Cooley Board Seeks Employee Retirement Plan

G.B. Cooley District Executive Officer Ben Pitts said that it is time for the District employees to “have something more” when they retire from working for the District and says that it is time that the board does something about it. Cooley employs hundreds of people and knows that they may not have enough reserved to live a comfortable life when many do retire. Members of the board have had discussions over the last several months about coming up with a retirement plan for its employees. At the last board meeting, held Thursday, April 8, 2021, Pitts once again brought up the subject of retirement and that he had conversations with individuals who are brokers. Pitts said that before the board could move further on what kind of plan they could offer to their employees, they first had to decide who their broker would be. Pitts informed the board that there were several brokers that they could utilize, though several would be a little more expensive to hire; he appeared to be impressed with the brokerage firms run by John Hancock and Edward Jones. All firms mentioned were highly reputable companies with good track records. Pitts even gave an example of how the brokerage industry works and used G.B. Cooley as an example to provide more context for the conversation. He said that local firm Thomas & Farr may be their broker when it came to obtaining insurance, but Hanover Insurance writes their insurance. There were tax money issues discussed on its role (if any) in retirement plan decisions, but that issue could also be further discussed in future board meetings. Board members decided to accept John Hancock and Edwards Jones to be the brokers. Pitts stressed that he “is the messenger” and that it is board members who will have the final say in making any retirement planning decisions.

In other matters before the board, Land3 Architect, Inc. representative Cedric Hemphill gave an updated progress report on two housing developments’ by Cooley. Hemphill said that progress at the two sites is not complete, but there is about 20% more work, such as floor work/touch-up and some cosmetic work left to do. Hemphill said that all work should be finished in about 30 days. Pitts told board members that before the homes can have residents, they will have to be inspected and approved by agencies from the state and the local fire department. Hemphill finished his report telling board members, “We are in good shape.”