The Portland Finance Committee on Nov. 10 voted to forward a reappointment and two confirmations to the full council.

Sam Hutchison, bureau director for the Fire, Police Disability and Retirement (FPDR) bureau, described Catherine McLeod's roughly nine years of service on the FPDR board and her background in pension and retiree-health benefit administration. McLeod told the committee her role as a citizen trustee is to administer the plan in accordance with board rules and procedures; she said trustees often discuss benefit and funding issues but that the board's role is administrative.

CFO Jonas Birri explained the Revenue Division Appeals Board (RDAB) process and introduced reappointee Sean Wallace and new appointee Penny Sweeting, both CPAs with tax expertise. Committee members asked about member qualifications and whether a CPA is required; staff said CPAs are strongly recommended given the technical nature of the work but not formally required.

Motions to forward the reappointment and confirmations to full council passed on separate roll-call votes, each approved 4-0 in committee.

What’s next: Each confirmation will appear on the full council agenda for final confirmation.