(A) An employee serving in the full-time position of a department director with the city shall be eligible to participate in SERP. The employee must have attained the required age and service levels of the Traditional Pension Plan as defined by OPERS. In addition, the employee must have been a full-time city employee for at least 15 years, with the last five years serving as a department director.
(B) Employees participating or eligible to participate in other retirement programs such as the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) are ineligible to participate in SERP.
(C) The Mayor and/or his/her designee shall have the final determination as to which department directors may be permitted to participate in SERP. It is with the clear understanding there is nothing that obligates the Mayor or his/her designee to re-employ an employee who has opted to retire from OPERS. In other words, the program may not be offered to all department directors.
(D) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, the employee agrees and understands when participating in SERP, his/her employment will be that of an at-will employee, meaning he/she may be terminated by the city at the will of the city, with or without cause, and without recourse to appeal or contest the termination.
(E) SERP employees are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and shall be paid a salary which compensates them for all hours worked. The SERP employee shall be considered a full-time employee and shall work a minimum of 40 hours per week. The SERP employee will not be entitled to receive any additional compensation for hours worked in excess of their normal work day, work week, or work period.
(F) When retiring under OPERS, the employee is required to no longer be employed in a position covered by one of the State of Ohio's public employment retirement systems for a period of two months. If the employee wishes to continue working in a public employment capacity, the employee will forfeit the first two months of his/her retirement benefits. It is the city's preference for the employee to continue his/her employment without a two-month break in service. In recognition of this preference and upon entering the program, the employee will be paid the rate he/she was receiving at the time of retirement (retirement pay rate) for the first two months of the program. At the beginning of the third month, the employee's compensation shall be calculated at a rate of 75% of his/her retirement pay rate (SERP pay rate). For example, if the employee's salary (retirement pay rate) is $85,000 per year at the time he/she retires and enters the program, the employee will receive compensation at his/her retirement pay rate for the first two months of the program. Beginning the third month of the program, the employee's compensation will be adjusted to 75% of the retirement pay rate, resulting in a SERP pay rate of $63,750.
(G) The SERP employee will be eligible for but not entitled to or guaranteed a cost-of-living wage adjustment if City Council provides one for other employees of the organization. In addition, if the City Administrator feels it is warranted, he/she may provide the employee with a merit pay adjustment, as long as the adjustment falls within the authorized salary range for the position.
(H) A SERP employee shall be entitled to all benefits as provided in the City of Springdale Policies and Procedures, unless such benefits are defined within the SERP policy. The following benefits under SERP will be implemented as follows:
(1) Sick leave.
(a) The SERP employee will continue to earn and use sick leave as defined in the city's Sick Leave Policy (No. 203). No sick leave, based upon the city's "Conversion of Sick Leave at Retirement" policy, shall be paid out at the time of retirement to the employee entering SERP. The employee's existing bank of sick leave hours shall remain in place. These sick leave hours shall serve as the maximum amount the employee will be paid at his/her retirement pay rate at the conclusion of the program. For example, if the employee has a balance of 1,300 sick leave hours at retirement, that amount is the limit in which the employee will be paid at the retirement pay rate when he/she leaves the program. In addition, if the employee's balance falls hypothetically to 1,100, the maximum amount of hours eligible to be paid at the retirement rate is 1,100. Once entering the program, the sick leave hours eligible for compensation at the retirement rate may decrease, however, will not increase. Any and all hours accrued after entering the program will be compensated at the employee's SERP pay rate.
(b) In the case of annual conversion of sick leave, the employee's SERP pay rate will become effective beginning the month he/she enters the program.
(2) Life insurance. The amount will continue to be one times the employee's salary and will be adjusted to the SERP pay rate during the third month of the program.
(I) Employees wanting to participate in SERP shall provide the City Administrator with a written notice of their intent to retire and submit a completed SERP Request to Participate Form. The employee's retirement must not be contingent upon the employee's ability to participate in SERP.
(J) Employees entering SERP will be permitted to participate in the program up to three years initially. The city may, at its sole discretion, extend the opportunity to the employee to continue in the program for additional one-year terms. Each year will be evaluated independently.
(K) The SERP program is subject to all provisions of R.C. Chapter 145. The aforementioned chapter establishes the conditions under which a member of OPERS may retire from service and subsequently continue working or become re-employed in a position covered by one of the State of Ohio's public employment retirement systems.
(Ord. 4-2017, passed 1-18-17)