of officers were elected. They took office immediately. Jim Johns was then introduced and he became the first “intern” or Associate Director.

On August 2, 2000 City Council passed Ordinance No. 284-2000 providing retirees with Dental and Vision insurance.

The Board of Directors held their meeting on September 14, 2000. Details of the Association’s incorporation status was reviewed. It was also mentioned that the Board had one too many Directors at this time and Phil Metz offered to resign. This brought the Board down to its required fifteen membership. Chuck Haas and Keith Giles then gave an overview of the new Dental and Vision benefit and answered many questions. Hopefully this will be implemented on January 1, 2001.

On October 14, 2000 Denny Davis sent Jim Nuxoll a letter advising him that the CRS Benefits Committee was asking the Risk Manager Chuck Haas to review the different health care plans being considered for retirees. The thought here is to give retirees a choice of different plans and he emphasized that this is something that will be watched very carefully.

At the October 21, 2000 general membership meeting it was announced that Phil Metz, Ron Metz and Joe Bischof were retiring from the CMERA Board. It was further noted that Joe had been on the Board since 1985. Chuck Haas and Keith Giles then discussed the details of the new Dental and Vision Benefit like they did at the earlier Board meeting. The Board again urged everyone that has an e-mail address to provide that information to Ralph Goldsmith.

A number of items were discussed at the January 25, 2001 Board meeting by Jim Nuxoll. He mentioned the new Dental and Vision benefit will start on February 1, 2001 instead of the January 1. Jim Johns completed the annual audit and found everything in good order. Ralph Goldsmith said establishing an e-mail site at this time did not seem cost effective. The next membership meeting was set for May 19, 2001.

At the March 22, 2001 Board meeting Ralph reported that e-mail address was now operational. The address is [email protected] and is on his home computer. Chuck Haley said the Nominating Committee was trying to put together a ballot for those officers that will take office on January 1, 2002. He was told that it was important to try and get minorities involved. Nuxoll announced that the fall meeting was scheduled for October 27, 2001.

In the absence of the President the President-Elect John Browarsky conducted the May 19, 2001 general membership meeting. Those present were urged to bring other retirees to the meetings. Ms. Sharon Murphy then went over in detail the new Guardian Dental plan and Ms. Nicole McMickle spoke about the new Eye Med plan.

A Board of Directors meeting was held on July 19, 2001. The main item on the agenda was preparing for the fall meeting that was set for October 27, 2001. John Browarsky presented a fall meeting program that was approved. Chuck Hayley said the committee was contacting possible candidates for the Board of Directors. Ralph Goldsmith presented copies of a proposed new logo for the association. He was looking for comments or approval. He also noted that CMERA’s new Web-site was active and was www.RCC.org/retirement.

On September 6, 2001 Joe Bischof addressed a letter to Bruce Fink relative to CMERA’s concerns that retirees’ future 1099-R’s Forms could be incorrectly reporting retirees’ income. Reporting retirees’ Medicare reimbursement as income was the cause of this problem. On October 18, 2001 Keith Giles advised Joe as to how the retirement office would correct the reporting of retiree’s income.

A number of items were discussed at the fall general meeting held on October 27, 2001. Members were advised of the potential error that could occur on their 1099-R Forms. The details of this possible error were outlined and if they had any questions they should contact Joe Bischof. Ralph brought them up to date on the use of the new Web-site and e-mail address. CMERA would be using the e-mail to advise members of future activities and in this way will save on mailing costs. Unfortunately the Nominating Committee was unable to obtain any candidates for the office of President-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary. They were looking for someone in attendance to hopefully fill these positions.

Late in 2001 CMERA sent a letter to the City Manager expressing its concern, that as the city was looking to modify the current employees health care program that similar changes might be made to the retirees’ program. The Manager was urged to keep the retirees’ concerns on this matter in mind, and keep CMERA fully informed as to possible changes before they actually occurred.

2002 & 2003

On February 19, 2002 Joe Bischof again addressed a letter to Bruce Fink indicating that the recently received 1099-R Forms for 2001 were different than previous years and were very confusing. Bruce indicated that the new form was used to try and quickly address the previous problem, and thought with adequate tax advice retirees should be able to correctly complete their tax returns. Joe pointed out that most retirees do not need tax advice and would not be able to deal with this new form. Bruce then agreed to send a letter to all retirees in the hope that the information therein would alleviate the problem.

