[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council
of the Borough of Danville as indicated in article histories. Amendments
noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Police Department — See Ch. 49.
[Adopted 11-18-1957 by Ord. No. 126[1] (Ch. 27, Art. I, of the 1975 Code)]
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 18 of this
ordinance, which incorporated the provisions of certain unnamed resolutions
into this article, was repealed 5-14-1975 by Ord. No. 258.
[Amended 5-14-1975 by Ord. No. 258]
There is hereby established a Police Pension
Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "fund," under the authority granted
by the Act of 1956, May 29, P.L. (1956) 1804, known as Act No. 600,
as amended,[1] and other statutes now or hereafter pertaining or applicable
hereto and any ordinance that may be lawfully enacted for the purposes
hereof. The fund shall be created and maintained by an equal and proportionate
monthly charge against each member of the police force in the maximum
amount of 5% of the pay of such member and also from other sources
of revenue. The fund shall be for the benefit of all members of the
police force who elect to become members thereof, and shall be under
the direction of the Borough Council, unless and until the Council
shall designate a committee therefor. While under the direction of
Council, the officers of the fund shall be as follows: the President
of Council shall be President of the fund, the Borough Secretary shall
be Secretary of the fund and the Borough Treasurer shall be Treasurer
of the fund.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 767
et seq.
The fund shall be applied in accordance with
present and future laws, and shall be under such regulations, herein
or hereafter, as the Council may lawfully prescribe for the benefit
of such members of the police force as shall receive honorable discharge
therefrom by reason of age or disability, and the families of such
as may be injured or killed in the service. Any allowance made to
those who are retired by reason of disability or age shall be in conformity
with a uniform scale. For the purpose of this article, unless and
until changed by statute or ordinance, a "policeman" means a full-time
paid policeman or policewoman.
Any policeman, as defined, may elect to join
the fund by notifying the Borough Secretary in writing and therein
authorizing the proper Borough authorities to deduct a maximum of
5% from his pay as his contribution to the fund, and in such communication
naming a beneficiary or beneficiaries to whom payments shall be made
in the event of his death while a member of the police force and the
fund, and further stipulating and agreeing that he shall be bound
by the provisions of the law pertaining hereto and of this article
and by any future statutes and ordinances pertaining hereto.
The contribution deducted from any member of
the police force shall be forthwith deposited to the credit of the
fund, and into the fund shall likewise be deposited and credited any
and all contributions that may be lawfully made by the Borough to
the fund, and the Borough Council or said Committee, if and while
it functions, is hereby authorized to accept and likewise deposit
and credit any and all contributions, revenues or proceeds from any
source and gifts, grants, devises, bequests, money or profit, and
any sum or sums paid to the Borough and inuring to the fund from any
official of the department of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania under
any present or future law pertinent thereto.
The assets of the fund shall be kept separate
and apart from other Borough funds. All funds shall be subject to
regulations as the Borough Council may prescribe from time to time.
The books and records of the fund shall be open
for inspection by any interested party, and the accounts shall be
audited as Council or Committee directs.
The Borough Council or the Committee may formulate
rules or bylaws to implement and effectuate the intent and purpose
of the statutes and ordinances relating to police pensions.
All officers may retire and receive benefits
after 25 years of service and at least 55 years of age. Policemen
so retired shall be subject to service as police reserve until unfit
therefor by age or disability, when they may be finally discharged.
While on duty as a police reserve, they shall be paid as wages, in
addition to the regular pension, such sum as the Council may determine.
[Amended 5-10-1983 by Ord. No. 294]
A.
Should a policeman be discharged or voluntarily withdraw
from service or otherwise cease to become a member of the fund before
vesting his pension as hereinafter provided, he shall be paid from
the fund the full amount of the deductions from his pay, with interest
at the rate of 4% per annum.
[Amended 1-13-1987 by Ord. No. 314]
B.
Should a policeman not eligible to pension, but in
good standing in the fund, be honorably discharged because of disability,
he shall likewise be paid from the fund the full amount of the deductions
from his pay, with interest at the rate of 4% per annum, and shall,
if he shall have been in the service at least one full year, be granted,
in addition to any other grants or privileges to which he may be entitled,
leave of absence for one month with pay from the fund.
[Amended 1-13-1987 by Ord. No. 314]
C.
Should a policeman die in service before vesting of his pension as hereinafter provided, there shall be paid to his widow or other beneficiary named by the decedent, or to his family, or, in the discretion of the Council or Committee, to other proper persons, including, in proportionate shares, medical and hospital services during the last illness or funeral expenses, from the fund the full amount of the deductions from the decedent's pay with interest at the rate of 4% per annum, and in addition, there shall be paid from the fund the full amount of the deductions from the decedent's pay, with interest at the rate of 4% per annum, in Subsection B, an amount equal to the last month's salary paid to the decedent as an earned leave of absence for a month for the purpose. The payments provided in Subsections B and C are alternative and not cumulative.
[Amended 1-13-1987 by Ord. No. 314]
D.
Any police officer who has completed 12 years of total
service and who for any reason ceases to be employed as a full-time
police officer by the Borough before attaining his normal retirement
age and completing the number of years of service required for normal
retirement pension benefits may elect to vest his retirement benefits
by filing with the Borough an election to vest retirement benefits.
Such election shall be written and must be filed within 90 days of
the date he ceases to be a full-time police officer.
E.
