Ret.TFR D/C Fred Urbuteit Pension Board presentation IP: 71.251.115.91 Posted on September 25, 2011 at 01:10:25 PM by Sonny Lefstead
Good afternoon Chairman Gray, Members of the Board, and Fellow Retirees in attendance.
Please excuse me for not being an elegant speaker such as our President Obama or as a Silver Tongued Orator as Former Mayor Dick Greco was once called!
I come before you this afternoon as a very concerned Pension Recipient of the City of Tampa Fire and Police Pension Fund, which is a Trust Fund Administered by you Nine Board Members on behalf of us retirees and future retirees , such as yourselves.( you 3 Fire Fighters and you 3 Policemen )
My main concern, is the expenditures of Fund monies due to the Parker Lawsuit , which as I understand was created by an HONEST MISTAKE of the Pension Board in 2005, of the 13th Check for fiscal year 2004!
It’s also my understanding that this could have been settled for much less than the amount , the Judge ruled would be paid !
Be that as it may , I understand that this Board is now going to appeal the Judges ruling ! It does not appear Fiduciary Responsibility to the Retirees and the City of Tampa Tax Payers, to me, that an Appeals Attorney was hired in 2010 , and paid $23,725.00, and the Judge did not issue his written ruling till September 2011!
Mr. Cohen, our Pension attorney, advised the Board at an Executive Session on September 8, 2011, that the Board should cooperate with the Insurance Co. And “ not to do so would constitute a breach of fiduciary duty “ ( underlined in the handout) ! I CONTEND that your FOREMOST Fiduciary Responsibility, according to Florida Statute 112.656 ,is to the Retirees and the City of Tampa Tax Payers ! In my opinion,Statute 112.656 sec. C also includes the Insurance in this Fiduciary Responsibility to the Retirees and the City of Tampa Tax Payers!
In the hand out I gave you, I under lined two Quotes of our Pension Administrator in Executive Session .( Maxey Case 2006) These quotes are, in my opinion, the DIRECT Breach of fiduciary responsibility, to the Retirees and the City of Tampa Tax Payers and contrary to Statute 112.656 and, conveys TOTAL disregard of Fiduciary Responsibility toward the Retirees and the City of Tampa Tax Payers !
If you filed a claim for the insurance co. To pay for this Honest Mistake , and they denied it , I would be the first one to stand up and back you for suing the insurance co.
In the past , which I think now the younger fellows refer to us as “ Old School “ we had “ Old School Trustees “ such as , Curtis Griffin, Buddy Mills, Tony Coniglio, Fred Anderson, Herb Shoun , and last but not least Franz Warner ( who lost his life on duty , helping a Brother Fire Fighter apply for an LOD retirement ), and other “ Old School Trustees“ whose names escape me .
I hope you Trustees have the same abilities as the “ Old School “ Trustees had , which is Leadership, with, intelligence, common sense, moral ethics, and the BACKBONE to run our Pension Trust . The Old School Trustees would confront any problems or tasks , get advice from necessary sources and then do what was needed EVEN if it meant telling Attorneys and the Pension Fund Administrator, WE ARE doing it THIS way or THAT way, not YOUR WAY. That would include not editing Public Record information given out to Retirees, from the Pension Office, as has happened in the past , but printing it Verbatim!
We made a mistake in the past by not including a retired Fire Fighter and a retired Policeman on the Pension Board!
I hope you 3 Fire Fighters and you 3 Policemen have a LOP from the attorneys involved in this case. An LOP is a Legal abbreviation for Letter of Protection, that ambulance chasing Doctors and ambulance chasing Attorneys have you sign prior to taking your case, which guarantees that they ( these attorneys ) get their money from any awards the court issues in a case , or any settlement you receive, prior to you! At the rate the Fund expenditures are being spent, YOUR Pension Money will be in these attorneys bank accounts!
Due to the lack of transparency from this Board of Trustees ,( I understand the need for Executive Sessions in many cases ) , I ask you to answer these following concerns of mine and many other retirees.
1. Where is the Fiduciary Responsibility to the Retirees and the City of Tampa Tax Payers ?
2. Why are we paying for an Appeals Attorney, isn't this the Insurance Company’s Responsibility ?
3. Where is the Fiduciary Responsibility of the Insurance Co. To the Retirees and the City of Tampa Tax Payers ?
In closing I wish to express to you my appreciation to you for serving on this Board and I would not want to be in your position knowing that almost 150 retirees have died without being able to receive their just benefits because of this drawn out situation!
Thank You !
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