City of Boca Raton Police and Firefighters' Retirement System

City of Boca Raton Police and Firefighters' Retirement System

The City of Boca Raton Police and Firefighters' Retirement System was established by Ordinance 1806 in 1973 to provide pension benefits for all sworn police officers and firefighters in Boca Raton, Florida. An eight-member Board of Trustees governs the plan under Florida Statutes, providing normal, early, and disability retirement benefits, as well as pre-retirement death benefits and termination refunds to members. The City of Boca Raton acts as plan sponsor and employer. The Boca Raton Police Foundation maintains a separate but adjacent supporting role for the department. The system allocates across traditional public equities, fixed income, and an alternatives sleeve that includes private real estate funds, direct real estate mixed-use partnerships, and private market allocations. The real estate program spans commercial funds and direct investments, reflecting a tangible-asset bias common among Florida municipal plans. The plan has not published individual private equity fund names, but the private market allocation signals exposure to buyout, growth, or venture funds through fund commitments. Geographic deployment centers on US-based assets, with Florida commercial real estate a likely concentration. Plan administration sits under Pension Manager Leslie Harmon, who manages operations for Boca Raton's municipal retirement systems. Darryl Kingman chairs the Board and John Girard serves as Vice Chairman. The board participates in the Florida Public Pension Trustees Association, the standard professional network for Florida public plan fiduciaries. The system's most recent actuarial reports remain a matter of public record through the City of Boca Raton and the Florida Department of Management Services. Unlike pooled state-level plans, Boca Raton's police and fire fund operates with statutory independence under Florida's municipal pension framework, giving the local board investment discretion within state-prescribed guidelines. This structure creates a close feedback loop between the plan's liabilities — driven by local public safety demographics — and its asset allocation. The board's ability to allocate directly to commercial real estate partnerships distinguishes it from index-only municipal peers.