The Board of Directors held their meeting on February 28, 2002. The new president John Browarsky expressed his concern that the office of President -Elect was not filled and looked to the Nominating Committee to address this problem quickly. The 1099-R Form problem was discussed in detail, and John asked all the Board members to help retirees as much as they could, based on the letter that would be sent out by the retirement system in the near future.

On March 6, 2002 Ely Ryder, an elected employee member of the CRS Board of Trustees, addressed a letter to City Council concerning Anthem Demutualization. He said the current value of Anthem’s shares was about $48 million and he was concerned as to what Council would do with this unexpected income. His letter further justified why a portion of those funds should be returned to the retirement system.

CMERA’s next Board of Directors meeting was held on April 25, 2002. The problem with the 1099-R Forms was reviewed in detail and everyone thought that the letter the retirement system sent out did not fully resolve the situation. Hopefully retirees did not have too many problems, and the few that contacted Board members were given some help. The Anthem Demutualization situation was covered and it was agreed that this was a matter that would have to be watched very carefully. It was also agreed that the updating of the Constitution and By-Laws should be done with the help of an attorney.

At the May 18, 2002 general membership meeting Ezell Adams, the retiree member of the CRS Board of Trustees, discussed the Anthem Demutualization funds, and said the Board of Trustees were concerned that the retirement system may not receive any of these funds. He even said that court action might be needed to resolve this issue. One of the speakers, Marcia Mendelson outlined temporary employment opportunities for retirees that might be interested in some work. Mark Patterson, an attorney, discussed a number of legal items that retirees might be concerned about. Both speakers answered a number of questions.

John Browarsky conducted the September 5, 2002 Board of Directors meeting. It was reported that the value of the retirement system funds was $2.36 billion on December 31, 2001 and was down to $2.19 billion on June 30, 2002. This obviously was a concern to everyone. He further suggested that the Nominating Committee should be looking for an attorney to join the Board because of all the possible legal problems facing the retirement system and CMERA. The matter of raising dues was discussed and it was decided to maintain the dues at $5.00.

The general membership meeting was held on October 26, 2002. Members were encouraged to offer Board members suggestions as to what type of speakers they would like to hear in the future. Ms. Kahn then spoke about Multiple Sclerosis and what programs were available to help those that had this problem. Bruce Fink then talked about what effect the stock market decline was having on the pension funds. He said that although the system was over funded, the staff was still working on ways to conserve costs. One big item was the need to control health care costs.

CMERA’s Board meeting was held on February 20, 2003. John noted that the value of the retirement system had further declined from $1.99 billion in December 31, 2002 to $1.91 billion in Feb. 28, 2003. This was a concern to everyone and a matter that had to be watched. He also noted that Nancy Simmons would be helping in upgrading the Constitution and By-Laws. The matter of lost membership was considered and how to attract new members.

The general membership meeting was held on May 17, 2003 and was conducted by the President John Browarsky. He again encouraged everyone with an e-mail address to provide that information to Ralph Goldsmith. To reduce costs all of these retirees will receive the newsletter and other CMERA notices in that manner. It was also noted that the Retirement System has created a web site and that is a good way to keep current on retirement activities. John again urged the membership to run for the various offices that will be open at the end of the year. Bruce Fink was then introduced to bring everyone up to date on the health care plans.

The Board of Directors held their meeting on September 25, 2003. Considerable discussion revolved around ways to try and cut costs. No specific decisions were reached and the suggestion to raise dues was tabled. The fall general membership meeting was set for October 25, 2003. CMERA would try and get Chuck Hass or Bruce Fink to discuss the Anthem windfall at this meeting. The Nominating Committee was encouraged to develop a slate of candidates for the fall meeting.

John Browarsky opened the October 25, 2003 general membership meeting with the pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence for departed members. Before introducing the guest speaker John again called on members to volunteer to serve on the Board of Directors for the positions of President-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary. Bruce Fink then covered the financial status of the retirement system. He said the system had assets of $2.2 billion and liabilities of $2.3 billion, and that the system was 90% funded as compared to 84% funded a year ago. Currently there were 6,200 retirees, spouses and dependents covered by the system with insurance costs of $5,500 per member, and future health care plans would give members more choices. Chuck Hass further reported that the rising cost of the health care program was exceeding the inflation rate by 10%, and was certainly something that had to be dealt with in the future.

