135.26 ADDITIONAL BENEFITS.

   (a)   Vacation. Employees shall be eligible for vacation leave with pay after one year of service with the City. Vacation time shall be earned annually as follows:

 

After one year continuous service:	two weeks
After six years’ continuous service:	three weeks
After twelve years’ continuous service:	four weeks
After seventeen years’ continuous service:	five weeks

   The City will permit up to two weeks of vacation to be taken one day at a time with advanced written permission of the Police Chief or his designee.

   Vacation time must be used prior to December 31 of the year in which it is earned. After the first twelve months of service, vacation leave shall accrue on a calendar (January 1 to December 31) basis. No more than one officer per shift shall be allowed off for vacation at any one time. In case of emergency or unusual circumstances requiring an officer to work during his/her vacation period, the officer shall receive compensation for the time he/she would have had a vacation, if recommended by the Police Chief and approved by City Council.

   For purposes of this subsection, length of service shall be determined by the date of hire or date of appointment or election and qualification for office of each employee. No vacation credit shall be given to any employee hired by the City who has previously accumulated vacation time due from another public employer.

   Each January, each employee, in order of seniority, shall specify on a list provided by the City the weeks (maximum of two weeks) he/she desires to take off for vacation. Separate vacation lists shall be provided for each shift. No more than one employee per shift shall be allowed off for vacation at any one time. After all employees have been provided the opportunity to select their initial two week vacation period, those employees entitled to additional weeks of vacation shall choose, one week at a time, from the available weeks remaining on the vacation list for his/her shift. Such procedure shall be followed until all employees have exhausted their vacation entitlement. Employees may hold a maximum of one week of vacation per year to be split into single days. All selections must be made prior to January 31 of each year. As indicated, vacations, insofar as practicable, will be granted according to employee requests. However, the Chief shall have exclusive authority to allot vacation periods and to change such allotments.

   Employees shall be permitted to “split” one week of vacation with prior approval of the Police Chief.

   (b)   Longevity Compensation. All full-time employees of the Police Department, including the Police Chief, who have attained the years of continuous service indicated in the following table in any calendar year, shall be entitled to longevity compensation as follows:

Years of Service	Percentage
First through third	0
Fourth and fifth	2
Sixth and seventh	2-1/2
Eighth and ninth	3
Tenth and eleventh	3-1/2
Twelfth and thirteenth	4
Fourteenth and fifteenth	4-1/2
Sixteenth and seventeenth	5
Eighteenth and nineteenth	5-1/2
Twenty and twenty-first	6
Twenty-second and twenty-third	6-1/2
Twenty-fourth and over	7

   All other years of continuous service and percentages will remain the same. The maximum amount to be paid to any Commander of the Police Department shall be three thousand seven hundred dollars ($3,700.00) effective January 1, 2005. There shall be no maximum limitation for the Chief of Police. This adjustment shall be based on an employee’s original date of hire or appointment and shall be applied to an employee’s first full pay period following his/her anniversary date of employment. No pay other than base pay shall be adjusted for longevity.
(Ord. 2004-199. Passed 12-21-04.)

   (c)   Group Insurance Program.  The City will make available group insurance benefits provided through United Health Care, or equivalent benefits provided by another carrier. In addition, the City will make available group insurance benefits for single and family coverage provided through Kaiser Permanente HMO. Effective October 1, 2001, all employees shall contribute eight percent (8%) of the premium for family health insurance and eight percent (8%) of the premium for single health insurance, provided that an employee’s contribution shall not exceed forty-five dollars ($45.00) per month. The City shall create a Section 125 plan, which will permit the City to make the contributions on a pre-tax basis.

   Newly-hired employees will be provided group insurance benefits upon completion of their insurance enrollment period or a period of three (3) months of continuous active service, whichever comes first.

   The City will provide to all eligible employees the Health Care Benefit Plans, Dental Insurance (MetLife Dental or benefits of the same overall level or greater provided by another carrier) and Vision Care benefits with contributions as noted above, including a twenty dollar ($20.00) deductible prescription drug plan. If generic drugs or a prescription maintenance plan is used, the deductible will be ten dollars ($10.00). The prescription drug plan deductible for Kaiser Permanente plan is ten dollars ($10.00).

(Ord. 2005-078. Passed 5-3-05.)

