Connecticut Retired Police Officers Association

Monthly Meeting

December 21, 2011

Location:  New Haven Elks Lodge 25, State Street, New Haven, CT

Meeting called to order at 7:00 pm by President John Burke.

Executive Board Present:  President John Burke (Local 530), Secretary Tom Carozza (Local 1237), Tom DePaoli (Local 442), Marianne Petrillo (Local 530), George Kurtyka (Local 1376), Bill Tinker (Local 530), Charlie Lemons (Local 530)

Executive Board Excused:

Minutes of November Meeting:

                Minutes of November meeting were distributed to those present.  Motion was made by Charlie Lemons to accept the minutes as presented and seconded by Tom DePaoli.  Additions, deletions and/or corrections; none.  Vote all in favor.

Treasurers report:

                Treasurer’s report was presented by Charlie Lemons.  Motion was made by George Kurtyka to accept.  Seconded by Marianne Petrillo.  Vote all in favor.

Presidents Report:  President Burke welcomed new retiree member Paul Dombrowski to the meeting.

Torrington Retirees v. City of Torrington:  The lawsuit filed in Torrington Superior Court was moved to Federal District Court by the respondent, the City of Torrington.  The City has hired an outside law firm to defend the case.  February 29^th is the last day to file a motion to dismiss.  No action expected until that date passes.

Application Cards for Chapter 15:  Efforts to organize additional members for Chapter 15 are ongoing with application cards being distributed to local presidents by Chapter president John Burke.

Bridgeport Local Retirees:  Efforts to have pension/payroll deduction by the City of Bridgeport have failed and Bridgeport members must remit dues payments by personal check until such time as the City is convinced to allow deductions from pension checks.

Social Security:  Legislation to repair the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) has been introduced once again by a Republican Congresswoman from Texas.  AFSCME lobbyists continue to lobby this issue on Capitol Hill and reports and sent out enlisted AFSCME members and retirees in newsletters.

Pensions:  The Uniformed Professional Fire Fighters Association of Connecticut has been exploring the idea of establishing a Fire Fighter administered retirement fund.  Council 15 has been invited to participate with the professionals that would lead us through the process of establishing and administering the fund.  This is a work in progress with no commitments made by Council 15.

AFSCME International bi-annual elections:  International President Gerald McEntee has announced his retirement which will take place before the June 2012 AFSCME convention.  It is expected that Secretary-Treasurer Lee Saunders and International Vice-president Danny Donahue will be entering their names into nomination for International President.  President Burke recommended that Chapter 15 support and endorse Lee Saunders for President.  Lee Saunders has been a friend of Council 15 and Chapter 15 Retirees. 

Motion to endorse was made by Charlie Lemons and seconded by Tom DePaoli.  Under discussion it was suggested that we get biographies of both candidates before making an endorsement.  The original motion was withdrawn and a was made by Charlie Lemons and seconded by Tom DePaoli that the Chapter 15 Executive Board review the biographies of both candidates prior to making and endorsement. 

A friendly amendment was offered by Tom Carozza and seconded by Charlie Lemons that in the absence of a quorum of the General Membership, the Chapter 15 Executive Board will make a decision on the endorsement.  The vote on the amendment was all in favor.

A motion to table the main motion until the January meeting was made by George Kurtyka and seconded by Bill tinker.  Vote all in favor.

Secretary Carozza will research the AFSCME web site for information on the candidates and forward his findings to the Executive Board prior to the next meeting of Chapter 15.

NOTICE OF NEXT MEETINGS of the Connecticut Retired Police Officers Association

JANUARY:  Wednesday January 18^th at 7:00 PM at Council 15 offices at 700 West Johnson Ave. Cheshire.

FEBRUARY:  Wednesday February 15^th at 7:00 PM at Council 15 offices at 700 West Johnson Ave. Cheshire.

MARCH:  Wednesday March 21^st at 7:00 PM at the Bridgeport Elks Lodge, 735 Old Town Road, Bridgeport.

Meeting adjourned at 7:40 PM:  Motion to adjourn was made by Bill Tinker and seconded by Marianne Petrillo.  Vote all in favor.                                                                                                         Submitted by:  Thomas R Carozza Sr., Secretary