Retired Police and Fire Pension Fund administrator John Keane has appeared before City Council many times over the past 25 years.
The next time, it’s likely he’ll be under oath in front of the City Council Finance Committee.
He’ll be there to answer questions about documents needed to complete a forensic audit of the fund he’s managed for most of his career.
Council in late April approved spending $85,000 to hire Benchmark Financial Services Inc. to conduct the audit of the Police and Fire Pension Fund. Its principal, Ted Siedle, has said he hasn’t received all the records he needs to complete the task.
In response, the council committee Monday approved using its subpoena power to summon Keane and fund attorney Robert Klausner to City Hall to testify about the audit and, if possible, to bring the documents in question.
It’s a rare move by council, but Finance Chair Bill Gulliford said it’s needed. He read preliminary notes about the progress, indicating a “disturbing red flag” about the lack of information shared by the pension fund.
The inquiries relate to compensation and expenditures by Klausner’s South Florida law firm in class-action suits relating to the fund; payments to Klausner’s firm by vendors or contractors, such as money managers and investment consultants; fund records related to commissions recaptured or rebated and how they were spent; and custodial bank records of the fund relating to annual gross net investment performance.
The requests seek files as far back as 1987.
Retention rates vary for types of documents, according to Florida law. For instance, accounts payable records must be kept for three years; accounts receivable, four years; and summaries of those require 10 years. Administrator records of a public agency require being maintained 10 years.
Council member Lori Boyer said such records could have been destroyed and wanted officials on the record saying whether they existed or not.
Keane on Monday afternoon said he didn’t know the issue was coming up and wanted more information.
But, he said, he and the fund provided the documents — if they existed — to Siedle when they were requested.
Told of the inquiries directed to the fund — relating to the commissions and custodial bank records — Keane said Siedle has been told where money from commissions has been spent. Other records could take up to six months to locate, he said, because they’re in paper form.
In addition, he said, there are no custodial bank records of investment performance because a bank wasn’t hired for that service.
“They know we have provided all the documents,” said Keane of council members.
Klausner said Monday he was aware of the meeting and requested records. But, he’s provided those records to the fund for review. He’s not the custodian of those records, he said, and as a private entity isn’t subject to council’s subpoena action.
Jacksonville’s municipal code allows council or committees to conduct investigations into consolidated government and any department’s conduct. It provides the power to subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, take testimony and require the production of evidence.
The committee’s action Monday doesn’t need full council approval.
@writerchapman
(904) 356-2466