2211 York Road, Suite 500 Oak Brook, IL 60523-2337 (275-4673) A s. v. :rx: November 14, 2017 Laura J. Morask Supervisor, Maine Township 5700 Ballard Road Park Ridge, IL 60068,, Re: Maine Township Assessor Qualification for Participation ERi;t 0417 Dear Ms. Morask, lM RF was contacted by the Maine Township Assessor to report that her position requires in excess of 1000 hours of service in a year. The Board of Trustees adopted a rule In February 2017 asking all participating entities with compensated elected officials to review, every two years, the elected positions and inform IMRF which of those positions are expected to require performance of duty for enough hours to qualify for IMRF participation. in Maine Township, this is 1000 hoursof work in a year. What Is asking the governing bodies of our employers to do Is inform us of the hours required to perform the duties of a particular elected position. The governing bodies are not given the authority to deter mine which elected officials may participate in IMRF, regardless of hours of Work required. The Illinois Pension Code determines IMRF eligibility and it provides that elected officials, if they hold a position that requires the hours of service, are eligible to join IMRF [at section 7- This cannot be changed by action ofa township board. Therefore, please let us know the basis for the Maine Township Board?s determination that the position of Maine Township Assessor does not require service for at least 1000 hours annually. if there' IS no i basis forthis determination, IMRF will not remove the current Assessor from participation, even though the Board did not recertify the position as IMRF qualifying. Oak Brook, IL 60523-2337 RF (275-4673) Laura J. Morask November 14, 2017 Page 2 i would be happy to discuss participation for elected officials and the Maine Township Assessor in particular, at your convenience. My direct phone number is 630-368-5352. I r?r' r? at VO?Brien General Counsel cc: Susan Krey Beth lanicki Clark Kate Setchell 2211 York Road, Suite 500 Oak Brook, IL 60523-2337 1-800-ASK-IMRF (275-4673) VIA CERTIFIED RECEIPT January 26, 2018 Laura Morask, Supervisor Peter Gialamas, Clerk Susan Moylan Krey, Assessor Walter Kazmierczak, Highway Commissioner Kimberly Jones, Trustee David Carrabotta, Trustee Claire McKenzie,.Trustee Susan Kelly Sweeney, Trustee . Maine Township 1700 Ballard Rd. Park Ridge, IL 60068-1006 Re: Maine Township Assessor, Quali?cation for IMRF Participation Dear Maine Township Governing Body: Pursuant to an IMRF Board of Trustees rule, Maine Township governing board was required to Certify which of its elected positions were expected to require performance of duty for enough hours to qualify for IMRF participation. For Maine Township, this is a 1000 hour standard. It appears that Maine Township took this question .up?at its August22, 2017 board meeting. At that meeting, the resolution to recertify the IMRF eligibility failed by a 2?yes to 3-110 vote. Therefore, none of the Maine Township elected positions was deemed to require performance of duty for the 1000 hours necessary for IMRF participation. On October 30, 2017, Township Assessor Krey contacted IMRF General Counsel Kathy O?Brien, who has since retired, reiterating her personal certification that the Assessor?s position normally requires at least 1000 hours annually. Based on this representation, General Counsel O?Brien sent a letter dated November 14, 2017 to Supervisor Morask explaining the situation and asking for the basis that Maine Township Board determined that the Maine Township Assessor did not require 1000 hours annually. To that inquiry, General Counsel O?Brien received an email response from Supervisor Morask on November 20, 2017 stating that the three ?no? votes refused to give any reason for their vote and further stated that ?[n]one of these trustees voiced any belief that Assessor Krey did not work 1,000 hours as was certi?ed.? Based on these representations by Supervisor Morask, General Counsel O?Brien made an administrative determination that Township Assessor Krey continued to qualify for IMRF participation notwithstanding the Township Board?s decision not to recertify the elected positions. IMRF has since been contacted by one of the Township Trustees explaining that they were not aware of General Counsel O?Brien?s request for more information on the August 22, 2017 vote; and, therefore, were not given an opportunity to provide the informationrequested by General Counsel O?Brien. It is apparent that all members of the Maine Township Governing Body have not been adequately informed of the IMRF administrative inquiriesand decisiOns. Therefore, this correspondence and all future correspondence regarding this matter will be sent to each member of the governing body individually. As it currently stands, there was an staff administrative decision made by General Counsel O?Brien to reinstate Township Assessor Krey?s INLRF participation based on a lack; of information on the ?no? vote regarding the certification of elected official positions on August ?22, 201 7. Both the