(a) The City's method of payment of salary and the provision of fringe benefits to all employees who are members of the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) or employed as policemen or firemen and are members of the Police and Fireman’s Disability Pension Fund (PFDPF) or PERS are hereby modified as follows, in order to provide for a salary reduction pick-up of employee contributions to PERS and PFDPF.
(b) The total annual salary and salary per pay period for each such employee shall be the salary otherwise payable under the applicable City ordinances. Such total annual salary and salary per pay period of each employee shall be payable by the City in two parts as follows: deferred salary; and cash salary. An employee’s deferred salary shall be equal to that percentage of said employee’s total annual salary or salary per pay period which is required from time to time by PERS or PFDPF to be paid as an employee and shall be paid by the City to the PERS or PFDPF on behalf of said employee as a pick-up and in lieu of the PERS or PFDPF employee contribution otherwise payable by said employee. An employee’s cash salary shall be equal to said employee’s total annual salary or salary per pay period less the amount of the pick-up for said employee and shall be payable, subject to applicable payroll deductions, to said employee. The City shall compute and remit its employer contributions to PERS or PFDPF based upon an employee’s total annual salary or salary per pay period, including the aforesaid pick-up. The City’s total combined expenditures for such employees’ total salaries otherwise payable under the applicable City ordinances (including pick-up amounts) and its employer contributions to PERS or PFDPF shall not be greater than the amounts it would have paid for those items had this provision not been in effect.
(c) The pick-up shall be included in the employee’s total annual salary for the purpose of computing daily rate of pay, for determining paid salary adjustments to be made due to absence, or for any similar purpose.
(d) Any pick-up by the City of an employee’s contributions to PERS or PFDPF shall be mandatory for all of the employees previously described who are members of the PERS or PFDPF. No such member shall have the option of choosing to receive the contributed amounts directly instead of having them paid by the City to PERS or PFDPF.
(e) The City shall fulfill its income tax reporting and withholding responsibilities for each employee in such manner as is required by applicable Federal, State and local laws and regulations as they may exist at the time of such reporting and withholding, it being the City’s understanding that Federal and Ohio income tax laws and regulations presently require it to report as an employee’s gross income his total annual salary less the amount of the pick-up while applicable municipal income tax laws require it to report as an employee’s gross income his total annual salary including the amount of the pick-up.
(f) The Mayor, or his designee, is hereby directed to take all acts necessary and appropriate to initiate implementation of the provisions of this section, including but not limited to making applications to the Internal Revenue Service and the board administering the PERS or PFDPF programs to determine the requirements of the boards in connection with such pick-up plan.
(g) The pick-up plan shall apply to all eligible employees who qualify under this section and the plan shall commence with the first pay period beginning on or after the date this section is passed and approved.
(Ord. 9-1996. Passed 6-11-96.)