Commissioner cohen is expected later. Commissioner meiberger. Commissioner bridges is on her way. Commissioner driscoll, exhibitioner makras, commissioner stansbury. A quorum is present. Thank you mr. Secretary. First on the agenda is a private session regarding investments. The chair will entertain do you want Public Comment first . How do you want it . First well talk Public Comment to go into private session. Members of the public, shall have the opportunity to address the board on this item. The items are investment items to be discussed in closed session. Any member of the public like to address the board at this time . Hearing none, the chair will entertain a motion to go into closed session. Second. Moved and seconded in closed session. All in favor say aye. Any opposed . The aye have it. So with that note, i raise the quorum. Weve already done the pledge of allegiance. Weve have a quorum here. Let me call the meeting into session. Well start with item number four, which is general Public Comment. Here are the procedures during general comment, members of the public will have an opportunity commissioner before we take that step, why dont we vote whether or not to disclose closed session. I thought we continue that to the end. I beg your pardon. Thank you. Let me start over, Public Comment. Members of the public shall have the opportunity to address the retirement board on items of interest to the public that subject matter jurisdiction of the retirement board. In addition, members of the public shall have the opportunity to speak on each item on the agenda when Public Comment is called for. Members of the public wishing to when on a matter not on the agenda may address the board now. Public comment is limited to three minutes per speaker unless the chair specifies a different time. Members of the public are encouraged to complete a speaker card. I will honor that the order that they are presented. If anyone would also like to speak as the course of the meeting comes up, ill be glad to accommodate them. All right. The chair like to recognize Sharon Johnson former commissioner of the Health Services member and member of protect our benefit. Welcome. Thank you commissioner. Good afternoon commissioners. We are here in force protect our benefits. We are here in strength and confidence. Im sorry that Supervisor Malia Cohen cant be here. In her as being chair and you commissioner meiberger are flexible to press our concerns for a preretirees and attention to this concern. He is seeking independent council. On your behalf to clarify who have the authority to pay our pre1996 retirement sub limit cola. We trust that the independent council is that and independent. City charter knowledgeable. We hope that this will happen in a timely fashion. Through the Public Records process, pob members requested pre1996 retirees demographics in order to ensure pob is on the same page. There are a number of inquiries that were not addressed and our speakers spoke to address this concern. You will hear from many individuals and representatives and organizations in support of our pre1996 retirees. As you listen to our concerns, i hope youll keep in mind that even our minority leader nancy pelosi, often speaks to the principles of justice and equal treatment. The retiree population we are representing is our retired family. Who is in need of these principles of justice and equal treatment. In closing, as the great fred ross said, a good organizer is a social arsonist who goes around setting people on fire. It is our intent to set you on fire. Thank you again for your respectful ears and heart and we hope that you will be in support of our pre1996 retirees. Thank you. [applause]. Thank you very much sharon. Next speaker is clare, also a former member of the Health Services board wells the thank you very much good afternoon commissioners and colleagues. I am also representing seiu retirees as i am their vice president. We just organized retiree group. We have at least one other member joining us today. Im sort of wearing several hats and were all in solidarity with pob who led the fight. Dexter didnt take it personally, he is waiting for that dog day. So this he can have his day. Even though people think many days are dog days. He doesnt think so. You know the statistics are a bit overwhelming a number of our colleagues are dying every month, every week. We know who they are. Youre going to hear about some of them today. The surviving i get emails in my Office Everyday from a lot of the survivors and also pre pre96ers nancy is not able to make it today. Shes in her late 80s. Her health is beginning to fail. Shes a very energetic retiree. Its a problem for us. We see them going before our very eyes. Were not wanting their estates to get this money. We want them to get their money. They tell us that the survivors tell us that little bit of money would have made a difference in their quality of life if they have received it before they passed. Even 20 a month can make a difference. For those of us that have worked on the health side, that might mean a prescription or two that they might have thought twice about and maybe theyre giving up something else. That may meet some other type of food. Most of these people are making a very little amount of money. I know some of the figures sound like a lot but when you take out all the tax and costs for even the medicare advantage, you find that people are living on very little. Probably living on what amounts to that 1500 a month. Commissioner driscoll asked the City Attorney to give us an answer to give you an answer as to who they actually represent. It has been many months since we heard that comment. Weve told you, theres a conflict of interest. We like to hear the answer. Weve given you chapter and verse what the issues are. This is our money. All assets and liability and the trust fund belong to the members. The pre96 members are every bit members as much as the rest of us. There should not be a bifurcation of their benefits. They are deserving. We want to get that before they die. Were now at 88. 