Now Boarding
New PFRS trustee board ready to go to work
and optimize the pension system
■ BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
Trustees of the new PFRS Board gathered to attend a meeting
of the existing PFRS Board in early January. The objective here
was part of the transition to the new PFRS management system
resulting from the Chapter 55 law Governor Murphy signed in
July, and for much of the meeting, the new trustees listened and
learned how the board conducts day-to-day PFRS business.
But the meeting of the minds of the law enforcement officers
and firefighters who are the newly elected and appointed trust-
ees took on a historic, eager and exciting sensation. The gather-
ing played a bit like a freshman mixer, if that mixer was held the
first day of the Continental Congress.
More encouragingly, it confirmed how much expertise will
be in this room once the new board officially starts sitting on
Feb. 1. And the gathering indicated how much that board will be
able to do to achieve the independent governance of the PFRS
— including control of the investments, auditing power and fu-
ture changes such as reinstating COLA — to optimize pension
health and stability.
“I’m literally amazed at the skill sets these people have,”
praised State Corrections Local 105 State Delegate Ray Heck,
who is the new law enforcement-elected trustee. “We have
people who are brilliant in finance and investments, and that
is augmented by some of us who have experience as elected of-
ficials. Everybody has come in with the same goals and objec-
tives, which is to make sure we make sound investments.”
Some of the finance and investment expertise will come from
James Kompany, the Roselle Park Local 27 member who is the
PBA’s appointed trustee – as Chapter 55 allows from each of
New Jersey’s four public safety unions. Kompany is an Accredit-
ed Asset Management Specialist (AAMS), has a Series 65 license
to act as an investment advisor and worked for Deutsche Bank,
Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo before becoming a law enforce-
ment officer.
Kompany complements Heck, the three-time elected mayor
of Millstone Borough who brings acumen for municipal bud-
gets and considerable audit and actuarial familiarity to the new
board. Other expertise comes from board members like Matt
Lubin, the fire-elected trustee who is a member of FMBA Cran-
ford Local 327 and has a master’s degree in public administra-
tion.
“The new trustees look to have the technical background for
the actual positions we hold,” Kompany appraised. “I think it’s
a good mix. We have a lot of sharp people that should make ev-
erybody elevate their game. From what I have seen, everybody
is eager. We’re showing the right cards.”
One of the wildcards in the PFRS board game could be the
state-appointed trustees. According to Chapter 55, five mem-
bers of the 12-person board will be from the government side
CONTINUED ON PAGE 44
www.njcopsmagazine.com
■ JANUARY 2019 43