(a) The City’s method of payment of salary and its provision of fringe benefits to all non- bargaining unit employees who are members of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) or the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund (OPFP) and are not covered by Ordinances 132-87 or 133-87 are hereby modified as follows, in order to provide for a salary reduction pick-up of employee contribution to PERS or OPFP, in accordance with Internal Revenue Code Section 414(h)(2) and the rulings thereunder.
(b) The total annual salary and salary per pay period for each such employee shall be the salary otherwise payable under the City policies. Such total annual salary and salary per pay period of each employee shall be payable by the City in two parts: deferred salary and cash salary. An employee’s deferred salary shall be equal to that percentage of said employee’s total annual salary or salary per pay period which is required, from time to time by PERS or OPFP, to be paid by an employee and shall be paid by the City to PERS or on behalf of said employee as a pick-up and in lieu of the PERS or OPFP employee contribution otherwise payable by said employee. An employee’s cash salary shall be equal to said employee’s total annual salary or salary per pay period less the amount of the pick-up for said employee and shall be payable, subject to the applicable payroll deductions, to said employee. The City shall compute and remit its employer contributions to PERS or OPFP based upon an employee’s total annual salary or salary per pay period, including the aforesaid pick-up. The City’s total combined expenditures for such employees’ total salaries otherwise payable under the applicable City policies (including pick-up amounts) and its employer contribution to PERS or OPFP shall not be greater than the amounts it would have paid for those items had this provision not been in effect.
(c) The pick-up shall be included in the employee’s total annual salary for the purpose of computing daily rate of pay, for determining paid salary adjustments to be made due to absence, or for any other similar purpose.
(d) The City shall fulfill its income tax reporting and withholding responsibilities for each employee in such manner as is required by applicable Federal, State and local laws and regulations as they may exist at the time of such reporting and withholding, it being the City’s understanding that Federal and Ohio income tax laws and regulations presently require it to report as an employee’s gross income his/her/their total annual salary less the amount of the pick-up, while applicable municipal income tax laws require it to report as an employee’s gross income his/her/their total annual salary including the amount of the pickup.
(e) The Mayor, or his/her/their designee, is hereby directed to take all acts necessary and appropriate to initiate implementation of the provisions of this section, including, but not limited to, making applications to the Internal Revenue Service and the boards administering the PERS or OPFP programs to determine the requirements of the boards in connection with such pick-up plan.
(f) The pick-up plan shall apply to all eligible employees who qualify under this section and the plan shall commence with the first PERS or OPFP pay period, whichever shall apply to a covered non-bargaining unit employee, which begins after the passage and approval of this section.
(Ord. 22-108. Passed 7-11-22.)