Board of Directors Meeting
October 24, 2013
Members Present
Rev. Dr. James Simms, Chairman
Henrick Harwood, Vice Chairman
David McAdoo, Treasurer
Rev. Dr. Toussaint King Hill, Jr.
Cheryl Floyd
Jesse Scheck
Michael Harle
Peter Luongo, PhD, Executive Director
Members Absent
Arthur C. Evans, PhD
Bruce Kraus
Susan Weiner
IRETA Staff
Julius Habjanetz
Piper Lincoln, recorder
Call to Order: Rev. Dr. James Simms called the meeting to order at 11:06 AM and thanked the
board for attending. Rev. Dr. Toussaint King Hill, Jr. asked if a quorum was present and Rev.
Simms replied that there was. Peter Luongo specified that Cheryl Floyd and Henrick Harwood
were participating via conference call.
Approval of Minutes: Minutes from the June 2013 Board of Directors meeting were reviewed
and unanimously approved.
Cheryl Floyd shared that her name recently changed to Cheryl Floyd-Brown and was
congratulated by the other board members.
Recommended Slate of Officers: Michael Harle made the following recommendations to fill
board officer positions; Rev. Dr. James Simms as Chairman, Henrick Harwood as Vice
Chairman, David McAdoo as Treasurer and Jesse Scheck as Secretary. Rev. Simms asked for
nominations from the floor. There were no further nominations and Dave McAdoo motioned that
the roles proposed by Mr. Harle be approved. The motion was seconded by Jesse Scheck and the
officer positions were unanimously approved. Mr. Scheck stated that he was very honored.
Financial Report: David McAdoo led the Review and Approval of the Financial Report. He
stated that the finance committee had no significant changes to report for the first quarter of the
fiscal year and that the committee feels that the state of IRETA’s finances is well in order. He
reported that IRETA currently holds a $75,698 revenue to expenditure surplus and Mr. McAdoo
complimented the staff on their effort. He reported that IRETA net assets continue to grow, with
11.2% added in the previous quarter.
Mr. McAdoo stated that the goal of the finance committee moving forward is to work on
developing an investment plan. Peter Luongo added that he hoped the Gaudenzia plan would
serve as a first step in that process.
Mr. McAdoo noted that the ATTC grant continues to be the lead funding source for IRETA,
followed by contracts. Mr. Harle asked what the previous ATTC grant amount was and Julius
Habjanetz responded that the previous grant was for $625,000 and the current grant is for
$675,000. Mr. Harle then asked about the duration of the grant and Mr. Habjanetz replied that it
is a 5 year grant whose second year just began.
Mr. McAdoo also reported that grants other than the ATTC grant comprise an increasingly larger
portion of grant revenue at IRETA, putting us closer to achieving the board’s revenue source
diversification goal. He further noted that while we wouldn’t expect to see too much activity in
terms of revenue versus expenses in the first quarter, he was pleased to see that expenses have
held steady or decreased over this period. He complimented the staff once again.
Referring to a section of the report, Mr. Harle asked to whom IRETA donates. Dr. Luongo stated
that we provide funding for Recovery Month activities. Mr. Harle pointed out that while IRETA
had budgeted $10,000 for this event, only $8,900 was spent. Dr. Luongo replied that the
Recovery Walk had been slightly over budged for. Mr. Scheck observed that this may have been
because food was not provided this year, unlike last year.
During the review, Mr. McAdoo pointed out that the revenue opportunities described in the
financial report are “birds in hand,” or finalized projects. Additional funding opportunities
described in the Program Update are not included in the financial report. He also stated that the
FY 2014 section represents a simplified budget. He then asked the board if it would be best for
the first motion to be acceptance the report and the second to approve the budget. Mike Harle
responded that he moved that proposal and Rev. Sims seconded the motion.
