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HomeMy WebLinkAbout055 - 09/02/1975 - ESTABLISHING A PENSION FUND FOR MEMBERS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY SETTING FORTH DETAILS C A ORDINANCr NO 55 1975 BEING AN 0RDINA14CE LSIABLISIII14G A PENSION FUND FOR MEMBERS Or THE POLICE DEPARTilEFT 01 THE CITY OF FORE COLLINS SETTING FOh111 DFI %ILS CONCERNING THE ADMINISTRATION Or SUCH PENSION FUND AND ESTABLISHING REQUIREMENTS FOR RETIREMENT AND DISABILITY PENSIONS WHEREAS the statutes of the State of Colorado (C R S 1973 Sections 31-30-301 through 31-30-324 inclusive) provide for the establishment of police pension funds for police personnel of municipalities of the state and WHEREAS the City of Fort Collins is a home rule city operating under a Charter granted pursuant to Article XX of the Constitution of the State of Colorado and WHEREAS the City of Fort Collins maintains a police department and employs police personnel in such department and WHEREAS Section 31-30-305 C R S 1973 provides that in home rule cities of less than 100 000 when the Board of Trustees and the control management administration and application of the police pension fund are provided for by Charter and ordinances the same may be controlled managed administered and applied in accordance with such Charter and ordinance provisions and WHEREAS in the opinion of the City Council of the City of Fort Collins it is necessary and desirable that the City of Fort Collins provide for the control management administration and application of the police pension fund of the Citv of Fort Collins NOW THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS Section 1 Policemen s Pension Fund Created There is hereby created a Policemen s Pension Fund which shall be controlled managed administered and applied in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance The assets of such fund shall be all assets belonging to the Policemen s Pension Fund heretofore in existence in the City of Fort Collins and all additions to the fund herein- after acquired Section 2 Board of Trustees A There is hereby created a Board of Trustees of the Policemen ' s Pension Fund of the City of Fort Collins the Board of Trustees of the Policemen s Pension Fund may hrreafter be designated as the Board The Board shall have six members consisting of the following ex officio members Ihr, Ma)oi the Director of Finance and the City Clerk of the City of Fort Collins and three (3) members who are personnel of the Police Department and elected by a majority vote of the members of the Police Department All shall be voting members The ex officio members shall serve during the term of their office The three members elected from the Police Department shall serve for three-year terms provided that initial appointments shall be of one member for a one-year term one member for a two-year term and one member for a three-year term so as to accomplish overlapping terms Terms of office for members from the Police Department shall run from July 1 to July 1 of each year B The Board of Trustees shall arrange for an election among Police Department personnel each year during the month of June to elect a member to the Board from personnel of the Police Department to succeed the member whose term is e%piring in that year The Board of Trustees shall est-blish such rules and regulations as they deem necessary concerning nominations and conduct of elections and shall insure that each rember of the Police Department entitled to vote is afforded an opportunity to vote on the member to be elected to the Board Until the Board hereby created is constituted the Board of Trustees of the Policemen' s Pension Fund previously established in the City shall continue to act This Board shall be responsible for the conduct of the initial election and may adopt such rules and regulations as they deem necessary concerning the election C The Board of Trustees shall control manage administer and apply the Policemen s Pension Fund in accordance with this ordinance and any other applicable 1a� s rules or regulations The Board shall adopt all necessar} rules and regulations for the management of the fund and the discharge of the Board s duties not inconsistent with this ordinance or other applicable law All such rules and regulations shall not be effective until presented to the City Council and approved by the City Council by resolution D At the first meeting of the Board held after July 1 of each year the Board of Trustees shall elect a president secretary and such other officers as they deem necessary E The Director of Finance shall serve as the Treasurer of the Board and shall be the custodian of all pension funds and all moneys and other assets belonging to the fund He shall be liable on his bond and as Director of Finance for the faithful performance of all duties imposed upon him by this ordinance the rules and regulations of the Board of Trustees of the Policemen ' s Pension lund and the laws of the State of Colorado and for the faithful accounting of all moneys and securities which may come into his hands belon-im to the Policemen s Pension fund He shall keep a sepaiatP acconnL -2- of all assets of the fund which shall at all times show the true condition of the fund and upon the expiration of his term of office he shall surrender and deliver to his successor ill bonds and all unexpended