Wayne County Charter amendment proposal on Nov. 4 ballot

Executive Summary

The Wayne County Commission has voted to place on the Nov. 4 ballot a countywide

proposal for an amendment to the Wayne County Home Rule Charter.

It is a simple amendment that amounts to a technical change, but the Wayne County

Commission believes it will benefit the countys retirement system with this slight change to the

Retirement Board (technically the Wayne County Retirement Commission) which oversees the

Wayne County Employees Retirement System.

WHAT IT WOULD DO

The amendment would allow the chairperson of the Wayne County Commission, who is a member

of the Retirement Board, to appoint a designee to represent them on the board.

BACKGROUND

As set up in the county charter, the Retirement Board consists of eight members. Six are elected

(two from among retirees, four from among active employees) and two are ex-officio members,

meaning they are automatically members of the Retirement Board by virtue of another position

they hold. The two ex-officio Retirement Board members are the Wayne County Executive and the

chairperson of the Wayne County Commission.

The charter spells out that one of the ex-officio members is the CEO or the designee of the CEO.

This means the County Executive may appoint someone to represent them at Retirement Board

meetings rather than actually participating in Retirement Board meetings him/herself. This

appointee is a full member and able to vote on matters before the Retirement Board.

The charter lists the other ex-officio member as the chairperson of the County Commission, and

does not specify that the chairperson of the County Commission may appoint a designee to vote on

their behalf. Thus, the chairperson of the County Commission unlike the CEO is required to

personally participate on the Retirement Board.

The charter recognizes that the County Executive has myriad other responsibilities within the

county and, importantly, might have another individual within the administration who has more

expertise in matters that might come before the Retirement Board, and thus potentially serve the

Retirement Board better than the CEO him/herself. Currently, CEO Robert Ficanos appointed

designee on the retirement board is Mark Abbo, the countys Chief Financial Officer.

Alternately, the charter does not recognize the same for the chairperson of the County Commission.

So, the amendment would allow the chairperson of the County Commission like the CEO already

is able to do to appoint someone with more expertise in retirement and financial matters, which,

in theory, could improve the quality of expertise on the Retirement Board.

The charter does not require the CEO to appoint a representative, and neither would this

amendment require the chairperson of the County Commission to appoint a representative. It

allows for such appointments, as the ex-officio member sees fit.

HERE IS THE PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT, with the charters existing language in lower

case letters, and the proposed change is in all-caps bold font:

6.112 Retirement Commission

The Retirement Commission is composed of 8 members: The CEO or the

designee of the CEO, the chairperson of the County Commission OR THE

DESIGNEE OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COUNTY COMMISSION, and 6 elected

members. The members must be residents of Wayne County. Four members

shall be active employees elected by active employees of the County in

the manner provided by ordinance and 2 members shall be retired

employees elected by retired employees of the County in the manner

provided by ordinance. The term of the elected members is 4 years.

The Retirement Commission shall administer and manage the Retirement

System. The costs of administration and management of the Retirement

System shall be paid from the investment earnings of the Retirement

System.

HERE IS THE QUESTION, AS IT WILL APPEAR ON THE NOV. 4 BALLOT:

THE WAYNE COUNTY RETIREMENT COMMISSION

SECTION 6.112 OF THE WAYNE COUNTY HOME RULE CHARTER APPOINTS THE WAYNE

COUNTY EXECUTIVE AND THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE WAYNE COUNTY COMMISSION AS

MEMBERS OF THE WAYNE COUNTY RETIREMENT COMMISSION. SECTION 6.112 AUTHORIZES

THE WAYNE COUNTY EXECUTIVE TO APPOINT A DESIGNEE TO REPRESENT HIM/HER ON THE

RETIREMENT COMMISSION.

SHALL SECTION 6.112 OF THE WAYNE COUNTY HOME RULE CHARTER BE AMENDED TO

AUTHORIZE THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE COMMISSION TO APPOINT A DESIGNEE TO

REPRESENT HIM/HER ON THE RETIREMENT COMMISSION?

____YES ____ NO