individual member, Assessor Krey, and the employer, Maine Township, have standing to appeal this administrative decision. Either party may petition fOr a hearing to appeal his decision before the IMRF Administrative Hearing Officer. The petition must be in writing but may be in any format and need merely to inform the Board of Trustees of your desire to appeal. A notice of appeal must be directed to Vladimir Shuliga, Jr., the IMRF Associate General Counsel, at this address, no later than sixty-three (63) days from the date of this letter. Failure to timely file an appeal petition shall result in the administrative staff determination becoming a final administrative decision, for purposes of the Administrative Review Law, on the sixty-fourth (64th) day after the date of this letter. Sincerely, ~Wm Beth nicki Clark General Counsel Laura J. Morask, Supervisor Maine Township 1700 Ballard Road, Park Ridge, IL 60068 Telephone: 847-297-2510, Ext. 224 Facsimile: 847?297-1335 January 30, 2018 General Counsel Beth lanicki Clark Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund 2211 York Road, Suite 500 Oak Brook, IL 60523-2337 Re: Maine Township Assessor Quali?cation for IMRF Participation Dear General Counsel Janicki Clark: INTRODUCTION I am in receipt of your certi?ed letter, dated January 26th, 2018, with respect to Assessor Krey?s quali?cation for IMRF participation. I am writing to correct some of the factual inaccuracies in your recitation of my interaction with then General Counsel Kathy O?Brien, and the assumption I had any level of control over the General Counsel?s administrative ?ndings reversing Assessor Krey?s IMRF decerti?cation. I am aware that you were copied on Ms. O?Brien?s November 14th, 2017, letter which stated that: ?The governing bodies are not given the authority to determine which elected of?cials may participate in IMRF, regardless of hours of work required. The Illinois Pension Code determines IMRF eligibility and it provides that elected of?cials, if they hold a position that requires the hours of service, are eligible to join IMRF (at section This cannot be changed by action of a township board.? Hence, the inquiries made by Ms. Kathy O?Brien referenced below with respect to reasons individual board members knowingly chose to make. TIMELINE At the August 22nd, 2017 Maine Township Board Meeting, the resolution to certify that the elected positions in the Township require ?performance of duty for 1,000 hours or more a year? was defeated by a vote of three to two. The sample resolution recommended by IMRF was used to conduct the vote on this resolution. Mr. Dowd, the Maine Township Attorney, clari?ed that the sole issue regarding the resolution was whether the elected position involved normally require ?performance of duty for 1,000 hours/year or more per 'The vote essentially decertifying IMRF participation by the elected of?cials was done despite the fact that: . ., in Each elected position had been part of IMRF for over thirty years, since 1986; Each elected of?cial had certi?ed properly, under penalty of perjury, that his/her elected position worked the IMRF minimum requirements; These certi?cations were done on 2017 4. During the August 22nd 2017 board, meeting the motion for the resolution was properly motioned and seconded. None of the three trustees who voted against the resolution itself chose either to discuss the resolution when discussion opened or, when asked their reasons for that vote by Supervisor Morask refused to state any reason other than one trustee commenting further that: ?They were allowed to vote their conscience.? 5. None of the three trustees who voted against the resolution provided, or offered to provide any evidence to support their vote. NH U.) Thus, Assessor Krey?s appeal to IMRF was based on a public record that was notably silent regarding the reasons IMRF participation was nulli?ed after thirty years, but where no evidence was presented to establish that the elected positions of Maine Township at issue did not meet the threshold requirements of 1,000 hours of annual labor. General Counsel O?Brien clearly did not and would not have made her determination to reinstate Assessor Krey based only on the representations of any individual. Ms. O?Brien had access to the entirety of the Board meeting of August 22nd, 2017, which again speaks for itself regarding the complete lack of evidence or explanation for decertifying elected positions in Maine Township from IMRF participation, after thirty years, and despite the fact the of?ce holders of those positions had certified that their positions met the required 1,000 hour threshold. Ms. O?Brien?s letter of November 14th, 2017 requested me to follow up with her. I did so, both in a telephone call and a subsequent letter at her request. As the Supervisor of Maine Township, my duty was to provide factual answers to Ms. O?Brien?s questions. To be clear, I gave Ms. O?Brien the three trustees? contact information should she wish to contact them and/or offered to do so. Thus, your conclusion that: ?based on these representations by Supervisor