Wednesday, December 8, 2021 @ 11:00 am
The December 2021 General Membership meeting of the Dallas Police Retired Officers Association took place at the A.C. Garrett Masonic Lodge, 7119 E. Grand Avenue, Dallas, TX 75223. The meeting was recorded by President Elliston for the Secretary’s benefit to transcribe into minutes.
Present: President David Elliston, Vice President Sally Lannom, Treasurer Crista Walker, Director Boux Bland, Director Joe Richtsmeier, Communications Director Carol Richtsmeier, DFR Advisor Larry Williams
Absent: Secretary Ken Seguin, Director Dale Erves
- President Elliston called the meeting to order at 11:00 am.
- President Elliston led the membership in the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Former Vice President Dwight Walker delivered the invocation.
- Elliston announced the names of the 5 police and firefighters who had passed away in November according to the DPFPS website.
- Police
- Albert M. Cargile, Jerry L. Craig
- Fire
- Jessie Lee Bean, John K. Crutcher, Danny L. Watley
- President Elliston asked if any in the membership had reviewed the posted November minutes on the website. None acknowledged doing so. A motion was made to dispense with reading aloud the minutes; consequently, no motion was made to approve the November minutes.
- President Elliston reported that he thinks a ‘fix’ for the DPROA website SSL certificate has been found and hoped that it would be resolved by the January General Membership meeting.
- Treasurer Walker briefed the membership on a meeting she attended at the DPA’s invitation regarding Thin Blue Line health benefits on November 29, 2021. She said it offers insurance options for First Responders and said that while may not be appropriate for everyone, it could benefit many DPD/DFR retirees under age 65. It provides coverage nationwide and overall, is less expensive than city healthcare insurance for retirees. It also offers Dental/Vision coverage. President Elliston has asked Comm Director Richtsmeier to place information about it on the DPROA website.
- President Elliston advised that he had received an update from attorney George Vie on the pending Annual Adjustment / Benefit Supplement lawsuit. Both sides had filed their documents by the deadline of December 6, 2021. The presiding judge has set a jury trial with a date established for October 3, 2022. Both mediation and discovery are possible between now and the trial.
- President Elliston stated there was no monthly Ratliff Company report since the legislature is not in session.
- Treasurer Walker advised there is currently $784,923 in the bank and that $314,488 of that amount is set aside as designated funds for the Annual Adjustment lawsuit. A majority of the money has been moved into the Money Market account.
- President Elliston announced that Vice President Sally Lannom and Director Joe Richtsmeier had both filed candidate forms for reelection to their respective board positions. Additionally, member David Potts (active DROP) had filed a candidate form for the position of Treasurer.
- President Elliston called for any nominations from the floor for any of the three positions and that the person nominated also had to be present. There were no nominations so each of the three named candidates will be sworn in at the March 2022 meeting.
- Member Larry Eddington suggested the possible hiring of a professional bookkeeper to assist in the Treasurer’s duties. Treasurer Walker remarked that she had previously looked into that possibility and found it would cost about $1,000 and was cost prohibitive.
- President Elliston stated emails had been sent to 2021 delinquent members and that failure to renew membership will result in being removed from the Annual Adjustment lawsuit.
- President Elliston stated that the A.C. Garrett Masonic Lodge, 7119 E. Grand Avenue, Dallas, TX will be the new permanent meeting location of the DPROA at $100 per month. The Executive Board made the decision to move from the DPA Building due to continual scheduling issues.
- In response to a member’s question, President Elliston said that the lawsuit of the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System against Townsend Holdings, Inc. is scheduled for January 2022.
- Former Vice President Dwight Walker suggested that consideration be given to endorsing former Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman in her candidacy for Texas Attorney General. She is married to a retired Houston Police Officer. Walker commented that current AG Ken Paxton, who has been endorsed by the DPA, has not helped on matters of interest to the DPROA. He opined that an early endorsement in her campaign would be more meaningful to her. President Elliston said the suggestion would be considered.
- It was also announced that member Scotty Holt’s surgery had been postpone due to considerations about his heart. Treasurer Walker said his daughter posts frequent updates about his condition on Scotty’s Facebook page.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 am.
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Kenneth E. Seguin
Secretary