(a) Effective January 1, 1999, the full amount of the statutorily required contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio (PERS) shall be withheld from the gross pay of each person within any of the classes established in subsection (b) hereof and shall be picked up (assumed and paid to the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio) by the City of South Euclid. This pick up by the City of South Euclid is, and shall be designated as, public employee contributions and shall be in lieu of contributions to the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio by each person within any of the classes established in subsection (b) hereof. No person subject to this pick-up shall have the option of choosing to receive the statutorily required contribution to the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio directly instead of having it picked up by the City of South Euclid or of being excluded from the pick up.
The City of South Euclid shall, in reporting and making remittance to the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio, report that the public employee's contribution for each person subject to this pick up has been made as provided by the statute.
(b) The pick up by the City of South Euclid provided by this section shall apply to all persons who are non-union employees of the City of South Euclid who are or become contributing members of the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio (PERS).
(c) The City's method of payment of salary to all non-union employees who are participants in the PERS is hereby modified as outlined in the following sections in order to provide for a salary reduction pick-up of employee contributions to the PERS.
(d) The total salary for each employee shall be the salary otherwise payable under the City of South Euclid's policies. Such total salary of each employee shall be payable by the City in two parts: as deferred salary and cash salary. An employee's deferred salary shall be equal to that percentage of said employee's total salary which is required from time to time by PERS to be paid as an employee contribution by said employee and shall be paid by the City to PERS on behalf of said employee as a pick-up and in lieu of the PERS employee contribution otherwise payable by said employee. An employee's cash salary shall be equal to said employee's total salary 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 based upon an employee's total salary. The total combined expenditures of the City for such employees' total salaries payable under applicable City policies and the pick-up provisions of this section shall not be greater than the amounts it would have paid for those items had this provision not been in effect.
(e) The Mayor, or his or her designee, is hereby authorized and directed to take all actions necessary and appropriate to initiate implementation of the provisions of this section to institute the pick up of the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio for those persons referred to in subsection (b) hereof so as to enable them to obtain the result in Federal and State tax deferments and other benefits.
(f) The pick-up shall apply to all payroll payments to the non-union employees of the City made after January 1, 1999. (Ord. 113-98. Passed 12-28-98.)