Disagreement was expected after a highly critical report on the Police and Fire Pension Fund.
“Just a bunch of personal opinions” that lacked evidence, says the fund’s board chair.
Real issues that need answers, countered the City Council member who spearheaded the review.
Yet, despite the disagreements on display Monday during a public meeting, one detail emerged that could have immediate consequences — and has both sides working together.
After an hour-long discussion about the $85,000 report, Chief Larry Schmitt dropped some unexpected news. The report, said the fund’s board chair, was the “main reason” the top choice to replace retired fund administrator John Keane was backing away.
Lynn Wenguer, head of the Fort Lauderdale Police and Fire Retirement System, had been offered a five-year, $200,000 annual contract for the position. Details had been ironed out and all that was needed was Wenguer’s OK.
“She called me this morning,” Schmitt told council member Bill Gulliford and others. “She … saw no need to put herself in the middle of all of this.”
It was an announcement that surprised those around the table and resulted in a full-court press to fix it.
Gulliford said he’d reach out to talk to her. So did council member Tommy Hazouri, the board’s liaison. Bill Scheu, the newest of the five-member board, also said he wanted to speak with her. Schmitt said he’d give it a couple of days before reaching back out.
A message left for Wenguer on Monday evening seeking comment wasn’t returned.
Gulliford said after the meeting the development was disappointing but hoped further conversation could change the outcome.
Schmitt called the meeting to respond to the 143-page report by Edward “Ted” Siedle that was released last week.
The highly critical document cited a “profound ‘red flag’” over the fund’s refusal to provide key documents that would allow a true performance review.
Instead, Siedle compared it to conservative stocks and bonds indexes and said under that scenario, at least $370 million has been lost.
The report further alleged poor oversight by staff and the board, misuse of pension assets to defend the group in court and lack of transparency when it came to commission recapture funds.
Schmitt hit back some Monday. The allegations, he said, were unsupported and were just personal opinions that misused reference materials.
On the alleged lack of transparency, he said every document the fund has is available at its Downtown office. Other performance measures, he said, were consistently updated on the fund’s website.
“There’s nothing secret going on here,” said Schmitt, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s representative.
Instead, he said the fund was managed much like the pension plans for the city’s general employees and corrections officers — both which also are underfunded.
Schmitt said the city’s lack of proper funding and lower millage rates are the main cause, a longtime common defense among fund supporters.
Schmitt, Hazouri and Scheu called the board’s recent actions involving limiting travel and transparency steps in the right direction.
But council still has outstanding subpoenas relating to documents Siedle said he needs to truly evaluate performance.
“I don’t view it (the report) to have been political,” Gulliford said, which drew a laugh from Schmitt.
Gulliford said despite Schmitt’s insistence, many of the issues raised in the report weren’t part of that response Monday.
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