§ 1. Definitions.
1.
Town means Town of Orange Park, Florida.
2.
Agreement means this written instrument setting forth the provision of the retirement system.
3.
System means the Town of Orange Park Police Officers' Retirement System as contained herein and all amendments hereto.
4.
Fund means the trust fund established herein as part of the system, including any amount due or transferred from New York Life Contract Number GA-893.
5.
Board means the Board of Trustees, which shall administer and manage the system herein provided and serve as Trustees for the fund.
6.
Employee shall mean all actively employed employees of the Town, including those in their initial probationary employment period, classified as full-time sworn police officers, but excluding any civilian Members of the police department and any temporary or contract employees.
7.
Member means an actively employed employee who fulfills the prescribed participation requirements and all terminated employees who are receiving or entitled to receive benefits hereunder. Specifically excluded from Membership hereunder are those persons already terminated with vested benefits, retired, and/or otherwise entitled to benefit payments, whose entire benefit is provided through funds transferred from Group Annuity Contract Number GA-893.
8.
Credited service means the total number of years and completed months of continuous uninterrupted service with the Town as an employee. Credited service shall not be deemed to be interrupted by, and the Member shall not receive benefit credit for, periods of time during which the Member is on an authorized leave of absence.
A.
No police officer will receive credit for years or fractional parts of years of service if he or she has withdrawn his or her contributions to the fund for those years or fractional parts of years of service, unless the police officer repays into the fund the amount he or she has withdrawn, plus interest as determined by the board. The member shall have at least 90 days after his or her reemployment to make repayment.
B.
A police officer may voluntarily leave his or her contributions in the fund for a period of 5 years after leaving the employ of the police department, pending the possibility of his or her being rehired by the same department, without losing credit for the time he or she has participated actively as a police officer. If he or she is not reemployed as a police officer with the same department within 5 years, his or her contributions shall be returned to him or her without interest.
C.
In determining the creditable service of any police officer, credit for up to 5 years of the time spent in the military service of the Armed Forces of the United States shall be added to the years of actual service, if:
1.
The police officer is in the active employ of the municipality prior to such service and leaves a position, other than a temporary position, for the purpose of voluntary or involuntary service in the Armed Forces of the United States.
2.
The police officer is entitled to reemployment under the provisions of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.
3.
The police officer returns to his or her employment as a police officer of the municipality within 1 year from the date of his or her release from such active service. Effective January 1, 2007, Members who die while serving on active duty military service which intervenes the Member's employment shall be entitled to the rights of this section even though such Member was not re-employed by the Town. Members who die while on active duty military service shall be treated as though re-employed the day before the Member died, was credited with the service they would have been entitled to under this section, and then died a non-duty death while employed.
9.
Earnings means cash remuneration to a police officer for services rendered to the Town in the form of base pay, overtime pay, commissions, and bonuses, and including certain hours of accrued sick leave and vacation pay as of the effective date of this Ordinance. Earnings do not include allowances for a car, travel/per diem, education, uniform/clothing, insurance, housing, liaison, utility, cellular telephone, weapons, and any additional allowances provided after September 16, 2003. The amendment of the definition of Earnings as to include accrued sick leave and vacation pay shall not apply retroactively but only as of September 16, 2003 and only to Members who are on the Town's payroll as of September 16, 2003.
Effective March 24, 2015, overtime included in Earnings is limited to 300 hours per Member per year. Prior to March 24, 2015, all overtime is included in the definition of Earnings. No hours of unused accumulated sick and vacation leave earned after March 24, 2015, shall be considered Earnings, however, members may include all hours earned as of March 23, 2015, provided that amount of hours is cashed in at retirement.
Beginning with earnings after December 31, 2008, and pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 414(u)(7), the definition of Earnings includes amounts paid by the Town as differential wages to members who are absent from employment while on qualified military service.
10.
Average Monthly Earnings means one-twelfth of the arithmetic average of earnings for the five (5) highest years of service of the ten (10) years immediately preceding the retirement or termination of a Member.
For Members hired by the Town prior to June 3, 2014, the Member's average monthly earnings at retirement will be no less than the average monthly earnings accrued using the three (3) highest years of service of the last ten (10) years immediately preceding June 3, 2014.
11.
Beneficiary means the person or persons entitled to receive benefits hereunder at the death of a Member and filed with the Board. If no such designation is in effect at the time of death of the Member, or if no person so designated is living at that time, the beneficiary shall be the estate of the Member.
12.
Spouse means the lawful wife or husband of a Member at the time of pre-retirement death or retirement.
13.
Effective date means January 7, 1975.
14.
Accumulated contributions means a Member's own contribution to the retirement system at a rate of not less than six and five-tenths (6.5) percent of gross earnings for employees hired before the Effective Date of this Ordinance, until employees reach the greater of the maximum accrual of 90% of average monthly earnings or the total level accrued at the end of fiscal year 2012/2013, to be deducted from each Member's earnings effective upon adoption of this Ordinance. For employees hired before the Effective Date of this Ordinance, the contribution shall be reduced to three (3.0) percent of gross earnings once such employees reach the maximum accrual of 90% of average monthly earnings, to be deducted from each Member's earnings effective upon adoption of this Ordinance. Employees hired on or after the Effective Date of this Ordinance shall contribute at a rate of not less than six and five-tenths (6.5) percent of gross earnings, to be deducted from each Member's earnings effective upon adoption of this Ordinance, with a maximum accrual of 75% of average monthly earnings.
[September 16, 2003]
15.
Police Officer means any person who is elected, appointed, or employed full time by the Town, who is certified or required to be certified as a law enforcement officer in compliance with Florida Statutes § 943.1395, who is vested with authority to bear arms and make arrests, and whose primary responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway laws of the state. This definition includes all certified supervisory and command personnel whose duties include, in whole or in part, the supervision, training, guidance, and management responsibilities of full-time law enforcement officers, part-time law enforcement officers or auxiliary law enforcement officers, but does not include part-time law enforcement officers or auxiliary law enforcement officers as the same are defined in Florida Statutes § 943.10(6) and (8), respectively. "Police officer" also shall include a public safety officer who is responsible for performing both police and fire services.
16.
Actuarial equivalent value, actuarial equivalence, or single sum value means the stated determination using an interest rate of 8 percent per year and the 1983 Group Annuity Mortality Table.
17.
Vested means that a Member is entitled to a non-forfeitable benefit from the Plan. A Member becomes vested in this Plan after 5 years of service.
18.
Vested deferred retirement means a Member who leaves the employ of the Department with 5 or more years of credited service and who is not eligible for any retirement benefit under the Plan. This benefit is payable at early or normal retirement.
19.
The masculine gender includes the feminine and words in singular with respect to persons shall include the plural and vice versa.
(Ord. No. 8-87, § 1, 4-7-1987; Ord. No. 20-94, § 1, 12-6-1994; Ord. No. 18-99, § 1, 12-7-1999; Ord. No. 10-03, 9-16-2003; Ord. No. 06-10, 5-18-2010; Ord. No. 16-12, § 1, 11-13-2012; Ord. No. 12-14, § 1, 6-3-2014; Ord. No. 04-15, § 1, 3-24-2015)