The Fireman’s and Policeman’s Civil Service Act, Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code, section 143.001 et seq., is hereby adopted by the city in toto as the standard and requirement for all civil service activity in the city.
(1972 Code, sec. 9-1; Ordinance 2642 adopted 12/1/1987; 1995 Code, sec. 34.01)
(a) 
On behalf of the city, the city council hereby exercises its option and elects to have the employees of the city, including those firemen not covered by the firemen’s relief and retirement fund, but excluding the balance of the fire department, participate in the Texas Municipal Retirement System as provided in House Bill 29, chapter 75, page 108, Acts of the 50th Legislature in 1947, being Tex. Gov’t Code, section 851.001 et seq., and all of the benefits and obligations of such system are hereby accepted.
(b) 
The city manager is hereby directed to notify the board of trustees of the Texas Municipal Retirement System that the city has elected to participate and have the employees of the city, including firemen not covered by the firemen’s relief and retirement fund, but excluding the balance of the fire department, participate in such system.
(c) 
Each person who becomes an employee of any participating department on or after the effective date of participation of such department shall be included within and subject to the provisions of the Texas Municipal Retirement System beginning upon the date such person becomes an “employee” as defined in subsection 14, section 2 of such system.
(d) 
The city may in the future refuse to add new departments or new employees to such system, but shall never discontinue as to any participants.
(e) 
The city secretary is hereby directed to remit to the board of trustees of the Texas Municipal Retirement System, at is office in Austin, Texas, the city’s proper contributions to the system and the amounts which shall be deducted from the compensation or payroll of employees, all as required by said board under the provisions of chapter 75, Acts of the 50th Legislature of the State of Texas, 1947, and the city secretary is hereby authorized and directed to ascertain and certify officially, on behalf of the city, the prior service rendered to the city by each of the employees of the participating departments, and the average prior service compensation received by each, and to make and execute all other reports and certificates which may be required of the city under the provisions of chapter 24, Acts of the Regular Session 50th Legislature, or the rules and regulations of the board of trustees of the Texas Municipal Retirement System.
(f) 
Any employee of the city who is a member of the system is eligible to retire and receive a service retirement annuity if the member has at least 20 years of credited service in the system performed for one or more municipalities that have adopted a like provision under section 854.202(g) of the TMRS Act.
(Ordinance 711 adopted 2/16/1950; Ordinance 1403 adopted 3/3/1970; Ordinance 1448 adopted 11/10/1970; 1972 Code, sec. 2-41; Ordinance 2294 adopted 9/20/1983; 1995 Code, sec. 34.20 Ordinance 3226 adopted 1/7/1997; Ordinance 3246 adopted 5/6/1997; Resolution 3582 adopted 8/6/2002; Ordinance 3983 adopted 7/1/2007)
(a) 
The city hereby elects to provide health benefits.
(b) 
The city hereby adopts the following definition of employee, dependent and retiree for purposes of this section:
Dependent.
Current spouse, or the covered employee’s or retiree’s unmarried child(ren) who is less than age 19 and is living within the household of the covered person, but coverage could extend to attainment of age 24 while attending an accredited educational institution on a full-time basis, excluding anyone who resides outside the United States or Canada, is in the armed forces of any country, or has coverage under a group plan as an employee.
Employee.
Full-time employee scheduled to work more than 32 hours per week on a regular basis.
Retiree.
An employee who has ceased full-time, active employment with the city and meets the city’s guidelines as a retiree.
(c) 
The city hereby adopts the following benefit plans to be provided to its employees, dependents and retirees through the city:
(1) 
Medical plan.
(2) 
Medical plan adopted for retirees and their dependents.
(d) 
The city will cover current employees under the retirement plan of the city. Employees hired before 1/1/05 will be eligible to obtain coverage under the retiree health plan offered by the city at the time the employee becomes eligible for retirement. Employees hired on 1/1/05 and after will not be eligible for retiree health coverage. From time to time, it will be necessary to change the amounts charged to the employee and to the retirees covered under the health plan to enable the health plan to pay for expenses incurred on behalf of the covered employees, dependents and retirees.
(e) 
The covered individual will need to meet the benefit plan’s eligibility requirements for an employee, dependent, or retiree to access the healthcare benefits.
(1995 Code, sec. 34.21; Ordinance 3375 adopted 3/2/1999; Ordinance 3723A adopted 11/16/2004)
(a) 
The city has adopted an internal grievance procedure providing for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints alleging any action prohibited in section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (24 C.F.R. part 8). Section 504 states, in part, that “no otherwise qualified handicapped individual ... shall, solely by reason of his handicap, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance ...”
(b) 
The city has designated a coordinator for Section 504 compliance efforts.
(1) 
A complaint should be filed in writing or verbally, contain the name and address of the person filing it, and briefly describe the alleged violation of the regulations.
(2) 
A complaint should be filed within 15 days after the complainant becomes aware of the alleged violation. (Processing of allegations of discrimination occurring before this grievance procedure was in place will be considered on a case-by-case basis.)
(3) 
An investigation, as may be appropriate, shall follow a filing of a complaint. The investigation will be conducted by the city manager. These rules contemplate informal but thorough investigations, affording all interested persons and their representatives, if any, an opportunity to submit evidence relevant to a complaint.
(4) 
A written determination as to the validity of the complaint and description of resolution, if any, shall be issued by the city manager and a copy forwarded to the complainant no later than 15 days after its filing.
(5) 
The Section 504 coordinator shall maintain the files and records of the city relating to the complaint files.
(6) 
The complainant can request a reconsideration of the case in instances where he or she is dissatisfied with the resolution. The request for reconsideration should be made within 15 days to the city manager.
(7) 
The right of a person to a prompt and equitable resolution of the complaint filed hereunder shall not be impaired by the person’s pursuit of other remedies such as the filing of a Section 504 complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Utilization of this grievance procedure is not a prerequisite to the pursuit of other remedies.
(8) 
These rules shall be construed to protect the substantive rights of interested persons, to meet appropriate due process standards and to assure the city complies with Section 504.
(1995 Code, sec. 34.30; Resolution 3194 adopted 7/16/1996)