(A) Generally.
(1) The Board of Trustees shall fix and determine by appropriate rules and regulations the amount of service to be credited each member; provided, that in no case shall less than ten days of service rendered by him or her in any calendar month be credited as a month of service; nor shall less than ten months of service rendered by him or her in any calendar year be credited as a year of service; nor shall more than one year of service be credited any member for all service rendered by him or her in any calendar year.
(2) The following adjustments are made.
(a) A member who is a Police Chief on January 1, 1996 and retires on January 2, 1996, shall be credited with five years of service upon payment to the pension system of an amount equal to 5% of the members full-time or equated full-time annual compensation (last full four quarters gross compensation) multiplied by the five years of service time.
(b) A member who is an Assistant Fire Chief on December 27, 2002 and who retires on December 28, 2002 shall be credited with three years and five months of service upon payment to the pension system of an amount equal to 5% of the members full-time or equated full time annual compensation (last full four quarters gross compensation) multiplied by the three years and five months of service time.
(c) A member who is a Police Chief on August 13, 2004 and who retires on August 14, 2004 shall be credited with seven years and four months of service upon payment to the pension system of $38,459.99.
(d) A member who is a Deputy Police Chief on January 20, 2005 and who retires on January 21, 2005 shall be credited with 11 months of service upon payment to the pension system of $4,441.33.
(3) Effective July 1, 1996, any police officer who was a member on or after this date shall be allowed to purchase prior law enforcement service time up to five years with such member paying the total actuarial cost.
(B) Federal service credit.
(1) In the event a police officer or firefighter, who while employed by the city, entered or enters any armed service of the United States Government during any period of compulsory military service, he or she shall have such armed service actually required of him or her credited him or her as city service; provided, that:
(a) He or she is re-employed by the city as a police officer or firefighter within one year from and after the date of termination of such armed services actually required of him or her;
(b) He or she returns to the Member’s Deposit Fund the amount, if any, he or she withdrew therefrom at the time he or she entered or while in such armed service, together with regular interest from the date of withdrawal to the date of repayment; and
(c) In no case shall more than five years of such armed service be credited any member for all such armed service rendered by him or her after February 1, 1965. In any case of doubt as to the period, of such armed service to be credited any member, the Board of Trustees shall have final power to determine such period.
(2) During the period of such armed service and until his or her return to city employment as a police officer or firefighter, his or her contributions to the retirement system shall be suspended and any balance standing to his or her credit in the Member’s Deposit Fund shall be accumulated at regular interest.
(3) After July 1, 1983, any firefighter member who was a member of the retirement system on July 1, 1983, or after September 19, 1984, any member who was a police sergeant, police lieutenant, police captain on September 19, 1984, or assistant police chief on or after January 1, 1984, or police patrol officer member after July 1, 1988, may elect to receive credited service for not more than four years of active military service in the armed service of the United States; to be used only in calculating his or her pension at retirement regardless of when this service occurred, provided, the firefighter, police sergeant, police lieutenant, police captain, or assistant police chief was employed as a firefighter or police officer subsequent to such military service. A firefighter, police patrol officer, police sergeant, police lieutenant, police captain, or assistant police chief who elects to claim this service credit must already have ten years of credited service as a firefighter or police officer in force and shall pay to the retirement system an amount equal to 10.75% of the member’s full-time or equated full-time annual compensation (last four full calendar quarters’ gross compensation) for the year in which the payment is to be made, multiplied by the number of years, and fraction of a year, of credited service the member elects to purchase, up to the maximum. Service shall not be credited if the service is or would be credited under another federal, state, or local publicly supported retirement system.
(4) Any person who becomes a firefighter member of the retirement system after July 1, 1983, or any person who becomes a member of the police command officers bargaining group after September 19, 1984; however, effective January 1, 1990, any police command officer, assistant police chief and effective July 1, 1988, any police patrol officer, who entered the armed services of the United States during a time of war or national emergency, or who served in the armed service during a time of peace, may elect to receive credited service for not more than four years of active military service; to be used only in calculating their pension at retirement regardless of when this service occurred (military service time for police officer members cannot be added to retirement eligibility requirements); provided, the firefighter or member of the police command officers bargaining group was employed as a firefighter or police officer subsequent to such military service. However, only completed years and months of armed service shall be credited. In the case of a person who becomes a firefighter member after July 1, 1983, credit for military service shall be given upon request and payment to the retirement system of an amount equal to 8% of the member’s full-time or equated full-time annual compensation or in the case of a member of the police command officers bargaining group after September 19, 1984; however, effective January 1, 1990, any police command officer, assistant police chief and effective July 1, 1988, any police patrol officer credit for military service shall be given upon request and payment to the retirement system of an amount equal to the percent required by the MERS Act; however, effective July 1, 1994, in the case of a firefighter member, military service shall be given upon request and payment to the retirement system an amount equal to the percent required by the MERS Act, however, effective July 1, 1994, in the case of a firefighter military service shall be given upon request and payment to the retirement system an amount equal to 5% of the member’s full-time or equated full-time annual compensation (last four full calendar quarters’ gross compensation) for the year in which payment is made multiplied by the number of years, and fraction of a year, of credited service the member elects to purchase up to the maximum. Service shall not be credited if the service is or would be credited under any other federal, state, or local publicly supported retirement system. Service shall not be credited under this section until the member has ten working years of credited service in force.
(Prior Code, § 16.08) (Ord. D-678, passed 1-18-1965, effective 2-1-1965; Ord. D-1592, passed 6-19-1989, effective 6-29-1989; Ord. D-1737, passed 3-20-1995, effective 3-30-1995; Ord. D-1856, passed 7-24-2000, effective 8-3-2000; Ord. O-51, passed 8-7-2006, effective 8-17-2006)