2004 to January 1, 2006

On January 8, 2004 Joe Bischof sent an e-mail to Bruce Fink identifying their personal health care costs under the new plan. This was not a complaint but merely an effort to let him know how the plan affected different members. He noted that under the original plan his wife paid a maximum of $400 for prescriptions, and under the new plan her cost for 2003 was $875. This increase was due to the fact that she had a lot of $5 prescriptions and the new plan contained no maximum.

At the March 18, 2004 Board of Directors meeting John announced that the spring general membership meeting would be held on May 15, 2004. There were a number of topics being considered for this meeting from health care to the Anthem windfall. There was further discussion as to whether AFSCME should be included to try and arrive at a policy as to how to deal with the Anthem fund problem. During the meeting John Browarsky introduced Stan Wellbrock who was a guest and a possible future Board member. The need to continue on upgrading the By-Laws was also reviewed.

The newsletter was sent out announcing the spring general membership meeting that was to be held on May 15, 2004. This newsletter also contained an insert noting that “Retirement Planning Doesn’t End When You Retire“. It outlined a number of different financial planning programs retirees might want to consider. It was felt that this might stimulate some interest in hearing more about these programs at future meetings.

The spring general membership meeting was held on May 15, 2004. At this meeting Bruce Fink and Chuck Hass noted that the assets of the system currently amounted to $2.3 billion. It was noted that the City was currently contributing 11% of payroll and that health care costs had risen 29% in the past two years. This increase in health care costs was due in part to early retirements, demand for new procedures, and quality of care costs demanded by Government.

The Board of Directors held their meeting on September 23, 2004. It was decided that Bruce Fink would be invited to speak at the fall general membership meeting that was scheduled for October 23, 2004. He would be asked to cover Medicare and estate planning. There was still a lot of concern about the Anthem windfall but CMERA was not sure as to what steps should be taken in order to try and retrieve some of these funds for the retirement system. The Nominating Committee then introduced Don Beets for the office of Secretary and Stan Wellbrock for the office of Treasurer. They were not able to obtain a candidate for the position of President-Elect.

On September 30, 2004 William Moller, Secretary for the CRS Board of Trustees, sent a report to the Board of Trustees making certain proposals to meet the pension fund obligations. This report included a motion asking the Board of Trustees to instruct Mercer, the system’s actuary, to formally incorporate the assumptions and plan design amendments he was proposing into the annual actuarial valuations. These amendments covered a wide range of changes, from criteria changes for evaluating the system, to reduction in benefits to some of the more recent retirees.

In October of 2004 two Water Works retirees (John Paddock & Bill Reeves) became aware of William Moller’s memo to the CRS Board of Trustees. Since they were concerned about how the memo’s recommendations would adversely affect recent retirees’ health care benefits, they contacted CMERA and asked for an immediate meeting with CMERA.

John and Bill did meet with CMERA’s Executive Committee and explained how the proposed changes would affect recent retirees. Then they asked CMERA to contact the CRS Board of Trustees and go on record opposing any changes. However the Executive Committee decided that CMERA should not take a stand on this memo at this time.

The fall newsletter indicated that the general membership meeting would be held on October 23, 2004. Because there was only one candidate for the office of Treasurer and Secretary there would be no ballots sent out to the membership. It was announced that the new officers were Stan Wellbrock as Treasurer and Don Beets as Secretary. There was also an urgent need to find a candidate for the office of President-Elect since John Browarsky had already exceeded his term of office.

There was a good attendance at the fall general membership meeting on October 23, 2004. John again introduced the new officers and asked if anyone present was interested in the office of President-Elect or knew of someone that might be interested. The speaker Bruce Fink noted that the system had suffered a slight decrease and had a current value of $2.27 billion. He also stressed that health care costs had risen 40% over the past three years and this was a serious matter that the system would have to deal with in the near future.

Because of CMERA’s neutral position towards the potential health care changes John Paddock and Bill Reeves saw the need to take matters into their own hands. They contacted many retirees and encouraged them to attend the next CRS Board of Trustees meeting and oppose any changes. About 30 or 40 retirees attended the meeting. Several retirees, including Bill Reeves spoke eloquently in opposition to the proposed changes. The Board said they would take their comments under consideration.

