February 2016 | Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the St. Croix Government Retirees Inc. (SGR) Meeting

Minutes of the (SGR) held on Tuesday February 16th 2016 at the Cast Iron Pot Restaurant in Estate La Grande Princesse. The meeting began at 1.15 pm and it was chaired by Mary Moorhead.

Attendance ... There were nineteen members and stakeholders in attendance at the meeting.

Minutes ... Abdul R. Ali read the minutes and Rhea Hodge made a motion that the minutes be accepted. The motion was then seconded by Mavis Hennessey. The vote in favor of the minutes was unanimous.

Matters Arising ... There were no matters arising from the minutes.

Reports ... (President's Report) Mary Moorhead reported on a number of matters to include the projected lifetime of the GERS, which according to investors, is five years or less (Annual Investment
Meeting) The annual investment meeting is being held at Carambola on February 24th and 25th (AFT Retirees Group) The AFT is currently working on structuring a group for its retirees (Bill to reopen the
loan Program) Senators Vialet and Gittens are currently working on a bill to reopen the loan program (Increase on Excise Tax on Tobacco) A request was made to the Legislature on behalf of the (SGR) for 50% of the extra anticipated funds to go towards addressing the Unfunded Liability (Email Addresses of Senators) First letter of first name followed by the whole last name e.g. saness@legvi.org (United Healthcare) The wellness program is being run by Rodgersville. It is expected that the $50,000.00 being offer ed will result in 1000 bags of produce to retirees (Shredding Service) AARP is expecting to offer a shredding service to retirees sometime in April 2016. (Advocacy Report) Team leader Phyllis Nehlsen reported that plans were afoot to meet with the senators . Under discussion would be tax exemptions, combining departments and agencies, the loan program, the sin tax and the $7 million dollars that is owed (via Diageo) annual to the GERS.

(SGR) Membership Growth ... Several members in attendance at the meeting expressed concern with regards to the poor showing at meetings. Calls were made for the (SGR) to request a membership listing of retirees from the GERS and also for the members to 'call out' the senators. Stephen Cohen, a new member of the (SGR), said that raising the awareness of the membership was closely t ied in to some of the attendance issues. There was also a call to make the meetings more informative and to allow for the members to be more involved in deciding how to address their needs. Treasurer, Rhea Hodge said that the (SGR) had 170 on its books. Following the discussions Adelbert Nico made a motion that a decent.sized ad be placed in the local papers asking retirees to support the (SGR) and to continue their fight to keep the GERS alive . The ad is to include the full address and PO Box Number of the (SGR) which is St. Croix Government Retirees Inc. PO Box 187, Frederiksted, St. Croix 00841 . The motion was seconded by Maisie Willie . The vote on the motion was unanimous.

Upcoming Meetings ... Senate meeting on 2-18-2016 at 9.30 am & GERS Board meeting on 2-25-2016.

Any Other Business ... There was no other business .

Adjournment ... Mavis Hennessey made a motion that the meeting be adjourned and the motion was seconded by Carmen M. Mills.