(a) There is hereby created and established a policy whereby the City Council shall periodically review the matter of the cost of living adjustments for certain beneficiaries who receive retirement benefits from the Retirement System. The review shall be made to ascertain the impact of increases in the Consumer Price Index upon retirement benefits and the adequacy of the annual cost of living adjustments provided in Section 4.1022 of the Los Angeles Administrative Code.
Should the City Council find and determine that annual cost of living adjustments are inadequate in light of the movement of the Consumer Price Index, the City Council may grant additional but discretionary cost of living adjustments as hereinafter provided.
(b) The first of the reviews provided in Subsection (a) hereof shall be made during the fiscal year 1981-1982 and annually thereafter until the City Council has provided a first discretionary adjustment pursuant to this section. Thereafter, the City Council shall make periodic reviews in intervals not to exceed three (3) years from the date of the completion of the last review or from the effective date of the last discretionary cost of living adjustments, whichever shall be the later.
(c) Should it be the finding of the City Council that discretionary cost of living adjustments would be in order, any such adjustments would be subject to the following limitations:
(1) The first discretionary adjustment may be granted at any time. Thereafter, discretionary adjustments may not be provided more frequently than once every three (3) years, counting from the date the last discretionary adjustments became effective.
(2) Discretionary adjustments shall not exceed one-half (1/2) of the difference between the percentage of the annual increases in the cost of living, as determined pursuant to the provisions of Section 4.1022(b) herein, for each of the preceding three (3) years and the annual adjustments made pursuant to Section 4.1022(c). Discretionary adjustments shall be allocated to each of the three (3) years for which an adjustment is made. Should discretionary cost of living adjustments be granted during the fiscal year 1981-1982, the applicable annual increase in the Consumer Price Index shall be the one upon which the Board of Administration of the Retirement System has based those annual cost of living adjustments which became effective July 1, 1981.
(3) Any discretionary cost of living adjustments provided pursuant to the provisions of this section shall be subject to the following further limitation: If a benefit became payable on or after July 1 immediately preceding the effective date of such adjustments, it shall not be so adjusted; and any benefit which shall become payable at a time within a three (3)-year period between discretionary cost of living adjustments (but prior to the immediately preceding July 1), shall be prorated according to the annual increase on a monthly basis to the number of completed months for which the benefit was received.
(4) Discretionary cost of living adjustments may be granted only by ordinances adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section 1168 of the City Charter.
(5) All adjustments provided in this subsection are to be applied prospectively only and shall not be understood to permit retroactive adjustments of benefits.
(d) Discretionary cost of living adjustments shall only be applied to monthly benefits not otherwise excluded from cost of living adjustments under the provisions of Section 4.1022 of this Chapter.
(e) It shall be the duty of the Director of the Office of Administrative and Research Services to prepare appropriate reports and recommendations to enable the City Council to make findings as to the adequacy of the annual cost of living adjustments.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 182,629, Eff. 7-25-13.