Bill Text: NC H347 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Amend Greensboro Fire Retirement/Charter
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)
Status: (Passed) 2013-07-09 - Ch. SL 2013-252 [H347 Detail]
Download: North_Carolina-2013-H347-Introduced.html
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2013
H D
HOUSE DRH30180-LL-92 (03/06)
Short Title: Amend Greensboro Firefighters' Retirement. |
(Local) |
|
Sponsors: |
Representative Faircloth. |
|
Referred to: |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to amend the greensboro firefighters' supplemental retirement system.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. Chapter 899 of the 1953 Session Laws, as amended by Chapter 289 of the 1979 Session Laws, Chapter 466 of the 1983 Session Laws, Chapter 178 of the 1987 Session Laws, and Chapter 431 of the 1993 Session Laws, reads as rewritten:
"Section 1. There is hereby created and
established a supplemental retirement system for the members of the Fire
Department of the City of Greensboro to be known as the 'Greensboro Firemen's
Firefighters' Supplemental Retirement System', hereinafter referred
to in this Act as 'supplemental retirement system.' The purpose of the creation
and establishment of the supplemental retirement system, as provided for in
this Act, shall be to increase, augment and add to the benefits received by the
firemen of the City of Greensboro who have already retired and who may
hereafter retire and become eligible for benefits under the provisions of the
North Carolina Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System in the sums and
amounts hereinafter provided under this Act. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 58‑84‑35,
the board of trustees of the Firemen's Firefighters' Relief Fund
of the City of Greensboro, duly appointed under G.S. 58‑84‑30,
shall pay over to the board of trustees of the Greensboro Firemen's
Supplemental Retirements System into the Supplemental Retirement System
on July 1 of each year all sums entrusted to the Relief Fund's board of
trustees in excess of the sum of ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
"Sec. 2. The general administration and
responsibility for the proper operation of the supplemental retirement system
herein created and established and for the carrying out and making effective
the provisions of this Act are hereby vested in a board of trustees who
shall be chosen and selected as follows: the Board of Trustees of the
Firefighters' Relief Fund of the City of Greensboro, duly appointed under G.S. 58‑84‑30.
(a) Two members of said board of trustees
shall be chosen from the membership of the Greensboro Fire Department and shall
be elected by a majority vote of the uniformed members of the Fire Department
of the City of Greensboro; one of said members shall hold office for a period
of one year, and the other member so appointed shall hold office for a period
of two years; thereafter, each of said two members chosen from the Greensboro
Fire Department shall be appointed for a term of office consisting of a period
of two years each.
The members of the Board of Trustees of the Greensboro Firemen's Supplemental Retirement System serving upon the abolition of that Board shall serve as ex officio members of the Board of Trustees of the Firefighters' Relief Fund of the City of Greensboro without privilege of voting on matters before that Board.
(b) Two members shall be appointed by the
President of the Greensboro Fire Insurance Exchange; one of said members shall
hold office for a period of one year, the other member so appointed shall hold
office for a period of two years; and thereafter, each of said members shall be
appointed for a term of office consisting of a period of two years.
(c) One member of said board of trustees is
to be a member of the Greensboro City Council and shall be elected for a term
of two years by a majority vote of the City Council of the City of Greensboro.
All members of the board of trustees shall be elected or
appointed as specified in Section 2 (a), (b) and (c) prior to the third Tuesday
in May. They shall take office on the third Tuesday in May. Any member of said
board of trustees shall be eligible to succeed himself or herself, and all
vacancies occurring in the membership of the board of trustees by death,
resignation, disqualification or otherwise shall be filled by a special
election for the members elected in Section 2 (a) and (c), to fill the
unexpired term, and likewise by special appointment under Section 2 (b).
(d) The board of trustees shall be organized
immediately after the trustees provided for in this Section shall have
qualified and taken the oath of office. The board of trustees shall be a body
politic and corporate under the name of the Board of Trustees of Greensboro
Firemen's Supplemental Retirement System, and as a body politic and corporate
shall have the right to sue and be sued, shall have perpetual succession and a
common seal, and in said corporate name shall be able and capable in law to
take, receive and demand and possess all kinds of property hereinafter
specified, and to bargain, sell, grant, alien, or dispose of all such property
as it may lawfully acquire. All such property owned or acquired by said body
politic and corporate shall be exempt from all taxes imposed by the State or
any political subdivision thereof and shall not be subject to income taxes.
