(a) Effective January 1, 1996, the full amount of the statutorily required contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio (PERS) shall be withheld from the gross pay of each person within any of the classes established in division (b) of this section and shall be "picked up" (assumed and paid to PERS) by the City. Such pick-up by the City constitutes, and shall be designated as, public employee contributions and shall be in lieu of contributions to PERS by each person within any of the classes established in division (b) of this section. No person subject to such pick-up shall have the option of choosing to receive the statutorily required contribution to PERS directly instead of having it picked up by the City, or of being excluded from the pick-up.
The City shall, in reporting and making remittance to PERS, report that the public employee's contribution for each person subject to such pick-up has been made as provided by statute.
(b) The pick-up by the City provided for by this section shall apply to all persons who are employees of the City and who are or who become contributing members of PERS.
(c) The City's method of payment of salary to employees who are participants in PERS is hereby modified as provided for in division (d) of this section in order to provide for a salary reduction pick-up of employee contributions to PERS.
(d) The total salary for each employee shall be the salary otherwise payable under the City's policies. Such total salary 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 the employee's total salary which is required, from time to time, by PERS to be paid as an employee contribution by such employee, and shall be paid by the City to PERS on behalf of such employee as a pick-up and in lieu of the PERS employee contribution otherwise payable by such employee. An employee's cash salary shall be equal to such employee's total salary less the amount of the pick-up for such employee, and shall be payable, subject to applicable payroll deductions, to such employee. The City shall compute and remit its employer contributions to PERS based upon an employee's total salary. The total combined expenditures of the City for employees' total salaries, payable under applicable City policies and the pick-up provisions of this section, shall not be greater than the amounts the City would have paid for those items had this section not been in effect.
(e) The City Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to implement the provisions of this section to institute the pick-up of the statutorily required contributions to PERS for those persons provided for in division (b) of this section so as to enable them to obtain the result in Federal and State tax deferments and other benefits.
(Ord. 95-221. Passed 12-5-95.)