February 2012 SLPVA Gendarme Article
Submitted by George Ratermann, SLPVA President
The February 8th SLPVA meeting was the 400th consecutive month that the St. Louis Police Veterans’ Association has met and conducted business. Although the SLPVA was founded in 1932, it was inactive for a number of years until a group of retirees revived it in the late 1970’s. Since then the SLPVA has meet monthly for over 33 years and has grown to 800 members.
$15 annual dues are now due for all members. SLPVA members with automatic dues payment had $15 deducted from their January pension check and are paid in full for 2012. For all other members, if you haven’t paid your 2012 dues, now is the time.
Pay your dues at the monthly meeting, or send a $15 check to:
SLPVA Treasurer Ed Vaclavik
15830 Cedarmill Dr.
Chesterfield, MO 73107.
Meeting Schedule
February 8 General Membership Meeting & Lunch
March 14 General Membership Meeting & Corned Beef and Cabbage
April 11 General Membership Meeting & Lunch
May 9 General Membership Meeting & Cook Out in Willmore Park
All retired and former SLMPD officers are invited to join the SLPVA. Drop in at one of our meeting, see who we are, what we do, and consider joining the SLPVA. If you can’t make it to one of our meetings, visit our website www.slpva.com . Full information about the SLPVA is on the site including minutes of meetings, treasurer’s reports, and an application form.
There were two guest speakers at the January meeting. The first was Matt Simpson. He addressed the SLPVA membership on an idea currently being considered by the SLPOA Executive Board. The SLPOA E-Board is considering a By-Law revision that would give retirees voting rights, a seat on the SLPOA Executive Board and other SLPOA membership benefits such as FOP membership.
Simpson presented the proposal to the members who commented and asked questions. For the present, nothing is changing. In the future, if the SLPOA decides to make such By-Law changes, the SLPVA would have to review the By-Law, present the SLPVA with the membership option and SLPVA members would have to decide if such an arrangement is in their best interest.
I believe that if this proposal presented by the SLPOA it would have to be given serious consideration because they were our only financial backer in the Health Insurance Lawsuit. If the SLPOA hadn’t stepped in and paid over $100,000 in legal fees the Health Insurance Lawsuit would have been dismissed. When the case was appealed by the Police Board the Court required a $160,000 appeal bond be posted. The SLPOA posted that $160,000 cash bond for the retirees. That money was at risk. If the Supreme Court had ruled against us, the bond would have been forfeited. For that, and more, we owe them serious consideration of any membership offer presented.
Our second guest speaker was Mike Sack, St. Louis Police Pension Board Chairman. Sack addressed the members on changes that the Pension Board has proposed. The changes would affect only those hired after the effective date of the legislation.
The proposed changes, raising member contribution rate to 9%, adding an age requirement of 55 years of age for service pension eligibility, eliminating the Lump Sum or reducing it, capping COLA increases at 25% are all designed to keep the system solvent. The City, Sack stated, has been paying its required annual payments and those payments have increased into $20 million plus for the last few years and will climb to $30 million soon. So both the working officers and the City have been making their required contributions but the system still has a large unfunded liability. Why? Two factors, first and foremost is the poor performance of the stock market. Instead of the portfolio growing each year, it has decreased in value. The Pension System has been paying out more in benefits than they take in from the City, from the officers, from their earnings on investments. The decrease in the system’s portfolio due to stock prices lowers the total value of system even more.
Another factor is the strength of the department and when officers are retiring. The SLMPD has gone from a 2,232 officer department to today’s strength of 1,450 or so. The retirees collecting pensions today were hired when the SLMPD was at or near 2,232 officers but are only supported by the contributions of today’s 1,450 officer department. Recent retirees and retirees of the future are younger at retirement than the retirees of yesteryear. The Pension Board’s proposed legislation would reduce the number of 20 year retirements, raise the member contribution by 2%, save the system some money by reducing Lump Sum payments, capping COLA and going back to a three year average. Sack said this would not solve all the Pension System’s financial problems. A complete solution also requires an extended bull market and healthy portfolio growth for several years.