9 of funding. Theres not going to be another opportunity for supplement alc al cola in their lifetime. Its time, please pay us, thank you. [applause]. Thank you, next speaker is james mccoy. Who is a member of the retired firefighters association. Thank you for your service. You have the floor. Good afternoon commissioners. My name is jim mccoy im president of the retired association of the San FranciscoFire Department. We are approximately 1300 strong. Over half of that in retired since before 1996. I myself retired in 96. So, we urge you to grant this supplemental cola to all these pre96 retirees. Thank you. Thank you mr. Mccoy. Our next speaker is rudy, retired rudy, would you like to speak . The floor. Im rudy im the vice chair of united educators of 46 retired. Im urging you to please do the right thing. Make sure that our pre996 retirees do receive what the rest of us have received. I wanted to mention, i dont think i have before, my father was a teacher in the system. Also part of city retirement system. We retired way back, maybe 1970. My mom lived on his half pension for the rest of her life. She was 92 when she died in 2003. Anyway, i also member of the retired system. Most teachers are not. I do represent the 900 teachers that are members of the retired division and all the the other retired teachers. Youre going to hear from hopefully at least one of us today. Were hoping that you do the right thing. Make sure that people get what they deserve and what they worked for all these years. The children of San Francisco are depending on the teachers work hard to make sure they get well educated and do great things in this town. Hopefully please do the right thing and make people whole are the most elderly of us and who need the most support. Thank you. [applause] thank you, next speaker will be larry and following him will be richard hack and then donna. You have the floor. Thank you commissioner. Good afternoon commission. Im larry im the chair of the protect our benefits. Im also the executive secretary for San Francisco veteran Police Officers association. My remarks today are in memory of soul weiner. One of the founders of preob and pre1996 Police Officer. Who recently passed away. He will never see the resolution, the question youve been able to answer. Based on charter sections 12. 100 and the retirement board is required to implement supplemental cola for the years 2013 and 2014. The amended judgment does not excuse the retirement board from this duty. The mandate does not excuse the retirement board from this duty. Charter section aa. 5263d does not excuse the retirement board from this decision. The City Attorney, has no authority over the retirement board on this issue. The retirement board has a fiduciary duty to pay the cola. I know you will do the right thing. Thank you. [applause] next speaker is richard, followed by donna and mike murry. I also support the payment of the supplemental through the pre96 employees hedge fund. The board cannot carry out its fiduciary duty if it invest in the retirement money. The recommendation of selfinterest hedge fund outsiders will pay on pension fund or negative results going out almost an decade now. Most of you are chosen for your financial knowledge and experience. You know how to make investments. It seems like youre hiring a lot of people to make your hedge Fund Evaluations for you. What they dont say, you need to make 10 return to overcome the impact of their fees. Just like paying a lone shark without getting the loan. I see a lot of fears read by financial people. Our investments going up and down but the fund continue to make its payments and doesnt panic. Panic runs the market down and depresses the economy. I see quiet fear being spread here. John vogel of vanguard and his index fund outperformed the hedge fund for the last 10 years. Ill leave it there, thank you. Next speaker is donna followed by Michael Murry and followed by herbert wiener. Im here just to urge you support the matter in front of you. Just last week, one of my fellow workers passed away. His widow would love to have this. Its very important to these people who worked for muny and all the other organizations for 20, 30, 40 years. Please do the right thing. [applause] our next speaker, Michael Murry from the Fire Department. I will pass on mine. Thank you for your service to the city. I see herbert wiener. I retired from the department of Human Services as social worker 2003. Now, many of my coworkers and they keep increasing in my memory, retired prior to 1996. They were my coworkers, they were my teachers. I really want to see them to receive the same benefits that i am receiving. Its reflecting one tendency as a whole. This really represents age itch. Senior citizens are being pushed into the shadows and potential visibility. This is not correct. We contributed much to the city. We deserve our just due. So please do the right thing and restore the cost of living benefits to the pre1996 retirees. Thank you. Next speaker is john bettencourt, retired from the San Francisco fire denied, followed by john. Followed by joe. Retired San FranciscoFire Department. This last week i talked to a widow of one of the pre96 retired. His name was tony rodriguez. She was shocked to hear that she didnt equal for the supplemental cola. She didnt know anything about it. I told her this group, protect our benefits, were fighting for her and all the other widows of im going to say the greatest generation. When i came in 1974, the Fire Department, there were a lot of firemen that came from world war ii. They taught me how