moneys and other property which may have come into his hands as Treasurer of the fund F The City Attorney of the City of Fort Collins shall be the official legal advisor to the Board of Trustees of the Policemen ' s Pension Fund G The Board of Trustees shall have the power to employ such technical consultants and advisors as they deem necessary for the proper administration of the fund including attorneys actuaries financial consultants physicians and such other experts as they deem necessary H The Board of Trustees of the Policemen ' s Pension Fund shall have the power to authorize payments from the fund for any services authorized by the Board and related to the fund and its operation and maintenance I The Board of Trustees of the Policemen s Pension Fund shall serve iithout compensation for their services Except as otherwise provided herein no Board member or any other officer or employee of the Policemen s Pension Fund shall have any interest direct or indirect in the gains or profits of any investments made by the Board No board member or other person connected with the Board directly or indirectly for himself or as an agent or partner of otners shall borrow any of the funds or deposits of the Policemen s Pension Fund or in any manner use the same except to make such current anLI necessary payments as are authorized by the Board nor shall any Board member or other person connected with the Board become an endorser surety or become in -n} other manner an obligor for moneys loaned or borrowed of the Policemen s Pension Fund Section 3 Membership A The membership of the Policemen s Pension Fund retirement system shall include all members of the Police Department of the City including specifically but without limitation all dispatchers meter enforcement personnel jailer do& control officers and all other uniformed personnel Such membership shall not however include civilian personnel such as secretaries nor auxiliary police nor cadets B Except as otherwise provided in this ordinance should any member of the Policemen s Pei-ion 7und cease to be a policeman in the employ of the City of Tort Collins for any reason except to become a retiiant hereunder o- by his death he shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Policemen q Pension -3- Fund and his credited service at the date of such separation from service shall be forfeited by him In the event such person is re-employed by the City of fort Collins as a policeman, he shall again become a member but shall not be entitled to be credited with any previous service as a policeman of the City of Fort Collins unless he shall refund and pay into the fund contributions for such previous service which have been refunded to him pursuant to the provisions of Section 14 of this ordinance plus interest at the rate of three percent (3/) per annum on such amount from the date that amount was refunded to him Section 4 Fund Assets In addition to the assets comprised in the Policemen's Pension Fund on the effective date of this ordinance there shall be paid into the Fund A All amounts received pursuant to C R S 1973 Sections 31-30-301 through 31-30-324 inclusive B All moneys or other assets that may be given to the Policemen s Pension Fund by any person for the use and purpose for which the fund is created The Board of Trustees of the Policemen s Pension Fund is hereby authorized to take by gift grant devise or bequest any money personal property or real estate or interest therein as trustees for the uses and purposes for which the fund is created C All moneys fees rewards or emoluments (excepting policemen' s salaries) of every nature and description that may be paid or given to the Police Department of the City of Fort Collins or any members thereof in their capacities as policemen D An amount equal to five percent (5/) of the total monthly salaries of members of the Police Department eligible to be members of the Policemen s Pension Fund which amount the Director of Finance of the City of Fort Collins is hereby authorized and directed to pay from the General Fund of the City of Fort Collins into the Policemen' s Pension Fund monthly E The amount to be contributed by members of the Police Department of the City of Fort Collins eligible to be members of the fund from their respective monthly salaries which amount shall be the identical percentage monthly of members respective monthly salaries xhich is the contribution of the City of Fort Collins provided for in part D of this section In order to effect this contribution the Director of Finance is authorized and directed to deduct the appropriate amount from the respective monthly salary of each member of the Fort Collins Police Department eligible to be a memhol of the Policemen s Pension Fund and to deposit the Same in the Policemen ' s Pension Fund of the City of Fort Collins -4- Section 5 Disability A If any member of the Policemen ' s Pension fund while in the performance of his duty as a policeman or by reason of service as a policeman shall become physically or mentally disabled and such disability shall be deemed to be of a temporary nature by the Board of Trustees he shall be granted temporary disability status by the board In such event he shall be entitled to disability pay as provided in this ordinance B If any member of the Policemen ' s Pension Fund shall become physically or mentally disabled and such