On November 3, 2004 the City Manager Valerie Lemmie sent a notice to Non-Represented Management Employees relative to rising health care costs. Therein she stated that the City would have to shift more of the cost sharing to employees in order to balance the next biennial budget. Although it was not stated in this notice the biennial budget did parallel the thinking contained in William Moller’s September 30 report dealing with retirees.

John Browarsky called a special Board of Directors meeting on November 18, 2004. At this meeting Bruce Fink outlined in detail the retirement system’s health care cost problems, and the details of William Moller’s report of September 30, 2004. He stressed that Moller’s recommendations and Lemmie’s notice to current employees were all changes needed to balance the City’s budget. After considerable questions from the Directors a motion was made and approved to have CMERA support Moller’s recommendations. Don Beets was the only dissenting vote.

On November 22, 2004 John Browarsky addressed a letter to the Board of Trustees of the Cincinnati Retirement System, indicating that CMERA supported (not approved) the proposal to meet pension obligations as identified in the September 30, 2004 memo to the Cincinnati Retirement System (CRS) Board from William E. Moller.

Having achieved no results at the recent CRS board of Trustees meeting, John and Bill continued to contact other retirees including Denny Davis, John Hines, Don Beets and Ray Buschmiller. The movement slowly gained momentum, and with CMERA’s recent letter to the CRS Board of Trustees supporting Moller’s memo, more and more retirees took interest in the movement.

At the December 2, 2004 CRS Board of Trustees meeting there was a somewhat larger crowd of retirees present opposing any changes to the retiree’s health care program. Unfortunately the Board of Trustees took no action on Moller’s memo.

While this new group was not an official organization, it was achieving some progress and began holding regular scheduled meetings. While various strategies were discussed at these meetings, it was clear that organized opposition to the Moller memo was necessary. The decision was made, and nearly 1,000 postcards were sent to retirees who would be affected by the health care changes. These postcards encouraged them to demonstrate their opposition to the proposed changes.

On December 12, 2004 Denny Davis sent a detailed report to John Browarsky objecting to CMERA’s position on Moller’s September 30, 2004 memo, and requesting an immediate meeting with CMERA’s Board of Directors.

In response to this request John sent a memo to all Board of Directors about Denny’s request. In this memo he said that he did attend the CRS Board of Trustees meeting of December 2, 2004, and at that meeting the Board of Trustees voted to accept but not approve Moller’s memo of September 30, 2004, and to receive comments for 30 days. After the 30 days, a proposal would be approved by the CRS Board that includes pertinent comments, and said proposal would be forwarded to City Council for final disposition. He asked all Board member to call him with their thoughts on the matter, and whether the Board should meet during the week of December 27, 2004 with Denny Davis. If a meeting is held he said he would invite Denny and only two other representatives.

John Browarsky did hold a Special Board meeting at which time Denny Davis was given the opportunity to express the concerns of those retirees that would be affected if Moller’s new proposal was adopted. Kevin Shepard was also attendance and supported Denny’s concerns. The Secretary Don Beets also added words of support. Considerable discussion followed and since John had already sent a letter to the Board of Trustees, it was felt that CMERA should not send a second letter but it would closely follow this potential change in benefits. CMERA could then express any new position it may have if that matter ever reaches the floor of City Council. There was some thinking that the Board of Directors may have acted too quickly without hearing both sides of the issue, but it was too late to change that decision now.

At the January, 2005 CRS Board of Trustees public meeting there were nearly 400 retirees in attendance. Denny Davis, John Browarsky and others spoke in opposition to any health care changes. After the meeting several Council Members and the Mayor expressed opposition to the changes, and indicated that there was a need for more study before any decisions were made.

With the CRS Board of Trustees putting health care changes on hold, the new opposition group began to formalize its efforts with regular meetings, extensive financial analysis of the Pension Fund’s financial reports, creation of a web site and continued recruitment of additional retirees to the cause. The name of CincyRetirees was taken in order to distinguish this group from CMERA.

The CMERA Board of Directors held another Special meeting on January 27, 2005. John Browarsky advised everyone that he would complete his second term as president on December 31, 2005 and there was a dire need to obtain a nominee for President-Elect. John also pointed out that he could not find a list that indicated when the terms of the various Directors ended. Under these conditions there was a need to ask current Directors when their terms ended, and determine who was eligible to continue to serve. During this process several indicated they would be willing to leave the Board if that worked out in the best interest of CMERA. This process allowed the Board to be updated, and it was emphasized that an accurate record of those serving on the Board should be maintained in the future. Don Beets then brought the following issues to the attention of CMERA’s Board.

