ARPO MEETING, BANQUET AND OTHER INFORMATION

Please note the change to the mailing address on the ARPO Application form. All correspondence is being mailed to 8975 W. Wescott Drive; Peoria, AZ 85382. President Richard Bequette will be handling the banking duties while Treasurer Dudley Gibson is in the wilds of Wyoming this summer.

The next ARPO membership meeting will be in October 2008. The date and location will be announced as soon as it has been decided.

A business meeting was not held at the March 16, 2008 Banquet. A no host beer and wine bar was added, as well as musical entertainment. The Banquet was again a great success. Many compliments were received, as well as a few suggestions were made for improvement next year. All will be considered when planning our 2009 Banquet.

Information regarding a 2009 Banquet will be announced later. Please watch for the announcement and plan on attending. The fellowship continues.

The Association of Retired Phoenix Officers had its last annual membership business meeting on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 7:00 PM at the FOP Lodge 2, 19th Ave and Sweetwater, in Phoenix. All four existing ARPO Board members were unanimously reelected until October 2008, by the membership present. The Board consists of President Richard Bequette, Vice President John Augustyn, Secretary Ken Ansley, and Treasurer Dudley Gibson.

The Board previously approved extending the current suspension of annual dues through the year of 2008. Existing members need not complete a new application.

All new applicants for membership must include a one time initiation fee of $10.00 by check or money order with their application. (No cash please).

Pursuant to ARPO Bylaws as interpreted by the ARPO Board, Phoenix Police retired civilian employees who retired in good standing may join ARPO as Associate Members.

PSPRS Administrator Jim Hacking, present at the October 24, 2007 meeting, announced that the monthly pension raise starting in June/July 2008 for eligible retirees will be $134.34. Excellent!

Also present at the meeting were representatives from all of our health insurance providers to answer questions and make appointments with members who needed specific help.

Thank you,

Ken Ansley, ARPO Secretary

Minutes from October 24, 2007 ARPO Meeting

The ARPO meeting was held on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 7:00 PM at the FOP Lodge 2, 19th Ave and Sweetwater, in Phoenix.

The following representatives of healthcare organizations and the City of Phoenix Personnel Department Benefits Office were present for consultations with retirees in attendance:

Gayle T. Paulus, City of Phoenix Liaison for CIGNA, 602 495-5724, gayle.paulus@cigna.com or gayle.paulus@phoenix.gov

Carol Beyer, Medicare Sales Representative for CIGNA, 602 371-2987

Joy Fisher, Service Account Manager for United Health Care, 602 954-3460, joy.fisher@phs.com

Kellee Maxwell, Blue Cross Blue Shield of AZ, City of Phx Liaison, 602 534-5165, kmaxwell@phx1.bcbsaz.com , www.azblue.com

Kathy Bird from the City of Phoenix Personnel Department Benefits Office, 602 495-5417, kathy.bird@phoenix.gov , www.phoenix.gov

Jim Hacket, Administrator of the PSPRS was present and gave a report on the health of our retirement fund. The best news is that the July 2008 raise in our pension checks will amount to $134.34. That pretty well indicates that the plan is still healthy.

The System did NOT lose money, but rather, had a 17+% gain for the FY ending June 30, and the system is healthy. What DID occur, and was somewhat disturbing, is that the payouts for the past year were almost double the normal amount, due to the first year of DROP payments, which amounted to $152MM or 27.4% of payouts. He says this is expected to drop, in percentage. The fund had a $197MM negative cash flow for FY 2007, due to the large expenses. It's value was $6.3 Billion, and the surplus that our annual increases come from increased. There is more than enough money to fund three to five years more of increases.

The actuarial status of the system is less sound. It is currently funded at just about 70%, and has stayed there since 2005 (and even improved VERY slightly). What this means for those of us who are retired, is essentially our retirements are secure (as are those who are already in the system). The possibility exists that FUTURE hires MAY not get the same benefits...but that has not yet been decided, and would still have no effect on us.

The link to the Public Safety Retirement System Web site is http://www.psprs.com/

The next ARPO Banquet was discussed with a favorable response from the membership present. The banquet will be held on Sunday, March 16, 2008 from 5 pm - 9 pm at the Westbrook Village Lakes Recreation Center 19251 N. Westbrook Parkway; Peoria, AZ 85382. The same location as in March 2007. We had to settle for a Sunday this year because all of the Saturdays were booked.

Please contact an ARPO Board member if you wish to volunteer to help at the dinner. We can use some help.

President Bequette announced that in accordance with ARPO ByLaws, the ARPO Board decided to allow Phoenix Police Civilian Employees who have retired in good standing, to join ARPO as Associate Members. This was previously announced to the membership via Email. There has not been any objections from the membership via Email and the members present at the meeting did not express any objection to this change.

Counting the four ARPO Board members present, there were 22 ARPO members and 2 non members in attendance at the meeting. All signed an attendance sheet.

Near the end of the meeting, the membership present was asked by President Bequette to nominate new officers for President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. John Gluhak made the motion to nominate all existing Board Members to serve in their present positions for another year. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved by the membership in attendance. The officers continue to be:

Richard Bequette, President; John Augustyn, Vice President; Ken Ansley, Secretary; and Dudley Gibson, Treasurer.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 8:45 p.m.

The next short ARPO business meeting will be held at the March 16, 2008 Banquet.

The above minutes were written by Secretary Ken Ansley, reviewed and approved by the Board.