(A) Effective January 1, 2009, a merit system is hereby established for the Police Department (hereinafter referred to as "Department") to govern the selection and appointment of persons to be employed as members of the Department, and to govern the promotion, demotion, discipline and dismissal of members of the Department. The operation of the merit board shall be in accordance with the terms and provisions of I.C. 36-8-3.5-1 et seq., the terms of which are hereby adopted in their entirety and constitute the basis for the merit system which is established by this section, except for the following:
(1) The provisions of I.C. 36-8-3.5-11(a) are amended by this section so that "upper level policymaking positions" include all ranks above the level of Lieutenant.
(2) The provisions of I.C. 36-8-3.5-11(a) are amended by this section so that the second sentence in I.C. 36-8-3.5-11(a) shall read as "the Chief of the Police Department shall appoint and may remove a member in an upper level policymaking position."
(3) The provisions of I.C. 36-8-3.5-6(a) are amended by this section to remove all mention of different political parties and political affiliation, to read in its entirety, as follows:
A Merit Commission consisting of five (5) commissioners shall be established for each department of a unit having a merit system. The commissioners are:
(1) Two (2) persons appointed by the unit's executive;
(2) One (1) person appointed by the unit's legislative body; and,
(3) Two (2) persons elected by the active members of the department.
(B) Members of the Department who hold the rank of Patrolman Third Class, Patrolman Second Class, Patrolman First Class, Master Patrolman, Sergeant or Lieutenant as of the date of the adoption of this section shall retain that rank and be considered merit officers. Years of service in any of the Patrolman ranks shall accrue from the date the officer was originally hired. The years of service for Sergeants and Lieutenants shall accrue from the officers' original date(s) of promotion.
(C) The order of merit ranks will be Patrolman Third Class, Patrolman Second Class, Patrolman First Class, Master Patrolman, Sergeant and Lieutenant. Patrolmen with sufficient years of service, as determined by the merit commission, are eligible to test for a Sergeant position. Only Sergeants with sufficient years of service as a Sergeant, as determined by the merit commission, are eligible to test for Lieutenant.
(D) The provisions of I.C. 36-8-3.5-13(b) (which states that promotions must come from the next lowest rank) do not apply to upper level policy making positions. However, the merit commission may impose a length of service on the Department requirement for those positions.
(E) Hiring and promotional lists in effect as of the date of adoption of this section shall remain in effect for two years from the date on which the list was first accepted.
(F) The establishment of a merit system by this section is subject to the approval of the merit system by a majority of the active members of the Department. A meeting of the active members of the Department for the purpose of their voting by secret ballot to accept or reject the merit system shall be convened pursuant to notice as prescribed in I.C. 36-8-3.5-4. The notice must be given prior to November 7, 2008, as required by I.C. 36-8-3.5-4(a).
(Ord. 52-10-08, passed 11-10-08)