(e) The board of trustees Board of
Trustees may invest and deposit funds received under this act to any of
those classes of securities, including certificates of deposits, as authorized
for local government pursuant to G.S. 159‑30.
(f) Compensation of Trustees. The members
of the Board of Trustees of the Greensboro Firemen's Supplemental Retirement
System shall serve without compensation, but they shall be reimbursed for all
necessary expenses incurred through service upon said board.
(g) Each trustee shall, within 10 days after
his appointment, take an oath of office before the mayor that, so far as it
devolves upon him, he will diligently and honestly administer the affairs of
said board and that he will not knowingly violate or willingly permit to be
violated any of the provisions of law applicable to the retirement system. Such
oath shall be subscribed to by the member making it, and certified by the
officer by whom it is taken, and immediately filed in the office of the city clerk.
(h) Meetings. The board of trustees shall
hold regular quarterly meetings at such time and place as the board may
determine. In addition thereto, the chairman or vice‑chairman of the
board of trustees may call special meetings and upon request of two members of
the board of trustees in writing, shall call a special meeting of the board of
trustees. When so called, the secretary shall give notice in person or by
special delivery mail to all members of the board at least 24 hours prior to
such meeting, specifying the purpose of such meeting and time and place. The
business of the special meeting shall be limited to the purpose as set forth in
the notice.
(i) Voting rights. Each trustee shall be
entitled to one vote. Three affirmative votes shall be necessary for a decision
by the trustees at any meeting of said board and the chairman shall only vote
in case of a tie.
(j) The chairman shall preside at all
meetings and in his absence the vice‑chairman shall preside.
(k) Officers. The Chairman, Vice‑Chairman,
Secretary and the Treasurer of the Greensboro Firemen's Supplemental Retirement
System shall be elected by the board of trustees from the membership of the
board at the first organizational meeting and thereafter at the first regular
quarterly meeting in each year.
(l) Rules and Regulations. Subject to the
limitations of this Act, the board of trustees shall, from time to time,
establish rules and regulations for the administration of the funds created by
this Act and for the transaction of its business. The board of trustees shall
also, from time to time, in its discretion, adopt rules and regulations to
prevent injustices and inequalities which might arise in the administration of
this Act.
(m) Evaluation. The secretary shall keep in
convenient form, at a place designated by the trustees, such data as shall be
necessary for evaluating the system and for checking the expense of the system.
(n) Record of Proceedings. Annual Report.
The board of trustees shall keep a record of all its proceedings which shall be
open to public inspection. It shall publish at the end of each fiscal year a
report showing the fiscal transactions of the system for the preceding year,
the amount of the accumulated cash of the system, and the last balance sheet,
showing the financial condition of the system, including the valuation of the
assets and liabilities of the retirement system. A copy of such annual report
shall be provided for each of the fire stations of the City of Greensboro. The
term 'fiscal year', as used in this Act, shall be defined to mean a period of
time from July 1st to June 30th, inclusive.
(o) Legal Adviser. The attorney or attorneys
for the City of Greensboro shall be the legal adviser or advisers of the board
of trustees.
(p) Custodian of Funds. Disbursements. Bond
of Treasurer. The treasurer shall handle all funds. The treasurer shall furnish
such bond as shall be required by the board of trustees. He shall be custodian
of all funds paid into the Greensboro Firemen's Supplemental Retirement System
and shall deposit said funds in a bank or banks designated by the board of
trustees. The premium for said bond shall be paid out of the funds of the
system. All payments from such funds shall be made by him only upon voucher
signed by two persons designated by the board of trustees. The books of the
system shall be audited each two years and when a new treasurer is elected by a
certified public accountant, and said report shall be presented at the first
regular quarterly meeting of each year.
(q) Liabilities of Trustees. No member of
the board of trustees shall be personally liable by reason of his service as a
trustee for any acts performed by him as a trustee, except for malfeasance in
office.
