A travel itinerary that includes Paris, Monte Carlo, San Francisco, Vancouver, B.C., and Bangalore, India, would be the envy of any jet-setter, but some members of the board that oversees the Baltimore employees? pension fund got to visit these destinations on the city?s dime.
The trips to exotic locales and glamorous cities from June 2005 to January 2006 were paid for from an $80,000 annual travel fund provided by the city for the purpose of educating the Employees? and Elected Officials Retirement Systems board members about investment strategies. According to City Council Member Kenneth Harris, D-District 4, who sits on the Judiciary and Legislative Investigations committee, the overseas travel in particular appears excessive.
“Certainly it draws a red flag. I think it?s worth investigating,” Harris said.
Baltimore City Comptroller Joan Pratt and mayoral appointee Kevin Davis traveled most often, attending four conferences each. Pratt attended a conference in Paris while Davis ventured to Monte Carlo, Vancouver, B.C., and Bangalore, India.
In comparison, Stephen Fugate, chairman of the Fire and Police Employee Retirement System, the city agency that manages the retirement benefits of city police officers and fire personnel, told The Examiner their board did not travel overseas last year.
“We shy away from anything out of the country, simply for appearance,” Fugate said.
How much the board members paid for the trips, 10 in all, is not entirely clear. Roselyn Spencer, executive director of the Employee Retirement Fund, told The Examiner that the three board members who attended the European Alternative Investment Summit in Monte Carlo received a discounted registration rate of $495 each.
According to brochure materials, the regular registration fee was $1,695.
The disparity in rates raises questions as to whether discounted admission fees are ethical. City ethics laws do not permit gifts from people seeking “business with the city.” However, since the trips are paid for with city funds, it is unclear if discounted rates could be classified as “gifts.”
Still, according to minutes from a San Francisco Employees? Retirement System meeting, The World Pension Forum ? which sponsored several conferences attended by Baltimore?s ERS board members ? attempted to pay “part of the expenses” for a San Francisco employee?s trip to India. The minutes said “board rules prohibit this.”
Philip Schaefer, owner of World Pension Forum, denied offering to pay some expenses for the San Francisco employee, but admitted that all conferences give discounted “scholarships” to public pension representatives “as long as they participate. … Being there makes them better investment managers.”
However, the ERS has been reducing its overseas investments. Spenser said in an e-mail that linking international travel to the fund?s investment performance was unfair.
“Fund performance is entirely different from trustee education ? I would not equate the two,” Spencer wrote.