disability shall be deemed to be of a permanent nature by the board he shall be granted permanent disability status by the board and shall be entitled to disability pay as provided in this ordinance C For the purpose of determining the physical or mental disability of any member as provided in subsections A and B hereof the board may personally examine the member or may appoint one or more physicians or surgeons to make an examination of the member and report their findings to the board Such report may be taken into consideration in deter- mining whether the member is physically or mentally disabled and whether such disability is temporary or permanent D After any member of the Police Department has been retired temporarily by reason of temporary disability the Board of Trustees shall have the right at any time to cause such retired member to again submit to such examination as the board deems necessary for the purpose of oetermining whether such disability yet continues and whether such retired member should be continued on disability or reinstated in the service of the Police Department Such retired member shall be entitled to notice and to be present at any hearing conducted by the board and shall be entitled to question witnesses and introduce evidence on his own behalf The decision of the board on such question shall be final Section 6 Retirement Any member of the Policemen s Pension Fund who has reached the age of 55 years and who has served for a period of twenty (20) years in the Police Department of the City of Fort Collins or who in the alternative has completed twenty-five (25) years of service in the Police Department of the City of Fort Collins regardless of a.e shall be entitled to retire from the Police Department and to receive a monthly pension as herein provided for the purpose of deter- mining eligibility for retirement service in the Polrco Department of any other municipality in the State of Colorado m v ntarning a pension fund under the laws of the State of Colorado shall -5- be considered the same as service in the Police Department of the City of Fort Collins provided that if any member claiming a credit for such service was refunded his contributions for previous service in such department the amount refunded must have been repaid into the Policemen s Pension Fund of the City of Fort Collins in accordance with the provisions of Section -iA-_ of this ordinance in order to entitle such member to credit for such service Section 7 Application for Retirement or Disability Any member who desires to retire from the Police Department and to receive a pension from the Policemen' s Pension Fund or who desires to receive disability benefits from the fund shall submit a written application to the Board which application shall set forth the facts entitling such member to retirement or disability benefits In the case of retirement the applica- tion shall specify the time neither less than ninety (90) nor more than one hundred eighty (180) days subsequent to the filing of the application when the member desires to be retired The Board of Trustees shall consider such application and if the member is entitled to retire or receive disability benefits shall approve the same and notify the Chief of the Police Department of their approval The action of the Board shall be completed within sixty (60) days after the filing of the application Section 8 Pensions and Disability Benefits Pensions and disability benefits from the Policemen s Pension Fund of the City of Fort Collins shall be payable as follows A Retirement Pension Any member entitled to a retirement pension shall be granted a monthly pension equal to one-half of the salary such member was receiving as a member of the Police Department immediately prior to the date of such member ' s retirement B Temporary Disability Any member entitled to temporary disability benefits shall be eligible to receive temporary disability pay in an amount equal to the monthly compensation paid such member as salary at the date of such disability Disability pay shall not commence until the member has received all of his normal disability pay payable by the City of Fort Collins to disabled city employees No member shall be entitled to receive disability pay for more than twelve (12) consecutive calendar months In the event a member s period of disability exceeds twelve calendar months he shall be entitled to no further temporary disability pay during the period of his temporary disability -6- C Permanent Disability The pension payable to any member who is retired on account of permanent disability shall be equal to the pension payable on account of retirement because of age and length of service as set forth in subparagraph A above Section 9 Death Benefits When any member or retirant shall die and leave a dependent spouse a dependent parent or dependent child or children under the age of 18 years surviving such dependent shall be entitled to receive payments from the Policemen' s Pension Fund as follows A The amount payable to a dependent spouse or parent shall be one-half of the amount payable to a retired member of the Policemen s Pension Fund pursuant to Section 8-A above Such amount shall be payable first to a dependent spouse and if there be no dependent spouse then to a dependent parent or parents If there be a dependent spouse no amount shall be payable to dependent