Board Elections
Serving on the COAERS Board
The COAERS Board of Trustees are fiduciaries of the retirement system and discharge their duties in the exclusive interest of members and beneficiaries for the purpose of providing promised benefits to participants and their beneficiaries. Trustees work with professional staff and service providers including investment consultants, actuarial consultants, and legal counsel.
COAERS is governed by an 11-member Board of Trustees that is comprised of:
- Three elected active City of Austin employees
- Two elected retired employees
- Two City Council appointed citizens
- One Board appointed citizen
- One City Manager designee
- One Director of Finance of the City or designee
- One City Council Member
Responsibilities of the Board of Trustees include:
- Establishing and reviewing the mission and setting the strategic direction of COAERS;
- Adopting policies, resolutions, and bylaws appropriate for the administration of COAERS;
- Hiring and performance evaluation of the executive director;
- Approval of the annual administrative budget;
- Oversight of investment program and asset allocation of the fund;
- Establishing the actuarial assumptions with the assistance of professional staff and consulting actuary; and
- Approval of disability retirement applications.
If you are interested in serving on the COAERS Board, please review the information below about open positions for Active members, Retired members, and citizen appointments.
Open Board Positions:
There are no open positions for active members in the 2024 election cycle.
The following positions are open for retired members in the 2024 election cycle:
- RETIRED MEMBER PLACE 10
The election for Retired Member Election for Place 10 will be held in October 2024. The current term is set to expire December 2024.
Retired Member Place 10 Candidate Application Information:
Candidate Application Packet
To declare yourself as a candidate for the position, complete the enclosed Application and Candidate Disclosure form:
Application Deadline
Your completed material must be received on or before 5:00 p.m. Central Time, September 13, 2024 via email to michelle.mahaini@coaers.org.
Term of Office
The four-year term of office for Retired Member Place 10 is January 2025 through December 2028.
Eligibility
To be eligible to run, you must be a retired member currently receiving a monthly annuity payment from COAERS.
Candidate Training Workshop
A Candidate’s Training Workshop will be scheduled for September 2024 (date TBD) to provide candidates with information about serving on the Board of Trustees. Candidates will be given an opportunity to withdraw their application from the election at the conclusion of the workshop if they wish.
For Questions
If you have any questions, please call us at 512-458-2551 ext. 150 or email michelle.mahaini@coaers.org.
Election Process
Board elections are held every year for active and retired trustee positions and are overseen by a volunteer committee called the Nominating and Election Committee. Terms for elected board members are four years and the terms are staggered so that there is an active or retired place for election every two years. As an active employee, you have the opportunity to vote for peers running for active board positions. When you retire, you can vote for the retired positions. You can also be a candidate yourself for these positions.
The volunteer Nominating and Election Committee meets approximately four times in the election year: once to kick off the election season, next to review candidate qualifications, then prepare ballot, and lastly to tabulate votes. All meetings are held at the COAERS Boardroom at 4700 Mueller Blvd, Suite 100. If you are interested in being a volunteer, please send a message to Michelle Mahaini.
Candidate applications are submitted in September, with ballots mailed out in October and voting by December. The newly elected board member will begin their new term the upcoming January.