§ 1-98 SERVICE PENSION.

   (A)   The Board of Trustees is hereby authorized and empowered to pay out of any funds in its Police Pension and Retirement System a service pension to any police officer eligible as hereinafter provided, 50% of the average final yearly compensation of any police officer.

   (B)   (1)   In order for a police officer to be eligible for the service pension, he or she must have reached the age of 55 years, or more, and his or her service with the Police Department must have ceased.

      (2)   He or she must have served for a period of 20 years or more in some police department in the state of a standard equivalent to that of the Police Department of the city, five years of which service shall have been consecutive immediately preceding the end of the period in the city. He or she must have complied with any agreement as to contributions by him or her and other police officer to the funds of the Police Pension and Retirement System, provided for in this article. Any police officer meeting with all other requirements of this article, who has served 25 years in accordance with this article, may be retired at one-half of the final average compensation of the police officer without regard to age. Any police officer who serves over 25 years may be retired at one-half of the final average compensation of the police officer, plus 2% of each additional year in excess of 25 years, not to exceed in any event three-fourths of final average compensation of the police officer.

   (C)   Where a police officer has served for the necessary number of years and is otherwise eligible except as to being 55 years, or more of age, if he or she is discharge without cause or his or her office is abolished, he or she shall be eligible for pension. When a police officer reaches the age of 70 years, he or she must retire, unless at the request of the Chief of Police, the Board of Trustees grants him or her an extension of one year, which can be further extended for one-year periods only at the request of the Chief of Police.

   (D)   In the event of the death of any police officer who has been awarded a pension under the provisions of this article, his or her widow, child or children, shall be paid the pension so awarded, provided that the same shall cease as to the widow, when he or she shall marry, or as to the child or children when they become 18 years of age. The payments to be divided equally between the child or children and widow provided, however that in the event of the death of the widow of the police officer, the child or children under the age of 18 shall be entitled to receive the full benefits of the pension in equal proportions.

   (E)   In the event of the child or children dying or becoming 18 years of age, the widow shall receive the full amount of the pension. In order for a widow to receive the pension as in this article provided, he or she must have been the husband or wife of the police officer at the time of his or her retirement, and for at least three years.

(`90 Code, § 1-45)

§ 1-99 RIGHT TO WITHDRAW.

   (A)   Any police officer who has served the Police Department of the city for a period of more than one year, and has contributed to the fund for the period of time and has served less than 20 years in the police department of any city or town in the state, having standards equivalent to those required in this city, and who has entered into any agreement provided for in this article may withdraw from the agreement and shall be paid the full amount of his or her contributions, after deducting from the contributions all benefit payments made to him or her under the provisions of this article, upon his or her dismissal or resignation as an officer or employee of the Police Department of the city after which he or she shall not receive any of the benefits provided for in this article.

   (B)   (1)   If the police officer withdraws and decides to resume payments at a later date, he or she must pay the amount previously withdrawn, plus all he or she should have paid during the period of withdrawal.

      (2)   If a police officer has served for a period as provided under this section and should die from natural causes, then and in that event, the widow of the police officer shall be entitled to receive all of his contributions to the Police Pension Fund, as part of his or her estate, after deducting from the contributions all benefit payments made to him or her under the provisions of this article.

(`90 Code, § 1-46) (Ord. 2675, passed 1-20-81)

§ 1-100 FORFEITURE OF PENSION.

   When any person who shall receive any benefits from any funds of the Police Pension and Retirement System, as authorized by this article, shall be convicted of any felony, or shall have become an habitual drunkard, or shall have failed to report himself or herself for duty as by this article required, unless excused by the Board of Trustees, or shall disobey the rules of the Board of Trustees in respect to the examination for duty or otherwise, then the Board shall order that the pension allowance, as may have been granted to the person, shall immediately cease and the person shall receive no further pension allowance or benefit as authorized to be paid by this article, unless or until, if possible, the person shall have met the requirements for the Board.

(`90 Code, § 1-47)

§ 1-101 INSUFFICIENT FUNDS; PROBATION.

   In any case where the funds of the Police Pension and Retirement System of the city are insufficient to make full payments of the amounts of pension or allowance to all persons entitled thereto, then the Fund shall be prorated among those entitled thereto as the Board of Trustees may deem just and equitable.

(`90 Code, § 1-48)

§ 1-102 DETERMINATION OF ONE YEAR OF SERVICE.

   The governing body of the city, having established a Board of Trustees as in this article provided, may fix and determine how much service in any year is equivalent to one year of service, but in no case shall more than one year of service be creditable for all service in one calendar year, nor shall credit as service for any period of more than one months duration be allowed during which the police officer was absent without pay.

(`90 Code, § 1-49)

§ 1-103 EXEMPTION.

   No portion of the funds of Police Pension and Retirement System shall, either before or after any order made by the Board of Trustees for payment to any person entitled to a pension, or allowance, be held, seized, taken, subject to or detained, or levied on by virtue of any garnishment, attachment, execution, injunction or other order or decree, or any process or proceeding whatever, which have issued out of or by any court of this state, for the payment or satisfaction in whole, or in part, of any debt, damages, claim, demand or judgment against any person entitled to payment, nor shall the payments or any claims thereunto be directly or indirectly assigned and any attempt to transfer or assign the same shall be void.

(`90 Code, § 1-50)

§ 1-104 TRANSFER OF FUNDS.

   If the city subsequently disqualified by failure to meet the minimum requirements of this article, the City Treasurer shall immediately transfer to the general fund of the city the Police Pension and Retirement System Fund, and the balance, which is to the credit of the police officer, shall be paid to each of them in the proportions as each of the police officers have contributed to the fund by deduction from their salaries or otherwise.

(`90 Code, § 1-51)

§ 1-105 APPEALS.

   (A)   Any police officer who has been denied pension or retirement pay from the Board of Trustees where applications for the pension or retirement pay was made or he or she feels that he or she was not given a fair and just consideration may appeal from the decision of the Board to the City Council and the decision of the City Council shall be final.

   (B)   The appeal above provided for shall be taken by filing in the Office of the City Manager a copy of the entire proceedings had before the Board of Trustees, including all evidence offered and produced at the hearing. The Secretary of the Board of Trustees shall certify that the record so taken on appeal contains all proceedings and the evidence offered before the Board of Trustees.

(`90 Code, § 1-52)

§ 1-106 CITY PHYSICIAN.

   In the event there is no official city physician, then any physician designated by the City Manger may perform the duties provided herein for the city physician.

(`90 Code, § 1-53)