(r) Trustee Member Disqualified. In the
event any uniformed member shall make application for benefits under this Act,
and shall at such time be serving as a member of the board of trustees, he
shall first disqualify himself and his vacancy shall be filled before the board
of trustees receives such application.
"Sec. 3. There is hereby created and established
in the Greensboro Firemen's Firefighters' Supplemental Retirement
System a fund to be known as the 'supplemental retirement fund' and hereinafter
referred to as the 'fund'. The fund shall consist of all moneys and funds paid
into the system from the Firemen's Firefighters' Relief Fund of
the City of Greensboro from time to time and as provided by law; all gifts of
money, property of all kinds and description, proceeds from property of all
kinds and description, all moneys, funds or property transferred to the fund by
will, devise, bequest or by other means provided by law for the transfer or
devolution of property, donations and gifts made by the firemen of the City of
Greensboro, investments, earnings on investments, interest, dividends and any
other funds or property that may accrue to the fund, and the board of trustees
is authorized to accept gifts, devises and bequests, and any property or funds
that may in anywise be transferred in operation of law. The moneys and property
of the fund may be invested by the board of trustees as heretofore provided in
this Act. Refunds may be made from the fund to anyone entitled thereby by
reason of clerical mistake or any clerical error or inadvertence. The fund
shall be liable for the payment of the supplemental benefits hereinafter
referred to and defined. Any donations made to the Greensboro City Fire
Department in excess of the amount of one hundred dollars ($100.00) may be
given and transferred to the fund by a majority vote of the members of the
Greensboro City Fire Department. The fund shall be liable for all reasonable
and necessary expenses of administration as shall be determined by the board of
trustees.
"Sec. 4. Eligibility for supplemental benefits. For the purpose of this Section 'supplemental benefit' as used in this Section shall be defined to mean any sum of money payable by the fund to a fireman of the Greensboro City Fire Department who retires from the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System, as established by Article 3 of Chapter 128 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, including disability retirement, as provided in said system. On and after July 1, 1983, all firemen of the Greensboro City Fire Department who have attained 30 years of creditable service or who have attained the age of 55 years and who retire from the Local Governmental Employees' Retirement System, including disability retirement, as provided in the system, shall receive a minimum supplemental benefit of twenty‑five dollars ($25.00) per month, except that the total amount paid all retired members of the Greensboro City Fire Department shall not exceed eighty percent (80%) of the income received by the fund during the preceding fiscal year from interest on investment of capital funds, plus the amount derived from other sources; provided, that firemen who have retired prior to July 1, 1983, and who have not attained 30 years of creditable service or who have not attained the age of 55 years shall receive benefits equal to benefits paid other retired firemen under this retirement system. In the event that eighty percent (80%) of the income above mentioned is insufficient to pay such minimum of twenty‑five dollars ($25.00) per month to each person receiving supplemental benefit, the amount shall be equally prorated among the retired members of the Greensboro City Fire Department. Each retired fireman receiving supplemental benefit in accordance with this act shall receive the same amount of supplemental benefit per month; provided, that the maximum payment to any retired member of the Greensboro City Fire Department from said fund shall be one hundred thirty dollars ($130.00) per month. All amounts received for the fund, except eighty percent (80%) of the interest and funds received from other sources, which is to be used for the payment of supplemental benefits to retired members of the Greensboro City Fire Department, as herein provided, together with any part of said eighty percent (80%) which is not paid out during the next fiscal year, shall become a part of said fund and may be invested as provided in this Act. Should any fireman die, subsequent to the payment of a supplemental benefit for any preceding month and prior to the payment of any supplemental benefit in the month in which such fireman dies, then such supplemental benefit for that month shall be paid to the deceased fireman's personal representative. The board of trustees shall have the authority and power to promulgate rules and regulations to the end that the supplemental benefits herein provided may be properly administered and carried out and for the purpose of achieving the objectives herein sought.
"Sec. 5. The provisions of Section 4 of this Act shall not become effective as to the payment of any supplemental benefits thereunder until on and after July 1, 1953.
"Sec. 6. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.
"Sec. 7. None of the provisions of this act shall
create a liability for the Greensboro Firemen's Firefighters'
Supplemental Retirement System or for the State of North Carolina unless
sufficient current assets are available in the fund to pay fully for this
liability."
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law.