The Arizona Department of Public Safety's Local Retirement Board is set to hold an accessible meeting this coming Monday, per the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The board meeting is scheduled for April 1, 2024, at 3 p.m. at the Department's headquarters on Encanto Boulevard. Individuals requiring accommodations are encouraged to reach out to Leanne Lunsford at (602) 223-2147 as soon as possible to ensure arrangements can be made.
Diligently ticking off their agenda, the board will review and seek to approve the minutes from their January 30, meeting. Moreover, they are slated to consider a trio of accidental disability retirement applications, from Ryan Bair, Nicholas Mitchell, and Derek Ortiz. Living in a society that pledges to not only support but also uphold the dignity of those who can no longer work due to accidents, the board’s discussions manifest a commitment to those promises, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
New membership applications are also up for consideration, ranging from applications effective July 2023 to as recent as March 2024, with some applicants citing pre-existing conditions. The case of Oskar Haenel, a trooper medically retired in June 2023 who has quickly returned to work, will be under review as well. Likewise, James Fleming, another medically retired trooper, has found his way back into the workforce as a Specialty Vehicle Operator, his return dated February 1.
Further items on the docket include new business and old business topics, such as a letter of concern, a discussion and review of the Independent Medical Examination (IME) process, and a review concerning Rigoberto Diaz. The board will also scrutinize and likely seek to approve expenses amounting to $4,810.00 for MCN, as reported by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Amidst all these proceedings, one would hope that the board will remember to earnestly keep front and center the impact these decisions have on the real lives behind the applications and names that appear on their agenda.