Provided that the election is made in a timely manner,
the retirement benefits shall commence to be paid on the date which
would have been the police officer's normal retirement date had he
continued to be employed as a full-time police officer. The retirement
benefits shall be calculated as follows:
|
A/B x NP
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Where:
| ||||
|
A
|
=
|
Officer's actual years of service.
| ||
|
B
|
=
|
Officer's years of service had he continued
to work until his normal retirement date.
| ||
|
NP
|
=
|
Normal pension, determined by using the officer's
monthly average salary received during the appropriate period prior
to his termination of employment.
| ||
Upon application in writing stating a reason
deemed good and sufficient to it, the Borough Council may grant any
policeman leave of absence without pay for a period not exceeding
six months, unless such period shall be extended by a majority vote
of the entire Council, during which time the member shall be considered
in relation to the fund as being in active service, and he shall not
lose any rights to pension or benefits hereunder, provided that while
on leave of absence he regularly makes a contribution to the fund
in the amount that would be deducted from his pay, if he were on active
duty. The provisions of this section may likewise apply where any
member is prevented by injury or illness from performing his regular
duties if he remains a member of the police force and of the fund,
provided that such leave of absence shall not affect any law, ordinance
or action of Council providing for sick leave or vacations.
A.
All officers may retire and receive benefits after
25 years of service and at least 55 years of age. All officers shall
be entitled to be retired and eligible for a pension upon the recommendation
of the Police Pension Fund Committee or upon application by the officer
to the said Committee for retirement, and said Committee, in either
case, shall order and direct said officer to be paid out of said Police
Pension Fund the yearly pension, payable in monthly installments,
equal to a sum not in excess of 50% of the average salary which he
received for the 60 months immediately preceding his retirement, provided
further that any federal social security payments due any officer
covered by the Police Pension Fund shall not be computed in determining
the amount to be paid said officer out of the Police Pension Fund.
B.
In the event of an officer's death after retirement,
a widow shall receive 50% of the officer's pension until such time
as she remarries or dies; and if there are children under 18 years
of age at the time of her death or remarriage, such children may receive
the same pension as the unmarried widow would have been entitled to
receive, but the right of the child shall only continue until he or
she reaches 18 years of age.
Any policeman aggrieved by any ruling or action
of Council regarding the fund and his relation thereto shall have
the right to a hearing before Council, to be held within 10 days of
his written request therefor, at which he may attend in person, be
represented by counsel and may further require the attendance of any
witnesses on his behalf by subpoena to be issued by the Borough Council
on his written request. Minutes and records shall be kept of testimony
and facts produced, and Council may thereupon make such order and
ruling in the matter as may seem just and lawful.
[1]
Editor's Note: Original Section 12, which
immediately preceded this section and which authorized the discontinuance
of benefits for cause, was repealed 5-14-1975 by Ord. No. 258.
No payments under this article may be assigned
or attached in any manner or for any purpose, reason or cause or under
any circumstances.
The provisions of this article, insofar as they
are the same as the statutory provisions, shall be subject to change
or repeal in order to comply with any future statutory provisions,
and the provisions of this article may be amended or repealed if statutory
authority be granted therefor or statutory restrictions or mandates
are eliminated and discretion vested in the Borough authorities.
The policeman applying for membership in the
fund agrees to be bound by the provisions of this article and by any
future laws or ordinances pertinent to the subject matter of this
article.
[Adopted 2-10-1987 by Ord. No. 315 (Ch.
27, Art. II, of the 1975 Code)]
The Borough of Danville hereby elects to enroll
their police officers in the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System,
established by the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law, Act 15 of
1974, as amended,[1] for the express purpose of having the Pennsylvania Municipal
Retirement System administer the pension plan established by the Borough
for the police officers of the Borough. The Borough of Danville does
hereby agree to be bound by all the requirements and provisions of
the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law, and the amendments thereto,
and to assume all obligations, financial and otherwise, placed upon
member municipalities. All references hereafter shall be based on
benefits negotiated between the Board[2] and the municipality under the provisions of Article IV.[3]
Membership in the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement
System shall be mandatory for all police officers holding a full-time
position with the Police Department.
Credit for prior service toward the annuity
of each original member shall be for all years of service to the Borough
of Danville. The Borough does hereby assume the liability for any
unfunded liability created by the crediting of said prior service
that is not met upon the transfer of accumulated assets, both municipal
and member, upon enrollment in the system.
Payment for the obligation as set forth in this
article and the agreement between the Board and the Borough of Danville
shall be made by the Borough in accordance with said Pennsylvania
Municipal Retirement Law and Act 205 of 1984, the Municipal Pension
Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 895.101
et seq.
As part of this article, the Borough of Danville
agrees to the outline of benefits set forth in the agreement between
the Board and the Borough of Danville, dated February 10, 1986. The
passage and adoption of this article by the Council of the Borough
of Danville is an official acceptance of said benefit structure and
the financial obligations in the administration of said benefit package.
The Borough of Danville acknowledges that a
referendum was conducted among the existing pension plan members for
the purpose of obtaining the consent of the employees to transfer
the administration of the Danville Borough Police Pension Plan to
the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System in accordance with the
above-referenced agreement and that at least 75% of the members concurred
in the enrollment in the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System.
By adoption of this article, the Borough of
Danville agrees to terminate, upon the effective date of membership
in the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System, the previously maintained
police pension program. The Borough elects, as provided in the agreement,
for the existing retirees of the previous plan to also become members
of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System and to have their
benefits also administered by the system. All assets and liability
associated with the existing retirees and their beneficiaries are
to be transferred to the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System.
A duly certified copy of this article and the
accompanying agreement shall be filed with the Pennsylvania Municipal
Retirement Board of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Membership for
the police officers of the Borough of Danville in the Pennsylvania
Municipal Retirement System shall be effective the first day of January
1987.
