(A) The Police Pension Fund shall be administered by a Board of Trustees known as the Board of Trustees of the Police Pension Fund. The Board of Trustees shall administer the Police Pension Fund hereby created according to the rules and regulations hereinafter set forth in this section and according to the terms of the Illinois Compiled Statutes.
(B) (1) The Board of Trustees shall consist of five members, two of whom shall be appointed by the President of the village, two of whom shall be elected from the regular police force by the active members and one or whom shall be elected from the beneficiaries under the provisions of this section and the Illinois Compiled Statutes by the beneficiaries.
(2) (a) The members are to be elected by ballot for a term of two years beginning on the second Tuesday of the first May after the election at a regular election as aforesaid, at which election all members of the regular police force shall be entitled to vote for the police force members of the Board.
(b) All beneficiaries of lawful age shall be entitled to vote for the member chosen from among the beneficiaries.
(c) The election provided for in this section shall be held biennially on the third Monday in April under the Australian ballot system at such place or places in the village and under regulations as shall be prescribed by the appointed members of the Board.
(3) No more than one vote shall be cast by each person entitled to vote.
(C) In the event of the death, resignation or inability to act of any member of the Board elected under the provisions of the foregoing division, the successor of the member shall be elected for the unexpired term at a special election, which shall be called by the Board and shall be conducted in the same manner as are the elections provided for above.
(D) (1) The Board herein provided for shall hold quarterly meetings on the second Tuesday of July, October, January and April of each year in the Village Hall and special meetings upon the call of the President of the Board. On the second Tuesday of July each year, the Board shall elect one of its members to act as the President of the Board for the period of one year or until such time as his or her successor is elected and qualified.
(2) The Board shall, on the same day also, select another of its members who shall act as Secretary of the Board for the period of one year or until the time as his or her successor is elected and qualified. The Board shall, on the same day, elect one of its members who shall act as Vice-President of the Board for a period of one year or until the time as his or her successor is elected and qualified, the Vice-President to discharge the duties of the President during any vacancies in that office or at the time as the President is absent from the village or is incapacitated or unable to act for any other reason.
(3) The members of the Board shall, also on the same day, elect one of its members who shall act as Assistant Secretary of the Board for the period of one year or until the time as his or her successor is elected an qualified, the Assistant Secretary to discharge and perform the duties of the Secretary during any vacancy from the office or at the time as the Secretary is absent from the village or is unable to perform the functions of his or her office for any other reason.
(4) (a) It shall be the duty of the Board to issue certificates signed by its President and secretary to any person entitled to any amount of money from the Pension Fund and which certificates shall state for what purpose the payment is made.
(b) It shall further be the duty of the Board to keep a record of all its proceedings, which records shall be public.
(c) The Board also shall submit annually to the Village Board of Trustees at the close of the fiscal year a list of persons entitled to payments from the Pension Fund, stating the amount of the payments and for what purpose the payments were issued.
(5) It shall also be the duty of the Board to list all items of income which accrued to or are payable to the Pension Fund during the fiscal year, which list shall be signed and certified by the secretary and President of the Board and attested by the Secretary under oath.
(E) (1) The Board shall have exclusive control and management of the Pension Fund and of all money donated, paid or assessed for the pensioning of disabled, superannuated and retired members of the Police Department, their widows, minor children and dependent parents. All money shall be placed by the Treasurer of the village to the credit of the Fund, subject to the order of the Board.
(2) The Board shall have power to invest the money in the Pension Fund in interest bearing bonds of the United States, State of Illinois, county or municipal corporations of the state of Illinois, or in-chartered federal savings and loan associations.
(3) The Board shall have the power to compel witnesses to attend and testify before it upon all matters connected with the operation of this section in the same manner as is or may be provided by law for the taking of testimony before Master in Chancery and its president or any members of the Board may administer oaths to the witnesses.
(4) The Board shall have the power to appoint a clerk and define his or her duties; provided, however, that no person drawing a pension under this section shall be employed by the Board as a clerk. The Board shall have power to provide for the payment from the Pension Fund for all its necessary expenses, including clerk hire, printing and witness fees; provided, however, that no compensation shall be paid to any member of the Board for any duties required or performed under this section.
(5) The Board shall have the power to make all necessary rules and regulations for its guidance in conformity with the provisions set forth by the statute and by this section. The rules and regulations shall be published by the Board and copies transmitted from time to time to all pensioners and contributors.
