Needham Retirement Board Votes to Move $7 Million Into PRIT Fund
Needham Retirement Board votes 5-0 to shift $7 million into the state's PRIT investment fund. Board Chair Michelle and members Jay Steeves, Tatiana Swanson, Robert Murrells and John Kowicki also approved a $1,374,549.14 payroll warrant and a $331,978.78 expense warrant.
Other Committee · Meeting of February 18, 2026
Needham Retirement Board votes 5-0 to shift $7 million into the state's PRIT investment fund. Board Chair Michelle and members Jay Steeves, Tatiana Swanson, Robert Murrells and John Kowicki also approved a $1,374,549.14 payroll warrant and a $331,978.78 expense warrant. The bigger story was compliance: Retirement Administrator Jacob Cole told the board a PERAC audit found missing approval letters among roughly 500 retiree files, and members backed raising accountant Martin Feeney's hours from 18 to about 22.5 a week to catch up.
Murrells pushed for transparency after learning staff had processed a special disbursement between meetings without notifying the full board, saying it's "proper and good for full transparency for that to be noted." He also demanded to know who had "called our staff incompetent" during the audit. A COLA vote, cyber insurance and an actuarial study decision were pushed to March.
In the full story:
- The complete report — 1,016 words
Source: the Other Committee meeting of February 18, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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