parents and if there be two dependent parents entitled to payment then the amount payable shall be divided equally between them B The amount payable to or on account of a minor child shall be one-fourth of the amount that would have been payable to the member as a retirant under Section 8-A above Such amount shall be payable to or on account of each minor child surviving the member and shall be payable in addition to the amounts payable under subsection A above C If the surviving spouse of a deceased member shall remarry such spouses ' s right to a pension shall thereupon cease and determine and shall not thereafter be re-established in the event of a dissolution of said marriage D Except for additional payments authorized under subsection B above the maximum amount of death benefits payable hereunder shall not exceed the amount of pension benefit which the deceased member or deceased retirant might have received had he still been surviving Section 10 Insufficient Assets If at any time there is not sufficient money or other property in the Policemen s Pension Fund to pay to each beneficiary entitled to payments therefrom the full amount per month to which such beneficiary is entitled an equal percentage of such monthly payment shall be made to each until the fund is so replenished to warrant payment in full to each of such beneficiaries -7- 5 Section 11 Medical Examinations A If any member who is receiving temporary disability benefits refuses for any reason to submit to additional medical examinations required by the board the board shall have the right to discontinue disability payments to such member until the member submits to the medical examination requested and should the member continue to refuse to submit to examinatio for a period of thirty (30) days all of such member s right,, in and to disability pay and status may be revoked by the board Revocation of disability status by the board by reason of a member s refusal to submit to a medical examination may be grounds for discharge of a member from the Police Department of the City of Fort Collins If upon a medical examination of a temporarily disabled member the member is found able and capable of resuming employment in the City Police Department he shall be restored to service and the disability pay shall thereupon terminate B At least once each year for the first five (5) years following permanent disability retirement and once in each three (3) year period thereafter the board may require a member who has been retired as permanently disabled and who has not attained the age of 55 years to undergo a medical examination to be made by or under the direction of a phsycian or physicians designated by the Board Should any such disabled member refuse to submit to such medical examination upon request of the board his retirement pay may be discontinued by the board until such time as he shall submit to such examination and should the refusal continue for one year the board may revoke all of such member s rights to retirement pay on account of permanent disability If as a result of a medical examination the board determines that the disabled member is physically able and capable of resuming employment in the Police Department of the City the member shall be restored to service in the Police Department and his disability pay and status shall be terminated C Any disabled member (c3thcr temporary of permanent) who has been or shall be ietuincd to active eivice in the Police Department of the GiLy a- provided herein shill be given service credit for the period used receiving disability pay from the Policemen' s Pension Fund which service credit shall apply toward such member 's right to retire for length of service -8- Section 12 Hearings Prior to making any decision on an application for a pension disability payment (temporary or per- manent) suspension of disability payments or beneficiary payments the Board shall hold a hearing All persons in interest shall be entitled to notice thereof and to be present at such hearing Persons in interest may be represented by counsel and shall have the right to examine all witnesses presented at the hearing Such persons shall further have the right to introduce any relevant evidence in their own behalf All witnesses shall be examined under oath which shall be administered by any member of the Board Insofar as practical the Rules of Civil Procedure of the State of Colorado shall apply to such hearings The decision of the Board in all cases shall be final Section 13 Disability Benefits received from Other Sources Prior to making any award for disability payments the Board shall determine whether the applicant is eligible for corkmen s compensation and/or group insurance benefits as the result of such disability and in such event shall reduce the disaoilit} benefits to which the member is otherx7ase entitled by the ar-ount of any workmen s compensation or group insurance benefits pa% able to the member Group insurance benefits as used in this section shall mean group insurance maintained and paid for by the City of Fort Collins and shall not include any other insurance bene- fits to which the member may be entitled Section 14 Refund of Contributions A Should any member leave the service of the Police Department of the City prior to becoming eligible for a pension hereunder for any reason other than such member s death