1. There is no such position in the By-Laws as Associate Director or the positions voting rights.
2. The policy of how the minutes are distributed is not clear.
3. Should CMERA develop a web page? Don and Ralph would look into this.
4. The need to assign pre-paid dues to restricted funds.
5. Life membership dues were eliminated in 1995. The members who are not paying their dues need to be notified.
6. Should the dues be raised to $10.00 or the membership increased? It was agreed to try to increase membership.
7. There needs to be a system to notify those with expired membership to bring their membership up to date.
8. The Butterfield Center is closed. A new location must be found quickly.
9. The President needs to file a formal “Certificate of Continued Existence” with the State before September of this year.
10. CMERA may want to update its statutory agent with the state.

At the end of the meeting John passed out the latest benefit proposal that was considered at the CRS Board executive retreat that was held on December 16, 2004. He said that this latest proposal was brought to a vote with 5 ex-officio members voting in favor and 3 elected members voting opposed. The motion failed since it did not receive the required 6 favorable votes. He then appointed Don Beets, Ralph Goldsmith, George Dye and Jim Johns to review the Constitution and By-Laws and make recommendations to the Board.

On February 16, 2005 William Moller, the Secretary for the CRS Board of Trustees, sent a report to the Board outlining the changes to the plan that were approved by the Retirement Board at its February 3, 2005 meeting. The CRS Board then asked the Retirement System to invite all retirees, active members and any interested taxpayers to a public meeting on March 3, 2005. The purpose of this meeting was to receive comments on the proposed plan changes. Written comments would also be received until March 18, 2005.

John held another special Board meeting on February 24, 2005. In addition to the Directors and Associate Directors that were present, there were potential new Directors present. They were Linda Chandler, Shiela Mudd Baker, John Hines, Prem Garg and Rick Pfliegel. John was then pleased to announce that Don Beets had offered to accept the position of President-Elect. A motion was quickly made and seconded and Don was unanimously approved for the position of President-Elect.

Because of the uncertainty of the terms of the current Directors Don suggested to John that he declare that an emergency condition existed, and immediately appoint five new Directors. John did this and at the same time extended the terms of any existing Directors that needed their terms extended. John said he would contact the Directors that were not present and determine if they wished to stay on the Board or if they would rather leave the Board. Since the Secretary position was now open Rick Pfliegel offered to fill that position and was quickly confirmed.

Since John’s term of office would end on December 31, 2005 he asked the Nominating Committee to quickly proceed with finding a candidate for the office of President-Elect that would be open the first of the year. Don then reported that the re-write of the Constitution was complete and the By-Laws should be done soon. He also mentioned that a third document was being created. This document would provide detailed guidelines and procedures to help CMERA operate more efficiently. Hopefully all of these could be completed for approval at the October general membership meeting. One last item dealt with the need to decide where to meet in May. Linda Chandler said she would help Stan Wellbrock to find a location.

A public meeting was held to present and receive comments on the contents of the February 16, 2005 Moller report to the CRS Board of Trustees. There was considerable attendance at this meeting and obviously many concerns expressed about portions of the report. Here again Denny Davis and Kevin Shepard went into great detail as to how the newer retirees would be affected. They also offered many suggestions as to how the system could deal with rising costs without affecting retirees. John Browarsky also expressed CMERA’s concerns.

A CMERA Board of Directors meeting was held on April 15, 2005. John advised everyone that he had contacted all of the Directors and outlined the makeup of the Board and its Associates. He also appointed Paul Smith to chair a committee that would look into the health care situation. It was noted that CMERA will open a post office box to receive all of its mail. Everyone was then asked to review the revised Constitution and By-Laws as presented by Don Beets, so they could be finalized at the next Board meeting in several weeks.

John Browarsky held another Board meeting on May 11, 2005 at which time he distributed a new Board of Directors directory. Rick Pfliegel then gave a presentation regarding the establishment of a web page for CMERA. The Board approved proceeding with the establishment of the web page. The revised Constitution and By-Laws were discussed in detail and the By-Laws were approved at this meeting. Both documents were to be presented at the May general membership meeting. As a last item considerable discussion evolved around the need for more retirees to be seated on the CRS Board of Trustees. It was agreed that this matter should be discussed further at the May meeting.