David McAdoo further asked for a presentation regarding salaries and stated that it is the
responsibility of the board to review salaries. He mentioned that Dr. Luongo has plans to address
this issue. Mr. Harle agreed that it is the responsibility of the board to do this and recommended
that a compensation study of 990’s be conducted. He informed Dr. Luongo that he has access to
those pages through Guide Star and could email the information to him. He further stated that a
salary review was only necessary for the highest paid employee. He moved to approve the
salaries as presented with the understanding that there would be a review of the highest salary
consistent with the industry. Mr. Scheck and Ms. Floyd-Brown seconded the motion and it was
approved.
Rev. Simms asked if the fringe benefit percentage didn’t seem too low. Dr. Luongo agreed with
his observation and stated that the current percent is 21.76. Mr. Harle added that in government
the percent is much higher. Dr. Luongo then discussed the current retirement plan, which is a 2-1
match up to 3%, is a 1-1 match in most places. He said that the current 403(b) plan is very
constricting, and that it is possible for staff to move in or out of the plan. He stated that if IRETA
wants to be an employer of choice, we should do something about that. He further mentioned
that there are different approaches to retirement out there while the current plan is a holdover
from the early days of IRETA.
Mike Harle asked who sponsors the retirement plan and Dr. Luongo said that it was Lincoln
Financial. Mr. Harle asked what they do and was told by Dr. Luongo that staff manage their own
policies. Mr. Harle also asked if there was any third party oversight and was told by Dr. Luongo
that there is not. Mr. Harle expressed concern because in his experience, if a company provides a
match they become a qualified pension plan and are therefore required to have a pension
committee, third party oversight, and a board of director approved plan. He described an
experience at another organization where they ran afoul of these requirements and in the end,
needed to request amnesty from the IRS’s failure to comply penalty of $10,000/day. He
mentioned that he would help in any way on this issue and would share the solution of the other
organization if legally possible.
Mr. McAdoo began a conversation about starting a committee on this issue and Dr. Luongo
suggested that its members could be a subset of the finance committee. Mr. McAdoo suggested
that if this committee looks at benefits as a part of the review process, they should look at the
whole compensation package including vesting and pension matching. Mr. Harle further
suggested they might look at other plans for examples.
Dr. Luongo agreed, stating that IRETA is not a patient-oriented non-profit and its closest
comparison organizations are probably universities. He offered the example that Dr. Dawn
Lindsay came to IRETA from the University of Pittsburgh and Piper Lincoln from Carnegie
Mellon University. Those are likely to be the types of places IRETA will look to for near-future
hiring. Mr. McAdoo described designing compensation packages as a different process for
clinical and technical positions, where one needs to compete for employees at the source, versus
finance and clerical staff, where one can look more directly at costs.
Mr. Harle reiterated the statement that we should make sure that compensation is done correctly
at IRETA. Dr. Luongo agreed, stating that while we do have a plan, he thinks it is an unfair one.
Rev. Simms reiterated the need for a larger study looking at the full personnel policy. Mr. Harle
again stated that he has access Guide Star to check the averages for Dr. Luongo’s wages and will
forward him that information. Dr. Luongo stated to the board that IRETA’s day-to-day
operations are not in danger.
Annual Report: Dr. Luongo started the Annual Report discussion by orienting the board to the
Report’s layout, which follows the structure of the Program Updates. First, he described the
areas of engagement in which IRETA is quickly growing its presence through the use of social
media. He pointed to myIRETA subscriber growth as an example, and suggested that it is
IRETA’s ability to produce new content every 7-10 days that keeps online readers interested.
Second, he drew attention to the simplified financial snapshot presented in the Report, which was
done to provide information without duplicating the detail of a 990.
Third, he pointed out the section for new board of director and staff members and noted that it
would now be updated with Ms. Floyd-Brown’s correct information. He also noticed an error in
Rev. Hill’s entry and stated that that would also be fixed.
Fourth, he noted that the list of IRETA clients and partners on the back page continues to
become more diverse.
