(a) Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependents Fund Board.
(1) There is hereby established a Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependents Board, which shall consist of five (5) members, chosen as follows:
A. Two (2) members elected by the Council;
B. Two (2) members elected by the volunteer police officers of the Police Division; and
C. One (1) member elected by the Board members who were elected pursuant to divisions (a)(1)A. and (a)(1)B. of this section. This member shall be an elector of the City, but not a public employee, nor a member of the Council or a police officer of the Police Division.
(2) Any vacancy occurring on the Board shall be filled at a special election called by the secretary of the Board.
(ORC 143.02)
(b) Election and Term of Board Members.
(1) The term of each Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependents Fund Board member shall be one (1) year and shall begin the first (1st) day of January.
(2) The election of two (2) members by the Council shall be held each year no earlier than the first (1st) day of November and no later than the second (2nd) Monday in December.
(3) The election of two (2) members by the volunteer police officers of the Police Division shall be held on or before the second (2nd) Monday in December, and shall be conducted as follows:
A. The secretary of the Board shall give notice of the election by posting it in a conspicuous place at the Police Division. Between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on the day designated, each volunteer police officer of the Police Division shall send in writing the name of two (2) persons who are the officer's choices. The two (2) named persons must be volunteer police officers of the Police Division.
B. All votes cast at the election shall be counted and recorded by the Board, which shall announce the result. The two (2) members receiving the highest number of votes are elected. If any two (2) persons receive a tie vote, it shall be decided by lot or in any other way agreed upon by the persons for whom such tie vote was cast.
(4) The election of one (1) member by the Board members shall be held on or before the thirty-first (31st) day of December.
(ORC 143.02)
(c) Organization; Rules.
(1) The Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependents Fund Board shall meet on or after the first (1st) day of January and organize. A Chairperson and a Secretary shall be elected. The Secretary shall keep a complete record of the proceedings of the Board, which record shall be maintained as a permanent file.
(2) The Secretary of the Board shall, no later than the first (1st) of February, submit to the Director of the State Commerce Department the names and addresses of the members of the Board, by whom they were elected, and the names of the chairperson and secretary. The secretary shall also forward a certificate prepared by the City Clerk indicating the current assessed property valuation of the City.
(ORC 143.03)
(3) The Board may adopt rules necessary for the handling and processing of claims for benefits and shall perform such other duties as are necessary to carry out its duties under ORC Chapter 143.
(ORC 143.04)
(d) Compensation and Expenses; Legal Advisor.
(1) The members of the Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependents Fund Board shall serve without compensation.
(2) The City shall provide the Board with a meeting place, stationary, postage and supplies for the sufficient conduct of the Board's business.
(ORC 143.03)
(3) The Greene County Prosecuting Attorney shall serve as the legal advisor for the Board.
(ORC 143.05)
(e) Payment to the Fund. The City shall pay to the State Treasurer, to the credit of the Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependent Fund, an initial premium in the amount required under ORC 143.06. Thereafter, the City shall pay all assessments certified to the City by the Ohio Director of Commerce in accordance with ORC 143.07.
(f) Benefits.
(1) A volunteer police officer who, on or after December 22, 2015, is totally and permanently disabled as a result of discharging the duties of a volunteer police officer shall receive a benefit from the Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependents Fund of three hundred dollars ($300) per month, except that no payment shall be made to a volunteer police officer who is receiving the officer's full salary during the time of the officer's disability.
(2) Regardless of whether the volunteer police officer received a benefit under division (f)(1) of this section, death benefits shall be paid from the Fund to the surviving spouse and dependent children of a volunteer police officer who, on or after December 22, 2015, is killed in the line of duty.
(3) Death benefits shall be paid as follows:
A. To the surviving spouse of a volunteer police officer killed in the line of duty, an award of one thousand dollars ($1,000), and in addition, a benefit of three hundred dollars ($300) per month;
B. To the parent, guardian or other persons on whom a child of a volunteer police officer killed in the line of duty is dependent for chief financial support, a benefit of one hundred twenty-five dollars ($125) per month for each dependent child under age eighteen (18), or under age twenty-two (22) if attending an institution of learning or training pursuant to a program designed to complete in each school year the equivalent of at least two-thirds (2/3) of the full-time curriculum requirements of the institution.
(ORC 143.09)
(g) Claims. An individual eligible for benefits payable under this section shall file a claim for benefits with the City's Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependents Fund Board on a form provided by the Board. All of the following information shall be submitted with the claim:
(1) In the case of a totally and permanently disabled volunteer police officer, the following:
A. The name of the Xenia Police Division;
B. The date of injury; and
C. Satisfactory medical evidence that the officer is totally and permanently disabled.
(2) In the case of a surviving spouse or a parent, guardian or other person in charge of a dependent child, the following:
A. The full name of the deceased volunteer police officer;
B. The name of the Xenia Police Division;
C. The name and address of the surviving spouse, if applicable;
D. The names, ages and addresses of any dependent children; and
E. Any other evidence required by the Board.
(3) All claimants shall certify that neither the claimant nor the person on whose behalf the claim is filed qualifies for other benefits from any of the following based on the officer's service as a volunteer police officer: the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund, State Highway Patrol Retirement System, Cincinnati Retirement System, or Ohio Public Safety Officers Death Benefit Fund.
(4) Initial claims shall be filed with the City's Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependents Fund Board. Thereafter, on request of the claimant or the Board, claims may be transferred to a board near the claimant's current residence, if the boards concerned agree to the transfer.
(ORC 143.09)
(h) Procedure for Processing Claims.
(1) The Volunteer Peace Officers' Dependents Fund Board shall meet within five (5) days after the receipt of a claim for benefits to determine the validity of the claim.
(2) If the Board determines the claim is valid, it shall make a determination of the amount due and certify its determination to the Director of Commerce for payment. The certification shall show the name and address of the Board, the name and address of each beneficiary, the amount to be received by or on behalf of each beneficiary, and the name and address of the person to whom payments are to be made.
(3) If the Board determines that a claimant is ineligible for benefits, the Board shall deny the claim and issue to the claimant a copy of its order.
(4) The Board may make a continuing order for monthly payment to a claimant for a period not exceeding three (3) months from the date of determination. The determination may be modified after issuance to reflect any changes in the claimant's eligibility. If no changes occur at the end of the three-month period, the Director of Commerce may provide for payment if the Board certifies that the original certification is continued for an additional three-month period.
(ORC 143.10)
(i) Definitions. As used in this section:
(1) "Killed in the line of duty" means either of the following:
A. Death in the line of duty; or
B. Death from injury sustained in the line of duty, including heart attack or other fatal injury or illness caused while in the line of duty.
(2) "Totally and permanently disabled" means unable to engage in any substantial gainful employment for a period of not less than twelve (12) months by reason of a medically determinable physical impairment that is permanent or presumed to be permanent.
(3) "Volunteer Peace Officer" or "Volunteer Police Officer" means any person who is employed as a police officer in a part-time, reserve or volunteer capacity by the Division of Police and is not either of the following:
A. A member of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund, State Highway Patrol Retirement System or the Cincinnati Retirement System; or
B. A retirant, as defined in ORC 145.01.
(ORC 143.01)
(Ord.2022-28. Adopted 08/25/22)