At the May general membership meeting the revised Constitution and By-Laws were discussed in detail. After answering many membership questions, they were told that these documents would be considered further at the fall meeting. The membership was also advised that the Board felt that there was a need for retirees to be better represented on the CRS Board of Trustees. Hopefully this could be done by replacing one of the current elected members with a retiree. They indicated that this was to be a high priority item for next year when the new officers and directors get fully involved.

The next CMERA Board meeting was held on August 26, 2005. It was held in one of the conference rooms of the Water Works offices on Spring Grove Avenue. Since Don Beets would be the next president these facilities would work out fine. It was noted that CMERA’s new post office box was in operation at the Cheviot branch. Rick Pfliegel then gave a report on the status of the web page that is identified as www.cmera.org. He also reviewed how CMERA could reduce printing costs by doing a lot on their own. Don Beets then suggested that CMERA establish a “Norb Miller Award“. This was approved with the understanding that none of the expenses for this award would be from CMERA‘s operating fund. There was no further discussion as to how the award funds would be generated. The need to generate more operating revenue was also considered and it was agreed that the membership dues should be increased to $10.00. Paul Smith reported on behalf of his Benefits Committee and outlined the broad based guidelines that had been developed and requested Board members to offer their comments. The need to have more retirees on the CRS Board of Trustees was emphasized, and it was agreed that this would be a high priority item for next year.

John reported that the CRS Board of Trustees met on September 1, 2005, and that the value of the system was $2.42 billion as of July 31, 2005. It was also noted that the system was 94% funded as of December 31, 2004. Of one concern is that retirees benefits will exceed active payroll in about two years. In addition retiree benefits are growing faster than the active payroll.

On September 13, 2005 Don Beets received from one or more anonymous donors, a $400 check for financing the “Norb Miller Award“ program. He then instructed Stan to be sure and keep these funds in a “Norb Miller Award” restricted account.

The fall newsletter went out announcing the date of the fall general meeting as October 15, 2005. This meeting was to be held at City Hall Council Chambers. This was to be an important meeting since the revised Constitution and By-Laws were to be fully discussed, and the new Medicare Plan D program would be reviewed. In addition the new governing Board members would be introduced and the first “Norb Miller Award” would be presented.

The October 15, 2005 general membership meeting that was held at City Hall. John Browarsky introduced the new officers and directors and passed the ceremonial gavel over to Don Beets, the new president. Don indicated that the Constitution and By-Laws had been revised in order to more closely follow the way the newly established Governing Board felt the association should be managed. After considerable discussion these documents were approved.

Don then noted that a third document known as the “Governing Policies’ was being written that would provide specific guidelines as to how CMERA would carry out its daily operations. It was felt that this document would help everyone on the Governing Board to work more uniformly. He then outlined a number of new committees that were formed and what their responsibilities would be. Members were then told about CMERA’s new post office addressed, and encouraged them to recover that address from the last newsletter.

Don then turned the meeting over to Sheila Baker. Sheila then went into the details of why CMERA had established the “Norb Miller Award” and then announced Joe Bischof as the first award winner. Joe was obviously completely surprised and accepted the award with great thanks. He also stressed that CMERA’s efforts in the past had been directed toward obtaining new benefits, and that the new Governing Board would need lots of help from the membership in retaining those benefits.

The meeting was then turned over to John Walsh and Chuck Hass who reviewed the Medicare Plan D program and how this interfaced with the retirement system health program. In general it was their opinion that the retirement systems program was much better, and that most retirees would not have to consider the Plan D program. They said this with a word of caution in that everyone should review their own circumstances very carefully.

Several days after the membership meeting Don asked Joe Bischof if he would be willing to Chair the “Norb Miller Award” Committee, and that he could select the other members of the Committee. Joe said he would for one year and quickly invited Jim Johns, Phil Metz and John Browarsky to be on the Committee. They all accepted and the Committee was off and running.

This brings us to the end of “The CMERA Story” for the period from 1980 to January 1, 2006. During that period efforts were directed to obtaining new benefits, but with rising health care costs CMERA will now have to devote its time to maintaining these benefits.

Continue – Epilogue