The SLPVA members present at the January meeting did not like the idea of a two tier pension system. But in the end they decided to support the Pension Board’s proposed legislation because the only way the Pension System will remain solvent is to slow the drain on it. So changes have to be made. If the legislation passes and has the desired effect and in the future the stock market grows the Pension Fund back to the $900 million (or even better to the $1 billion) level, then the Pension system can go back to Jefferson City and restore the lost pension benefits.
Minutes of the January 11, 2012, SLPVA Meeting
The 399th meeting of the St. Louis Police Veterans Association was called to order by President George Ratermann at 11:31 AM. Secretary Chris Zarbo read the opening prayer. President Ratermann led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
All officers present except Trustee Ken Decker.
Mr. Ratermann stated we had three new applications for membership. Michael Horton, John Koeller and James Patterson. A motion was made, seconded and passed on a voice vote to accept the applications.
Mr. Matt Simpson with SLPOA addressed the membership about merging or rejoining the SLPOA. This would give retirees full membership again, a seat on the executive board and voice/vote on the board. Dues would probably remain at $15 per year and a separate budget account established. When a proposal is finalized, they will present all details for us to review and decide if we are interested in a merger or not.
Mr. Mike Sack, Chairman of the St. Louis Police Pension System discussed the Legislative changes they would like to make in order to sustain the pension system. The changes would be for new hires.
Increase member contribution form 7% to 9% of salary
Reducing Lump Sum to 2%, or No Lump Sum
Pension Benefit a minimum age of 55, 25 years and age 55 for 50% pension
Last three year salary average
Reducing 30 year + pension from 75% to 70%
Other purposed changes.
Non LOD disability pension eligibility reduced from 10 years to 5 years
DROP account interest would be based on ten year Treasury note plus 1%
COLA max reduced from 30% to 25%
Secretary’s Report. A motion was made by Mr. Herman Ubben to waive the reading of the minutes and accept as printed. The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote,
Mr. Ed Vaclavik then gave the Treasurers Report. Mr. Ken Bradshaw made a motion to accept the report. The motion was seconded and passed on a voice vote.
Mr. Ratermann advised that members, Timothy Kaelin and Norman Land, had passed away and that non-members, Donald Hischke, Charles Burton, John Silvernail and William Kinkel have also passed away.
No Old Business
New Business
Mr. Russell Conroy made a motion to support the Pension Board’s proposal, seconded by Frank Stubits. The motion passed on a show of hands.
Mr. Tony Pona advised we had 110 members in attendance. There were 11 attendance prizes awarded.
Meeting adjourned at 12:27 PM.
SEND THE SLPVA YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS
If you send the SLPVA a message we will add you to our e-mail directory and periodically send you messages about upcoming meetings, important events, etc. of interest to a retired SLMPD officer. Send a message to mail@slpva.com and you’ll be added to our e-mail address directory.
FORMER SLMPD OFFICERS CAN JOIN THE SLPVA
Most police officers and retirees can recall Academy classmates and coworkers that left the Department after a few years on the job. Many of those former officers have fond memories of the SLMPD and their police friends. For former SLMPD officers who would like to re-connect with their police roots the St. Louis Police Veterans' Association offers a means to do that, join the SLPVA.
Former officers who left the SLMPD short of being able to retire are welcome as members in the SLPVA. All that's require is that they left the SLMPD in good standing, that they are of good moral character, and that they complete an application to join the SLPVA. A PDF application can be found and downloaded from our website, www.slpva.com by clicking on" JOIN THE SLPVA" in the left column, right below the SLPVA logo.
All retired SLMPD officers of any rank are invited to join the SLPVA. A PDF application and a form for automatic dues payment can be found and downloaded from our website, www.slpva.com by clicking on" JOIN THE SLPVA" in the left column, right below the SLPVA logo. Prospective members can call and leave a message at 314 329 1005 and we will mail or e-mail an application or they get membership information at a monthly meeting. We meet on the second Wednesday of each month at 11:30. We meet each month at the SLPOA Hall except in May and September when we have our Cook Out at Picnic Grounds # 1 in Willmore Park at Gravois and Hampton.
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