Morask, General Counsel O?Brien made an administrative determination that Township Assessor Krey continued to qualify for IMRF participation notwithstanding the Township Board?s decision not to recertify the elected positions,? is unfounded. As stated below, I was the conduit of factual information provided by links to the trustees? verbatim words. Ms. O?Brien informed me that the conclusions in her November 14th letter were based on a review of the documents Assessor Krey had sent her, her investigation, and analysis of the Statute, and requested to con?rm 1) the basis of the three trustees vote; 2) their statements of reasons given at or near the time of the Board Meeting in question; and 3) if at any time in stating reasons for their vote at the meeting, any of them had disputed that Assessor Krey had worked at least 1,000 hours/year or that the position did not require 1,000 hours/year. I directed Ms. O?Brien to our website videotape link of the meeting and played and/or read verbatim what they stated in this Board meeting as well as provided her the link, Ms. O?Brien asked me: 1.) If the three trustees had made any other statements as to their reasons behind the ?no? vote; and 2.) Asked me if any Trustee had stated when I speci?cally inquired of them during the Board Meeting that their ?no? vote was based on Assessor Krey?s hours worked. I informed her that if she reviewed the videotape, she would see their exact words which agaianI quoted accurately from the Video at 3:01:48. their refusals to comment, with one trustee adding: ?We are allowed to vote our conscience.? I also directed her to the link of the entire board tape. Ms. O?Brien asked if the three Trustees voting made any other statements of reasons and I informed her of a newspaper article where each trustee spoke in their of?cial capacity with speci?c quotes of their ?reasons?. To scrupulously avoid any misunderstanding of their statements, I sent Ms. O?Brien the link at her request. Thus, again, your conclusion that Ms. O?Brien?s administrative recommendation was based on ?my representations? is untrue and unwarranted. Furthermore, Page 2 of your letter is wrong in stating that the three trustees ?were not given an opportunity to provide the information requested by Ms. O?Brien.? _Ms. O?Brien asked for the reasons previously stated by the members who voted ?No? on the resolution. I directed her to the videotape of the meeting at 3:01:48, where each of them were speci?cally asked that exact question after they voted. That Videotape shows each of the trustees voting ?No? refused to explain their reasons other than one trustee stating; ?We are allowed to vote our consciences?. No Board member voting ?No? ever stated nor disputed that Assessor Krey did not work the minimum 1,000 hour threshold nor did any of them allege that these elected positions required 1,000 hours/year. Ms. O?Brien?s inquiry was focused on whether or not the trustees gave any reason at the Board Meeting vote af?rmatively stating that that Assessor Krey had not worked 1,000 hours or that the Position did not require 1,000 hours. I provided the Board Meeting tape link, and the trustees? verbatim statements. As noted, I provided the Trustees contact information. As I do not dictate IMRF course of investigation, or any investigative decision thereof, I am not responsible for ?not allowing them an opportunity to state their reasons?. Thus, to state that I prevented the trustees from being ?adequately informed? is simply untrue. As Supervisor, I am not in charge of directing the IMRF General Counsel?s investigation. As requested by Ms. O?Brien, I responded to her follow-up questions. I gave the trustees contact information to Ms. O?Brien as well as the website link with their verbatim statements so that there could be no danger of the trustees statements being misinterpreted and/or taken out of context. In sum, I was the conduit of verbatim information given from the trustees of their own videotaped words and printed statements after Ms. O?Brien had been investigating Assessor Krey?s appeal In sum, 1 was the conduit of verbatim information given from the trustees of their own videotaped words and printed statements after Ms. Brien had been investigating Assessor Krey? appeal and after Ms O'Brien made her November 14m, 201 7 conclusions to which [was noiprivy Ms O?Brien?s ?nding that Ms. Krey was entitled to reinstatement was her determination, not mine. Ms. O?Brien asked me to document a short email. You are in receipt of my response to Ms. O?Brien. Finally, your letter states that the Township Trustees ?were not given an opportunity to provide the information requested by General Counsel O?Brien?! Yet, I have received nothing to inform me what was stated in ?the contact? made by one of the trustees recently. As the lawfully designated IMRF agent and Supervisor of the Township 1 am legally required to have that information especially 1n light of the erroneous information that you or IMRF have been provided I am, therefore, herein requesting it Sincer ly, 1/ ura J. Moras?ler?x-?a Supervisor .