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ARTICLES BY NUMBER 1 -
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The City and the Union acknowledge that the City has enacted Chapter 20, Article IV, Division 3 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Fort Lauderdale which provides a mandatory retirement system for Police employees; and further acknowledge that this Article is not intended to, in any way, modify any provision of that legislative enactment or to change or increase or diminish the legal rights of the City or any current member of that retirement system.
Section 2. The City and the Union acknowledge that the City's mandatory retirement system is administered, supervised, and managed by a Board of Trustees accountable as fiduciaries to employee members of the retirement system. The Board of Trustees is not a party to this Agreement. The retirement system includes a Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) and an Actuarially Calculated Deferred Retirement Option Program as set forth in City Ordinance No. C-96-59. The City and Union, therefore, agree that the terms of the retirement system shall not be incorporated into this Agreement and that no dispute arising from the interpretation or application of the retirement system or any decision of the Board of Trustees shall be subject to the grievance/arbitration provision of this Agreement. Likewise, matters which are determined or reviewed by the Board of Trustees of the Police and Fire Retirement System and any matters involving the interpretation of ordinances or statutes governing the retirement system shall not be within the jurisdiction of or subject to the grievance/arbitration procedure established in this agreement.
Section 3. The City Manager agrees to submit to the City Commission a proposed amendment to Chapter 20, Article IV, Division 3 of the Code of Ordinances (Police and Firefighters’ Retirement System) to accomplish the following:
1. The parties acknowledge that the purpose of the Deferred Retirement Option Program is to encourage eligible Police Officers to commence retirement in accordance with the DROP provisions at the earliest available date and that the DROP program is therefore an incentive for early retirement. The DROP is intended to comply with all the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code applicable to the City’s Police & Firefighters Retirement System (“Plan”) and to all provisions of Chapters 175 and 185, Florida Statutes, applicable this local Plan receiving state premium tax monies. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, neither the Board nor the City shall take any action contrary to the Internal Revenue Code provisions applicable to this Plan, the tax qualification status of this Plan, or contrary to any provisions of Chapters 175 or 185, Florida Statutes applicable to this local Plan receiving state premium tax monies.
2. Officers who entered DROP prior to the effective date of this agreement shall be governed by the terms of the DROP in effect on the officer’s date of entry and shall not have the right to alter that election. All Police Officers are strongly encouraged to consult with the Plan Administrator and/or their personal financial advisors to determine the most advantageous time, if any, to enter DROP retirement. For Officers who first enter the DROP program on or after April 1, 2004:
A. Entry in DROP shall be available on the first day of the month coincident with or next following the date the Officer completes twenty (20) years of creditable service, without regard to age.
B. Officers may participate in DROP for a maximum of sixty (60) months provided the officer enters the DROP on or before the first day of the month coincident with or next following the date the Officer completes twenty two (22) years of credited service, without regard to age. For each month, or fraction thereof, following the completion of the twenty-second (22nd) year of credited service that an officer delays entry into the DROP, the sixty (60) month DROP participation period shall be reduced by one month or fraction thereof.
C. Officers who were eligible to participate in the DROP prior to April 1, 2004 but have not yet entered DROP may elect between the terms of the DROP in effect prior to that date or the terms set forth in this section, but not both. On and after April 1, 2004, DROP eligibility and participation shall terminate upon the earlier of (i) sixty (60) months of DROP participation, (ii) completion of the twenty-seventh (27th) year of credited service, (iii) the member’s death during DROP Retirement, or (iv) termination of employment with the City. Examples of the application of this section shall be as outlined below:
Example No. 1: An officer who reached the normal retirement date of twenty (20) years of credited service and age 45 on April 1, 2002 and did not enter DROP until March 1, 2004, is limited to 3 years and one month in the DROP. Such officer’s DROP Participation would be governed by the pre-April 1, 2004 rules which provide for a maximum participation of 60 months, with a reduction of one month, or fraction thereof, for each months’ (or fraction thereof) delay in entering DROP. However, if the same officer waits to enter the DROP until April 1, 2004, the officer will be eligible to participate for 60 months, as the officer will not reach 27 years of service for 5 years after April 1, 2004, unless the officer dies or ceases employment with the City at an earlier date.
