November 2016 | Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the St. Croix Government Retirees Inc. held on November 15th. 2016
The meeting began at 1.15 pm and it was held at the Cast Iron Pot in La Grande Princesse. It was chaired by Debbie Christopher, Vice President of the SGR.
Attendance – In attendance were thirty retirees, active workers and stakeholders.

Apologies – There was one – Mary Moorhead, the SGR President.

Minutes – These were read by the SGR secretary Abdul R. Ali. Following the reading Betty Wilson made a motion that the minutes be accepted as read and the motion was seconded by Carmen Moorehead-Mills.

Matters Arising – (Legal Action) Medora Roberts sought information re the status of the legal action that was discussed at previous meetings. Abdul Ali said that some attorneys had been contacted to obtain information regarding legal action and that the matter was still in progress. Rhea Hodge said that she knew of a lawyer who is interested in the matter and that she would be seeking details with a view of reporting such at subsequent meetings.

Reports – (Finances) Rhea Hodge, the treasurer reported that the balance was $4,281.98. She said that the court reporter who transcribed the meeting at UVI was paid $662.00 for her work. Carmen Moorehead-Mills made a motion that the financial report be accepted and the motion was seconded by Phyllis Nehlsen.

The GERS – There was a lot of heated discussion on the current status of the system with regards to its future and how that future would seemingly impact on the lives of retirees and active workers. David Clarke wanted the law repealed that states that all monies must be paid into the GERS prior to a retiree obtaining his/her annuity. Claude Petersen had questions about the investment side of the GERS and he wondered if the investments were adequate. Rosalie Javois raised questions about the development of a plan that would allow for the private sector to become a part of the GERS and Gregory Tyler said that the only solution to the GERS debacle was revolutionary action. The $600 million bond issue was raised as well by Phyllis Nehlsen who said that the Governor was to be blamed for not moving forward on that issue. Betty Wilson indicated that while Governor Mapp had been paying in the government’s share to the GERS the body seemingly, was not utilizing those funds to pay annuities. After a lot of discussion agreement was reached that (1) the GERS Board members & Mr. Nibbs should be invited to a meeting to be held on November 29th 2016 to discuss GERS outstanding matters with retirees and active workers (2) that Debbie Christopher would be responsible for organizing the meeting and (3) that a letter should be sent to Senators regarding austere measures that they could use to address the GERS situation. During that same discussion Debbie Christopher indicated that a Julia Abramson (of the GERS) would be a good person to contact re contributions information.

Any Other Business – There was no other business discussed at the meeting.

Adjournment – Charlotte Morgan made a motion that the meeting be adjourned and the motion was seconded by Phyllis Nehlsen. The meeting ended at 3 pm.