Finally, he stated that the Annual Report would be delivered electronically and posted online
rather than printed. He also observed that the Annual Report becomes less difficult to produce
each time as the process becomes more familiar.
Mike Harle said that he likes the use of client and partner logos rather than text and
congratulated the editors on a good idea. Dr. Luongo agreed, stating that the staff helped identify
the talented graphic designer who produced the Annual Report. Mr. McAdoo agreed that he liked
the Report, but suggested that IRETA might print a few copies for key clients. He also asked
about the presentation of net assets, wondering whether the graphic sends the right message
when asking for money. It could show that IRETA is financially sound and stable or imply that
“we’ve got money” and lead people to ask why we are looking for more. Dr. Luongo stated that
he felt it sent the positive message that IRETA is capable of carrying out a client’s mission.
Dr. Luongo segued into a discussion of investment strategy and wondered why organizations
would give IRETA money for reasons other than working with us. He stated that partnerships
with groups whose interests merge with our own seems to offer a possible explanation. He
pointed to a recent partnership with PEW Charitable Trust as an example.
Rev. Simms continued this discussion and stated that rather than spinning our wheels about a
development strategy, we should build on our strengths of partnership. Jesse Scheck restated this
by asking if we should develop partnerships first and then ask for money. Rev. Simms agreed,
reiterating that we shouldn’t spend energy figuring out why people would just give us money.
Rev. Hill asked Dr. Luongo for an update on the project with the University of Chicago. Dr.
Luongo stated that a great deal was learned in the first year of subcontracting with the National
Opinion Research Center (NORC). The motivation for partnering with NORC was to strengthen
the position of the National ATTC grant application and to gain access through NORC to a large
hospital system and EAPs. He observed that while NORC’s Behavioral Health section has great
scientists, we strengthened the partnership through our ability to implement. He observed that
IRETA is better than most at the “doing of things” and answering questions such as “is your
counseling program doing anything?” because we have a protocol to examine this in place.
Rev. Simms observed that this sounded affirming and helping at the same time. Rev. Hill asked
if our financial obligations with NORC had changed over time. Dr. Luongo stated that it had not.
Rev. Hill also asked if we have a contract with NORC and Dr. Luongo answered that we have an
annually negotiated contract.
Rev. Simms asked the board if they had further comments on the Annual Report. Mr. Harle
requested that some acronyms be spelled out in the text. Rev. Hill also asked if a glossary of
acronyms and terms could be provided for the board and Dr. Luongo answered that it could be
done. Mr. Harle also pointed out that Ms. Floyd-Brown now works at the Miracle Group and Ms.
Floyd-Brown agreed, requesting that her name and agency be updated.
Mr. McAdoo asked if a motion to approve was needed and Rev. Simms clarified that the motion
was to accept the Annual Report as presented with the changes suggested by the board. The
motion was seconded and approved.
Rev. Hill then informed Dr. Luongo that his title is incorrect and that he holds a Dr. of Ministry.
Dr. Luongo stated that he would include this change and thanked the board.
Executive Director’s Report: Dr. Luongo began the Executive Director’s Report by reviewing
IRETA’s Program Updates. He described the progress so far in launching a Community
Epidemiology Workgroup with partners in Allegheny County government. He observed that it
usually takes a few years for these kinds of projects to develop, but that the end goal was to
routinize the process of looking at data, making it more accessible and actionable. Rev. Simms
wondered if there were any political overtones to the current process and Dr. Luongo said that he
had not observed any so far.
Dr. Luongo commented on IRETA’s social media presence and informed the board that we are
hiring two new interns, one for 20 hrs/wk and one for 10 hrs/week, to replace an outgoing Social
Media Intern. He observed that having interns has caused IRETA to think differently by
introducing regular infusion of new ideas and technology.