Example No. 2: If the same officer reached the normal retirement date of twenty (20) years of credited service and age 45 on April 1, 2000 and enters DROP under the pre-April 1, 2004 rules on March 1, 2004, the officer will be limited to one year and one month of DROP participation. However, if the officer waits to enter DROP until April 1, 2004, the officer will be eligible to participate in DROP for three (3) years, as the officer will reach twenty-seven (27) years of service within three (3) years of entry into DROP.
Example No. 3: On March 20, 2004 an officer reaches age 45 with 24 years service and is eligible for 5 years of DROP (24 to 29 years); provided that the officer enters DROP on or before March 31, 2004. However, under the new rules as of April 1, 2004, the same officer has 24 years of service but is only eligible for 3 years of DROP (24 to 27 years).
Example No. 4: If an officer attains twenty (20) years of service on April 1, 2004 and enters the DROP on April 1, 2006, the officer may continue in DROP for sixty (60) months until the completion of the twenty-seventh (27th) year of creditable service unless the officer dies or ceases employment with the City at an earlier date.
Example No. 5: If an officer attains twenty (20) years of creditable service on April 1, 2004 and delays entering DROP until April 1, 2007, the officer may continue in DROP for forty-eight (48) months until reaching twenty-seven (27) years of creditable service, unless the officer dies or ceases employment with the City at an earlier date.
Example No. 6: If a officer attains twenty (20) years of credited service on April 1, 2004 and enters the DROP on that date, the officer may continue in DROP for sixty (60) months until the completion of the twenty-fifth (25th) year of service, unless the officer dies or ceases employment with the City at an earlier date.
Example No. 7: Officers not already in DROP who have already completed twenty-seven (27) years of creditable service as of April 1, 2004, have no remaining DROP eligibility.
3. To the extent the above provisions conflict with provisions for DROP Periods commencing prior to April 1, 2004, the pre-April 1, 2004 provisions shall no longer be in effect.
4. The terms and conditions of DROP for an officer who submits the required election forms and OWBPA release and commences DROP prior to April 1, 2004 shall be governed by the terms and conditions existing at the commencement of the DROP Period. Nothing contained in the DROP provisions applicable to DROP Periods commencing on or after April 1, 2004 shall affect the provisions of DROP for those officers whose DROP Period commenced prior to April 1, 2004.
5. Within the constraints of existing law, the parties agree to cooperate in shortening the administrative period required as a condition precedent to commencement of a DROP Period as set forth in Sec. 20-129 (b.1) (2).
6. In the event that a court of competent jurisdiction or a state or local agency with authority to enter a final order determines, at any procedural level, that any provision of the DROP, as amended pursuant to this article, violates federal, state or local age discrimination laws or regulations, the DROP program shall be immediately suspended and no further officers shall be permitted to enter the program. The City and the Union will, as soon as practicable, commence impact bargaining to address the effect of the court or agency determination on this article. Nowithstanding such impact bargaining and in addition to the general severability provisions set forth in the City’s retirement ordinance at the time these modifications are ratified by the City Commission, the DROP plan may, at the City’s option, be immediately terminated as specified in Section 20-129(b.1)(10)a-d of the City Code of Ordinances after notice to the Union, the Trustees and the affected officers then in DROP.
7. None of the modifications to the Deferred Retirement Option Program set forth in this Article shall be construed as an admission that the program in effect prior to these modifications was contrary to any law or administrative regulation for purposes of any pending or future litigation, internal or external administrative charge or other claim related to or arising out of the DROP program.
Section 4. The City and the Union acknowledge the requirements of the Florida Constitution (1968) and Florida Statutes shall be met prior to any change in any pension or retirement benefit. |
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