a. Prior to retirement, any eligible officer shall submit a letter, through the proper chain of command, to the Chairman of the Board of Safety, advising that said officer intends to retire and provide the effective date of retirement.
1. Attached to the retirement policy is a form retirement letter. The officer should follow the retirement letter format and provide all information requested in same including any and all other pertinent information deemed necessary by the officer.
b. Any officer having twenty (20) or more years of service meeting the requirements for police officers of the State of Indiana and the Public Employees Retirement Fund shall be eligible to retire from the Schererville Police Department by selecting one (1) of the two (2) pay options below:
1. Lump sum final paycheck payout.
(a) Upon retirement from active service, including completion of the State of Indiana continuous service requirements, the retiring officer will be compensated at their current hourly rate of pay for the unused balance of their accrued sickness/injury, vacation, incentive and earned holiday leave at the time of their retirement. The compensation will be paid in a lump sum and placed on the officer's final paycheck following the retirement date.
(b) A retiring officer shall be allowed to utilize accrued sickness/injury, vacation, incentive and holiday leave as authorized by the Board of Safety for the purpose of reaching the mandatory minimum service requirements of the Indiana Public Employees Retirement Fund for police officers (20 years). It is the policy of the Board of Safety that accrued days may be utilized prior to the officer having completed twenty (20) years of service with the department and that said time may be credited to allow the officer to reach the twenty (20) year active service time period. Once credited and the twenty (20) year mark has been reached, the retiring officer shall be compensated at their current hourly rate of pay for any unused balance of their accrued sickness/injury, vacation, incentive and earned holiday leave. The compensation will be paid in a lump sum and be placed on the officer's final paycheck following the retirement date.
2. Payment over time/remaining on town payroll. Upon retirement from active service, an officer who was in active service on January 1, 2015 shall be limited to the number of accrued or remaining sickness/injury, vacation, incentive and earned holiday leave hours the officer had on record as of January 1, 2015 for payment over time by remaining on the Town Payroll. (A list of active duty officers and their accrued time as of January 1, 2015 is attached hereto). Said accrued hours as of January 1, 2015 will be paid to the retiring officer by and through the officer remaining on the Town of Schererville payroll system for that set length of time. Any other accrued sickness/injury, vacation, incentive and earned holiday leave time above and beyond that which existed on January 1, 2015, shall be paid out in a lump sum on the retired officer's final paycheck after leaving active service. A retired officer that remains on the Town payroll as outlined herein shall also qualify for all Town insurance benefits, longevity pay and earned holiday pay as if still an active member of the police department.
c. At the time of retirement, all retired officers shall be required to relinquish any and all equipment and/or property belonging to the Schererville Police Department that is in his/her custody. A retired officer's clothing allowance shall cease immediately upon end of active service/last day of duty.
d. Each retiring officer will be presented with a Schererville Police Department badge. The badge will reflect the retiring officer's rank and will be engraved "Retired". The retiring officer will also be awarded his/her service weapon from the Schererville Police Department.
(Ord. No. 1871, § 2, 7-8-15)