Sincerely,
terry c. anderson
Director
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
August 25, 2011
The Honorable, The Legislature:
The Legislative Audit Bureau is required by s.13.94 (1) (dc), Wis. Stats., to contract for the performance of an actuarial audit of the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) at least once every five years. After a formal request-for-proposal process, a contract was awarded to the Segal Company for an independent audit of the actuarial valuation as of December 31, 2009. The services provided under this contract primarily focused on verification and analysis of actuarial assumptions and valuation methods used for the WRS by the Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) and its consulting actuary, Gabriel, Roeder, Smith and Company.
Enclosed is the actuary's audit report along with responses from ETF and its consulting actuary. The findings, conclusions, and recommendations in the report are those of Segal. Audit Bureau staff managed the audit contract but were not involved in the fieldwork, analysis, or writing of the audit report.
Segal concludes that the stated methods and assumptions used in the 2009 actuarial valuation were reasonable and properly employed in determining the costs of the WRS and notes that the five-year smoothing mechanism used for the WRS is reasonable and meets actuarial standards. Segal also offers several recommendations to improve the consulting actuary's annual actuarial valuations, including working with ETF to improve the presentation of asset information, expanding the description of the actuarial cost method, and applying an assumption related to optional forms of payment elected by some members who retire after a certain age.
Segal's actuarial audit does not evaluate various changes to the WRS that were implemented after December 31, 2009, including changes enacted as part of
2011 Wisconsin Acts 10 and
32. Changes to actuarial economic assumptions for the WRS that the ETF Board approved in March 2011, including a reduction of the investment return assumption from 7.8 percent to 7.2 percent, likewise occurred outside of the valuation period covered by Segal's audit and therefore were not evaluated.
We acknowledge the professional manner in which Segal staff performed this independent actuarial audit and appreciate the cooperation provided by staff of ETF and its consulting actuary.
Sincerely,
joe chrisman
Interim State Auditor
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State of Wisconsin
Groundwater Coordinating Council
August, 2011
The Honorable, The Legislature:
The Groundwater Coordinating Council (GCC) is pleased to release its 2011 Report to the Legislature. The GCC was formed in 1984 to help state agencies coordinate non-regulatory activities and exchange information on groundwater. For the past 27 years, the GCC has served as a model for interagency coordination and cooperation among state agencies, the Governor, local and federal government, and the university. It is one of the few groups in the nation to effectively coordinate groundwater activities in its state from an advisory position.
Highlights of the State's groundwater protection activities this past year include:
Research and monitoring contributing to our understanding of many groundwater issues including: nitrate, mercury methylation, biofuel cropping, antibiotics, climate change, water use, and fecal contamination.
We hope you will find this report to be a useful reference in protecting Wisconsin's valuable groundwater resource.
Sincerely,
Ken Johnson
Chair
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State of Wisconsin
Office of the Governor
August 26, 2011
The Honorable, The Senate:
This letter is to remove the following appointment from consideration for confirmation by the Wisconsin Senate:
LANDreMAN, STEVEN,
of Kenosha, as a member of the Earned Early Release Review Commission to serve for the term ending March 1, 2013.
Respectfully submitted,
SCOTT WALKER
Governor
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The committee on Natural Resources and Environment reports and recommends:
Relating to ambient air quality standards and affecting small business.
No action taken.
Neal Kedzie
Chairperson
Referred to joint committee for review of Administrative Rules, pursuant to 227.19(5)(a),Wisconsin Statutes.