Dr. Luongo then described a recent project with PEW and mentioned that he would be meeting
with them further to discuss other opportunities. He also described a meeting with Cindy Shapira
of the Shapira Family Foundation who is interesting in learning how they can get involved in
opiate overdose prevention. The board discussed some possible ideas such as the prescription
drug monitoring program, access to Narcan and Good Samaritan Laws.
Rev. Simms asked if we still had contact with our lobbyist. Dr. Luongo replied that we did not
and that the lobbyist’s function was to get funds. Mr. Harle mentioned that because earmarks
don’t exist anymore we are unlikely to need a lobbyist, although he still has contacts and could
help. Dr. Luongo stated that we want to stay away from lobbying and Mr. Harle agreed, stating
that the board had already discussed this in the past.
Dr. Luongo described other opportunities working with counties who are merging their
Substance Abuse and Mental Health departments. He is in contact with the director of behavioral
health in D.C. who is interested in unifying regulation and pay schemes and developing
performance based compensation.
Mr. Harle asked if the project with Baltimore was completed and Dr. Luongo replied that it was,
but there are ongoing discussions on how to implement the project recommendations.
Dr. Luongo also discussed the likely future of federal grants, stating that there are likely to be
fewer RFAs from SAMHSA and states are likely to receive less money through block grants. For
example, IRETA recently submitted grant applications with the University of Pittsburgh School
Of Social Work and the School of Nursing which were not accepted due to increased
competition for fewer slots. Jesse Scheck asked if this should be a cause for concern three years
out. Dr. Luongo replied that even if the ATTC grant was unavailable, IRETA would be able to
continue through other sources of revenue.
A discussion of federal to state funding and healthcare fee-for-service continued. Mr. McAdoo
observed that government’s incentive to reduce costs does not mesh with the incentive to
improve care, which can cost more money in the short-term, but reduce them in the long-term.
Mr. Harle stated that this incentive problem might not be resolved until health care contracting is
done over periods lasting longer than one year.
Rev. Hill asked Dr. Luongo to elaborate on the professional development section of Program
Updates. Dr. Luongo described a recent faith-based education and training event conducted with
the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He felt that SBIRT was a natural fit with the pre-service
education of future faith leaders and has discussed the possibility of introducing SBIRT in a
foundation class at the PTS. Rev. Simms offered that approximately 30% of his pastoral
counseling related to substance abuse and Rev. Hill added that the percent could be higher in his
congregation. He stated that every person in his congregation would say that they have direct
contact with a substance use issue and that he often counsels families on how to cope.
Rev. Hill also mentioned that a write-up of the training could be presented to Lilly or PEW, who
both have faith-based components. He offered that the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary would
serve as an excellent joint application partner.
Rev. Simms and Rev. Hill also discussed alternatives to changes in foundation courses. They
suggested that pre-service education often contains a clinical pastoral component, which might
be a good opportunity to introduce SBIRT training. Rev. Hill suggested that a program similar to
Scaife for medical students could be developed for seminary students.
Dr. Luongo mentioned that IRETA has a research proposal pending with the Scaife Foundation
to follow up with previous students of the program and compare them to other medical students.
He mentioned a recent poster presentation by Dr. Dawn Lindsay in San Diego which described
an initial analysis of the data.
Rev. Hill requested that the Scaife program push to expand the diversity of student participants.
Dr. Luongo responded that there is an effort to ensure diversity and that applications come from
all over the country, including Puerto Rico. The applicant pool reflects the current medical
student population, which leans toward more women and more minority women.
Employee Handbook: Dr. Luongo then led a discussion of the new Employee Handbook which
was recently reviewed by an attorney. One suggestion make by the attorney regarded severance
pay, and he affirmed that it is not legal to have an employee accrue annual leave and not pay for
all leave at the end of their term. That change was made to the current draft of the Handbook.
The attorney will review the final draft. After a final review, the attorney will provide a letter
stating that the Handbook has been reviewed and is in full compliance with Pennsylvania and
U.S. Federal employment law. The attorney bills at $160/hour.