(6) On the second Tuesday in May each year, the Village Treasurer shall make a sworn statement to the Board of Trustees of the Police Pension Fund and to the President and Board of Trustees of the village of all money received and paid out by the Treasurer an account of the Pension Fund during the year and the amount of funds then on hand and owing to the Pension Fund.
(F) The Police Pension Fund shall consist of funds derived in the following ways:
(1) An appropriate amount per month which shall be paid or deducted from the salary of each police officer;
(2) All monies that may have been accumulated by the village in conformity with any previous legislation establishing a fund for the benefit of disabled or superannuated police officers; and
(3) The Village Board shall annually hereafter levy a tax upon all taxable property of the village at a rate of the dollar of all taxable property which will produce an amount which, when added to the deductions from the salaries or wages of policemen and receipts available from all sources, as herein referred to, will equal a sufficient sum to meet the annual requirements of the Pension Fund under the provisions of the Illinois Compiled Statutes. The tax shall be levied and collected in like manner with general taxes of the village and shall be in addition to all other taxes hereafter authorized to be levied upon all property within the village and shall be in addition to the amount authorized to be levied for general purposes as provided by the Illinois Compiled Statutes as amended.
(G) (1) The Board of Trustees may take by gift, grant, transfer devise or bequest any money, real estate, personal property or other valuable thing; and the money and the proceeds from sale of or the income from the real estate, personal property or other valuable thing so obtained shall be paid into the Pension Fund.
(2) The Board of Trustees of the Pension Fund shall establish and maintain a Reserve Fund to insure the payment of all obligations incurred in accordance with the provisions of this code. The funds shall be not less that $10,000 for each police officer and each beneficiary in the village; provided that the Board of Trustees shall attempt to create and maintain a minimum Reserve Fund which will be adequate to meet and provide for the estimated actuarial requirements for each police officer and for each beneficiary of the Fund and attempt to keep the established actuarial deficiencies at a minimum and insure the solvency of the Fund.
(3) If the Reserve Fund is less than the minimum amount herein provided for, the Village Board of Trustees shall designate the proportionate amount needed annually to insure the minimum amount herein provided for in the Reserve Fund after a period of 40 years subsequent to the effective date of the pertinent statutory provisions, as amended July 17, 1959, and the Village Board of Trustees shall attempt to improve the Reserve Fund in annual installments so that the minimum reserve will be achieved in the period.
(H) Any person who has served, is serving or shall serve in any capacity in the legally constituted Police Department or as a member of the Police Department of the village shall be entitled to receive any benefits under the terms of this section; provided that:
(1) He or she shall make written application to the Board of Trustees herein provided for to come under the provisions of this section.
(2) He or she shall be found upon the examination of a duly licensed physician selected by the Board of Trustees to be physically and mentally fit to perform the duties of a police officer.
(3) He or she shall pay to the Fund a sum equal to the amount he or she would have paid had deductions been made from his or her salary during the period of his or her service extending from the date the village became subject to the provisions of this section or the date of his or her original entry into the police force, whichever is later.
(4) No person appointed, reappointed, re-employed or reinstated to the Police Department after July 1, 1953, shall be entitled to the benefits of the provisions of this section unless at the time of his or her first appointment therein he or she was between the ages of 21 and 35 and unless he or she shall make written application to the Board of Trustees of the Fund to come under the provisions of this section and shall be found upon medical examination of a duly licensed physician selected by the Board to be then physically and mentally fit to perform the duties of police officers.
(5) Nothing in this section shall apply to special police officers, nor to police officers appointed for a temporary duty only, nor to appointees nor to persons specially appointed as traffic guards or for the purposes of aiding or directing traffic at or near schools, even though the persons might be endowed with certain police powers.
(I) Any person who may be convicted of a felony relating to or in connection with his or her services as a police officer or any other grounds provided by the Illinois Compiled Statutes shall not be entitled to any of the benefits of the Police Pension Fund.
(J) The administration and distribution of the Police Pension Fund by the Board of Trustees as heretofore set forth shall be guided by the rules and regulations therefor as provided by Illinois Compiled Statutes.
(1981 Code, § 3.15) (Am. Ord. 94-17, passed 7-5-1994; Am. Ord. 98-19, passed 10-19-1998)