all funds that shall have been paid into such fund bj that member shall be refunded to him upon demand provided that such demand be made within one year from termination of employment In no event shall such refund incluae accumulated interest on the member s contributions or any portion of the City s contribu- tions to the Policemen s Pension Fund B If any member has left the service of the Police Department of the City and has received a refund of his contiibu- tzons to the fund and 3f theieafter such member re-enter the service of the Police Department of the City such member hill be entitled to pay bacl the amount refunded to him topeLhcr with interest theicon at the rate of three percent (30 per annum from the date the refund was made Such amount may be paid in a lump sum or in installments as the Board of T3nStees of the Policemen s Pension land may determine To the e-t ( nt that such amount is paid back into the lolicemen s Pension Fund Vrevious years of service shall be credited toward -uch member s eligibility for retirement -9- Section 15 False Statements Any person who knowingly makes any false statements or falsifies or permits to be falsified any record of the Police Department or the Policemen s Pension Fund in an attempt to defraud the Policemen s Pension Fund shall be guilty of a violation of the ordinances of the City of Fort Collins punishable as provided in the Code of Ordi- nances of the City of Fort Collins No conviction or fine hereunder shall excuse such person from the duty to make full restitution to the fund and such duty may be enforced by action at law or otherwise in any court of competent jurisdiction Section 16 Errors Correction In the event of any change or error in the records of the Policemen s Pension Fund or the City results in any member retirant or beneficiary receiving from the Policemen' s Pension Fund more or less than he would have been entitled to receive had tZIL records been correct the Board shall correct such error and shall as far as practicable adjust subsequent payments in such manner that the actuarily equivalent of the benefits to c>hich such member retirant or beneficiary tas correctly entitled shall be paid In the event of overpayment to any member retirant or bene- ficiary the Board may tale such action through legal pro- ceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction as necessary to recover such payment Section 17 Assignability and Execution The right of any person to a pension to the return of accumulated contribu- tions or any other right accrued or accruing to any member retirant or beneficiary hereunder shall not be assignable nor shall the same be subject to execution garnishment attachment the operation of banlruptcy or insolvency law or any other process of law whatsoever except as specifically provided in this ordinance Section 18 Effective Date and Application This ordinance shall be effective ten <10) days from the date of its final pas-a&e and the benefits provided for hereunder shall not apoly to any person or beneficiary receiving pension or other benefits under the laws of the State of Colorado and the ordinances of the City previously regulating Policemen s Pension Fund benefits The benefits payable to any such beneficiary shall continue to be payable in accordance with the provisions of the applicable law- which applied at the time of ietircment of any member previously I. CL31ed under the POIicemen s Pension Lund or any beneficiary entitled to receive payments on account of any uch previously retired member EXCEPTION The provisions of this ordinance relating to the right of a member to withdraw such member ' s contributions to the Policemen s Pension Fund at the time of resignation before rctiiemcnt from tle Police Depirt- ment of the City were previously )n effect under the rul ( - and regulations duly adopted by the Board of T ustees of the lolice- -10- men' s Pension Fund heretofore existing To the extent that such withdrawal was permitted under such rules and re£ulations and if any person lelving the service of the Police Department and entitled to make such withdrawal did not or was not allowed to do so such person shall be allowed to male such withdrawal in accordance with the provisions of this ordinance Section 19 Separability If any section subsection sentence or part of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is declared unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by any court of competent ,jurisdiction such invalidity shall not affect the other sections subsections sentences and parts of this ordinance or any o=her application thereof and the City Council hereby do tares that it would have adopted each separate part of this ordinance as a separate ordinance Section 20 Supersedes Prior Law This ordinance shall supersede Sections 2-36 through 2-43 inclusive of the Code of the City of Fort Collins provided that those sections shall remain in effect as the same auply to any person previously retired or eligible for benefits from the Policemen s Pension Fund of the City of Fort Collins Introduced considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 19th day of Aueust A D 1975 and to be presented for final passage on the end day of September A D 1975 ATTEST Mayor City C1erl �( uty) Passed and adopted upon final reading this 2nd day of cap tamf,p� A D 1975 ATTEST �/mow ' ayor City C cik -11-