Rev. Hill called attention to the employee exit procedure, specifically language stating that an
escort procedure may be applied. Rev. Hill hoped that we would not have to use police escort.
Dr. Luongo assured the board that the escort refers to a supervisor. He mentioned that the current
draft language on the escort is ambiguous but also friendlier than earlier drafts.
Mr. McAdoo called attention to health insurance, which is not restricted to full-time employees
and could be offered to less than full-time employees. Mr. Harle clarified that less than full-time
meant working 30 hours or less per week.
Dr. Luongo added that a section on the percent taken from an employees pay for medical
deductions was removed because that percent may change over time.
Rev. Hill asked to whom the Handbook would be given and Dr. Luongo responded that it would
be given to the employees and the board. He described the next step as receiving the letter of
review from the attorney. He asked the board to approve the Employee Handbook pending the
receipt of the attorney’s letter. The board’s approval would make the Handbook in effect.
Rev. Hill asked if the attorney had made and suggestions that were not taken. Dr. Luongo replied
that there were not because the attorney had conducted a legal and procedural review and all
suggestions were accepted. Rev. Hill also asked if the problems with leave time had been
resolved in the new Handbook. Dr. Luongo replied that they had been. The new Handbook does
not discriminate based on class of employee, with the exception of himself.
Mr. Harle called attention to page 17 of the Handbook, specifically language stating that
employees 64 years of age may file for Medicare A and B and still keep their IRETA health
insurance. Dr. Luongo described “keeping” as meaning that an employee can opt to return to
IRETA’s policy after having left it to go on Medicare. The IRETA policy would not serve as a
supplemental policy while on Medicare. Mr. Harle asked if this is what IRETA does currently
and Dr. Luongo responded that we have not had any employees retire in our history, but that one
employee is soon turning 65. It will be that person’s choice to stay on IRETA’s policy or leave.
Mr. Scheck asked if the insurance premium rate is the same regardless of whether the policy is
primary or secondary. Dr. Luongo replied that it is, and that would be something that would be
renegotiated in the future. Mr. Scheck responded that it made sense that we would not have it
included in our current policy since the circumstance had not been encountered before and would
not have priced it out.
Rev. Hill mentioned that Dr. Luongo had earlier discussed hiring more part-time employees and
asked about benefits for them. Dr. Luongo stated that intern positions are not advertised with
benefits and that the current part-time employee has his own insurance. He mentioned that if
IRETA continues to grow that we might rethink this policy and consider something like a health
insurance credit. Mr. McAdoo added that we could consider a benefit buyout, where IRETA
would pay to the employee something like 20% of the benefit cost if they opted to not take the
benefit.
Mr. Harle asked if there is a retirement age and Dr. Luongo replied that there is not. Mr. Harle
asked if there is a vesting schedule and Dr. Luongo replied that there is not, that vesting is
immediately implemented.
Rev. Hill asked about continuing education benefits. Dr. Luongo described the tuition
reimbursement plan which pays a percent of tuition in exchange for an in-kind return of
employment time. Rev. Hill asked if that ties in with a person’s level of employment. Dr.
Luongo answered that it does. For example, Dr. Holly Hagle’s title changed from Trainer to
Lead Rainier to Director as her education progressed. Rev. Hill asked if it also ties in to
retirement and Dr. Luongo answered that it does not.
Rev. Hill discussed that the old policy from St. Francis is now being individualized for IRETA.
Dr. Luongo added that being able to draw on the expertise of the board—in this case Mr.
McAdoo’s suggestion of an employment attorney—is valuable when making these changes. Rev.
Hill added that the same effort to adapt old St. Francis policy is now being made in regard to
employee compensation and benefits.
Mr. Harle moved that the Employee Handbook be accepted contingent upon receipt of the
attorney’s review letter. The motion was approved.
Adjourn: The IRETA Board of Directors meeting adjourned at 2:00pm.