   (d)   Compensation Time Bank. All employees, except the Chief of Police, may choose to receive all overtime in either compensation or compensatory time at the time the overtime is worked. An employee may accumulate compensatory time up to 200 straight-time hours, at which point all overtime shall be paid as earned. However, an employee may buy back accumulated compensatory time at any time by advising the Police Chief in writing. When compensatory time is paid, it shall be calculated from the employee’s base rate at the time it is earned.

   Compensation time banked hours will be at the option of the employee. All overtime worked after employee’s compensation time bank reaches 200 hours must be paid in cash in compliance with the provisions of Section 157.19, “Overtime Compensation”, of the Codified Ordinances and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

   (e)   Sick Leave. Effective January 1, 1989, all officers, sergeants and lieutenants and including commanders in the Division of Police, with the exception of the Chief of Police, who shall be subject to Section 157.11, shall be entitled to sick leave of three and one-tenths hours for each completed eighty hours of service. Employees may use sick leave, upon approval of the Police Chief or his designee, for absence due to illness, injury, exposure to a contagious disease which could be communicated to other employees, and illness or death in the employee's immediate family. Unused sick leave shall be cumulative without limit for a maximum period of twenty-five years for sick leave purposes or payment at the time of retirement as set forth herein.

      (1)   For the purposes of this section, the words "immediate family" shall be construed to mean and be limited to the parents, spouse, children, brothers, sisters, grandparents, mother-in-law or father-in-law of the employee.

      (2)   When sick leave is used, it shall be deducted from employee's credit on the basis of one hour for every one hour of absence from previously scheduled work.

      (3)   Permanent employees who render part-time service shall be entitled to sick leave for the full time actually worked at the same rate as that granted to full-time employees. Seasonal, intermittent, per diem or hourly employees shall not be entitled to sick leave.

      (4)   The Police Chief or his designee shall require the employee to furnish a qualified affidavit that his absence was caused by illness due to any of the causes mentioned in this section, if such absence was in excess of three days, or for a lesser period of time, if the Chief or his designee feels that such affidavit is necessary to prevent abuse of the provisions of this section.

      (5)   The City reserves the right to require each employee applying for sick leave to be examined by a doctor named by the City to ascertain the nature and extent of illness claimed.

      (6)   Each employee with ten or more years of service shall be entitled to withdraw pay from their accumulated sick time at any period prior to their retirement, provided their request for early withdrawal is made in writing to the Director of Finance in January of each year on a form provided by the City. The maximum withdrawal is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per year by an eligible employee. Additional withdrawals may be approved by the Director of Finance.

      (7)   Early withdrawal compensation of sick time will be computed on the basis of an employee's hourly rate of pay at the time of hire, combined with the hourly rate of pay at the time of his or her withdrawal, divided by two and multiplied by his/her accumulated sick hours being withdrawn at the time.

      (8)   Employees who have acquired ten or more years of service at the time of separation (i.e., retirement, layoff, death, dismissal or resignation) shall receive pay for unused sick leave based upon their hourly rate of pay at the time in which they were hired combined with the hourly rate of pay at their retirement divided by two and multiplied by his or her accumulated sick time hours. Such payment shall be made only once to an employee.

      (9)   For the purpose of such payment, the maximum permitted accumulation of unused sick time shall not exceed twenty-five years of service from an employee's anniversary date of hire. However, an employee retained in the employment of the City after twenty-five years of service shall be permitted to accumulate sick time hours solely for the purpose of sick leave in any given year thereafter.

      (10)   For purposes of compensation under this provision, hourly rate of pay shall be defined as an employee's actual base rate excluding all other wage tied benefits.

      (11)   Employees abusing this section are subject to discipline, up to and including discharge.

   (f)   Compensation at the Time of Resignation, Dismissal, Retirement, Layoff or Death. If any employee is eligible to receive vacation, holiday, longevity, compensatory time, accumulated sick leave and any other pay normally received in the course of employment which also includes pro rata pay due for the current year at the current rate of pay in accordance with the applicable provisions of the ordinances of the City, said compensation shall be paid to the employee or in the event of death, to the employee's estate.

   (g)   Funeral Leave. When death occurs in the immediate family of an employee, i.e., legal spouse, mother, father, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son, daughter, brother, sister and grandparents, an employee, upon request, will be excused for up to three consecutive scheduled days which include the day of the funeral (or for such fewer days as the employee may be absent), provided the employee attends the funeral service. Such payment will be at the employee’s normal rate.

   If additional time is needed, the employee, upon request and approval, may apply sick days unless circumstances preclude such application at which time the employee and Police Chief may agree to another method.