to be a fireman. I think they, its not that many of them left. Their spouses and i think they deserve the supplemental cola just like from what i understand, they were receiving the supplemental cola before proposition c came in a few years back. I think theres a precedence there, if they receive the supplemental cola for proposition c, was ruled proposition c part d was ruled invalid, now that decision has been made, all retirees should qualify for the supplemental cola that they deserve. Thank you. Next speaker is john, followed by joe. These are helmets my uncle and my dad. They were firefighters in San Francisco. Im here to represent them. And my uncles widow who cola benefits have stopped. Shes in dire need of that. He quit st. James high school, joined the navy for the war. He enlisted in the marine corps my dad. They won the war, know came back to San Francisco to serve. I would like you to do the right thing for the people out there. Theyre comrades. Theyre no longer here but their comrades are here. The greatest generation. This means to some of them, dying alone. It means they may die alone at night, around the clock care. Again, please thank you and do the right thing. [applause] thank you for your service to the city and country as well. Next speaker is joe scanell. My name is joe scanell im a retired assistant chief at the San FranciscoFire Department. Many of us, as they spoke before here, came out in world war ii. Which i did. I spent six years in the navy. Came out and went to work in the Fire Department. Greatest job, wonderful place to work. And then, you dont give us this benefit, this benefit pertains for the service men, all of the world war ii veterans and then the korean veterans. Theyre all cut off because we retired in 1978 with 30 years. I dont see why we should be cut off. We gave our best and that was it. Thank you. [applause] thank you and thank you for your service to the sunda country and. Tom followed by bob. There are a number of retiree who are here who do not want to speak. We asked them to sign the green card so you would have them on record. But they are here. Thank you for that clarification. Im bob fessler. I am one of the folks who got the cola until after prop c. I retired in 94. Im astonished that mr. Scanell. Clearly, it really is your responsibility. I hope that you carry it out promptly and effectively. Thank you. Thank you as well. Pansy waller followed by mike peru. Pansy, you have the floor. Thank you very much. Its great to be here again to speak on behalf of the 1996 retirees. I did everything that has already been said. Thank you very much. Mike pera. We want to acknowledge your presence here. San francisco Fire Department. Thank you very much for coming. Elmer cart. 32 years Fire Department. 20 of which in the Fire Investigation unit. I am not here to put you on fire. However, i do have some other issues. You listening to a lot of new people here today. Not the ones that were here before. This is probably going to keep going on because there are a lot of people out there who is a hard time getting down here. Were going to get them down here. This is a legal matter. This has to do with a great amount of really fine people that you know, teachers, nurses, everyone. Its not just about the fire and police. Their widows. I am just overwhelmed by email you last four years. Remember, this started in 1996, when the supplemental cola was put in to protect these people. In 2002, it was upgraded by the people of this city. In 2008, it was again bumped up a half percent because of a political situation. Now in 2011, it disappeared because of advisory comment by a judge. What you, the commissioners have to realize, this has to be examined by someone who is knowledgeable in charter and advise you about what was going on. The City Attorney has been ionogens us foon has been against us for four years. We want you to make infiel informed and impartial decision. Thank you very much. Our next speaker is joe, followed by judy collins, followed by tony d. Geovany. Thank you for coming. My name is joe, im retired city employee. Few weeks back a member of the pob made a Public Record request to sfers. We were unable to get all the information. I like to run a couple of of those. We requested the number of pr pre1996 retirees that passed away since july 1, 2012, beginning date of prop c. Instead your staff provided us with a number for july 1, 2013. These numbers are still compelling. The number of retirees that have passed away since that time is 1522. For the past 45 months, we have lost an average of 34 members of a month. Thats more than one member a day. Your staff also provided us with the average age of the 1996 retirees and continuance. Retirees average age is 84. 2. Continuance average age is 84 84. 1. According to the data a man reaching the age of 65 can expect to live on average until age 84. 3. A woman turning 85, 65 today can expect to live on average until the age 86. 6. These numbers would be less for the free 1996 retirees who turned 65 almost 20 years ago. As you are aware, the pre1996 retirees is a fixed group of retirees whos number will increased with each passing month. Time is you have the essence. Every month you delay providing these retirees a riteful benefits we lose another handful of members. As a Soul Authority and just and consistent with the charter, you and only you have the ability and the authority to write this wrong. Thank you. Thanks. The next speaker will be july collins, followed by tony geovany. Followed by Mary Ann Mcguire hickey. Julie, you have the floor. Thank you very much. Good afternoon. This is lucy flaherty. I am here today not to appeal to your sympathies, clearly you have heard us enough in the past on that level. I am working to put a face on all of the widows of the free 1996 retirees but in in pa