(a) Uniform Account; Establishment and Purpose. There is hereby established a Uniform Account for the members of the Fire Department for the purpose of allocating money for the purchase of uniforms and clothing for Department members required to wear the same in the line of duty. The Uniform Account shall be placed under the supervision of the City Auditor and disbursed under his direction in the manner herein stipulated.
(b) Use of Account. The Uniform Account shall be used for the sole purpose of purchasing various items of official uniforms and clothing required to be worn by Fire Department members, which items of uniforms and clothing so purchased shall at all times remain the property of the City.
(c) Uniform Emergency Replacement Account. In the event that a uniform or portion of a uniform worn by a member of the Fire Department is damaged beyond repair or destroyed while a Fire Department member is engaged in performing a particular assignment in the line of duty, then upon special application by such member, approved by the Fire Chief and by the Mayor, the City Auditor is authorized to disburse from a special account, known as the Uniform Emergency Replacement Account, a sufficient sum of money to be applied by the City toward the purchase of wearing apparel and uniforms to replace the articles of clothing so damaged or destroyed. In order to authorize the purchase of such apparel from the Uniform Emergency Replacement Account the City Auditor shall be satisfied that such application is within the scope of the provisions of this section and that such expenditure is not required because of reasonable wear and tear experienced by the Fire Department member with respect to such clothing but is in fact required as a result of unforeseen and extraordinary circumstances.
(d) Records. The City Auditor is hereby authorized and directed to keep a separate ledger account of each individual member of the Fire Department, disclosing the amount made available for the purchase of clothing by action of Council, as the same may be amended from time to time, the items of clothing and apparel purchased for such member by the City, the date of the order, the date of the delivery of the clothing, the cost thereof and such other information as the City Auditor may deem advisable or necessary.
The City Auditor is further authorized and directed to make any additional regulations necessary for the purpose of properly administering the provisions of this section.
(e) Control of Funds by Council. Council shall appropriate from year to year an amount sufficient to cover the requirements of the Fire Department by reason of the amounts allocated to each individual member in the manner herein set forth and shall furthermore appropriate such amount of money as may be deemed advisable to be placed in the Uniform Emergency Replacement Account provided for in subsection (e) hereof. No individual Fire Department member shall have a vested right in any amount of money allocated in the manner herein set forth, and, upon severance of his connection with the Department, whether such severance is by voluntary act of the member, by action of the appointing authority or by death, any unused amount of money for such purpose shall be retained by the City and shall revert to the General Fund.
(Ord. 100-83. Passed 5-23-83; Ord. 277-12. Passed 1-7-13.)