   (h)   Sick Leave Credit. When a Commander in the Division of Police does not use sick time for a continuous period of six months, eight hours of straight time compensation shall be credited to that supervisor’s compensation time bank for the year 2003 and thereafter. No more than sixteen hours straight time shall be credited to the supervisor’s compensation time bank for the year 2003 and thereafter.

   (i)   Holidays. All police officers, including Commanders, shall be entitled to eleven (11) paid holidays (88 hours) and two (2) paid personal days per calendar year as approved by the Chief of Police. No police officer shall be entitled to time off on a City, state or Federal holiday unless such time is requested and approved by the Chief of Police, providing the request is submitted no later than forty-eight (48) hours before the commencement of the holiday (except in case of emergency as determined by the Police Chief or his or her designee). Should a police officer actually work on an actual holiday, he or she shall receive compensation for the hours worked at the rate of one and one-half times his or her regular rate of pay, or in lieu thereof, he or she may choose to receive compensatory time under subsection (d) hereof.

   (j)   Pension. The City will make a contribution to the Police and Fire Pension Fund of nineteen and one-half percent (19-1/2%) or as required by State law.

   (k)   Infectious Disease. The City will provide required medical attention, including inoculations, for employees or family members who either contract infectious disease or may be exposed to infectious disease which arises directly out of the work environment.

   (l)   Military Leave. Employees shall be granted leaves of absence for military duty in accordance with federal and state law. In the case of a declared war, the City shall pay the difference between the employee’s pay with the City and his or her military pay.

   (m)   Jury Duty. An employee, while serving upon a jury in any court of record, shall be paid at his regular salary rate for each of his work days during the period of time so served.

   (n)   Unpaid Personal Leave. Leaves of absence for good reasons without pay may be granted at the sole discretion of the Chief and the Mayor/Director of Public Safety.

   (o)   Reimbursement of Training Expenses. If an employee voluntarily terminates his employment with the City within one year from initial date of employment, the employee will reimburse the City for the cost of the City of all basic and special training, educational courses of study, seminars and any other related special educational programs as well as related costs, including travel expenses, provided to the employee at the expense of the City.

      (1)   Any new training, schooling, classification or position will be offered to all existing members before any new members are hired for said purpose.

      (2)   The City shall pay for schooling and/or training if approved by the Police Chief.

   (p)   Training. All mandatory training, excluding travel time to and from school, shall be considered time worked.

      (1)   All voluntary training and off-premises classroom education, including related field work, which has been approved by the Chief of Police or his designee shall be paid either in compensatory time or overtime only at the base rate. (Employees are not to be compensated for non-classroom study time.)

      (2)   All travel time to and from training, whether voluntary or mandatory, shall be paid either in compensatory time only at the base rate, unless an employee has accumulated 100 straight-time hours of compensatory time, at which time said training shall be paid in compensation at the base rate.

      (3)   Officers who are designated and assigned as Field Training Officers (FTOS) shall be paid one hour’s pay for each shift spent in training or retraining employees.

   (q)   Court Time. Police employees, when required to appear in Bedford Municipal Court at a time when the beginning and end of the appearance is wholly during off-duty hours, shall be paid for the actual time spent in attendance at such court (including reasonable travel time) at a minimum of three hours of regular base pay or overtime, whichever is appropriate. Employees required to appear in any other courts shall be paid for the actual time spent in attendance at court or a minimum of four hours. In the event that an employee is required to report to duty earlier than normally scheduled in order to appear in court, following when he commences his normal shift of duty, or is required to remain on duty after his normal shift of duty, or is required to remain on duty after his normal quitting time to complete a court appearance which begins while on duty, he shall be treated as being on overtime during those extra hours, instead of the foregoing minimums. No person shall be entitled to payment under this section unless required to appear in court by the directive of a superior or by a directive of the Department of Law, or by subpoena legally issued and served in a case in which the City is a party to the action, either directly or as the arresting entity in a criminal action prosecuted in the name of the State of Ohio.

   Employees who are required to use their personal vehicle to travel to and from the police station to court shall receive mileage at the rate established by the City.

   (r)   Call-in Time. Police employees, when required to report to work other than for court or training evolutions not contiguous to regular scheduled shift time, shall be paid for actual time worked or a minimum of four hours of compensatory time.

   (s)   Damage to Property and Vehicles. Employees entrusted with City vehicles or property who, through their own negligence, damage such vehicles or property shall be subject to disciplinary actions.

(Ord. 2004-199. Passed 12-21-04.)