Ordinance No. 2024-14 Amending Chapter 36 Retirement - Police Pension Plan and Trust Fund - September 3, 2024 CITY OF AVENTURA ORDINANCE NO. 2024-14
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF AVENTURA, FLORIDA, AMENDING
CHAPTER 36 "RETIREMENT", ARTICLE II "POLICE PENSION PLAN
AND TRUST FUND", BY AMENDING SECTION 36-37 "TIME OF HIRE";
PROVIDING FOR REPEAL; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY;
PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE CODE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of Aventura (the "City") maintains a defined benefit pension
plan for its certified police officers, which is known as the City of Aventura Police Officers'
Retirement Plan ("Retirement Plan"), and which is codified in Chapter 36 of the City Code
of Ordinances; and
WHEREAS, prior to the establishment of the Retirement Plan, certain police officer
members participated in a City-sponsored 401 a defined contribution plan ("401 a Plan")
which was funded entirely by contributions from the City as the employer; and
WHEREAS, on or about October 7, 2003, the City and the South Florida Police
Benevolent Association ("PBA"), on behalf of certain police officer members, entered into
an Addendum to their initial Collective Bargaining Agreement covering the period from
October 1, 2002 to September 30, 2005 (the "Addendum"); and
WHEREAS, the City and the PBA now desire to allow all police officer members
of the Retirement Plan to purchase service credit under the same or similar terms as
members hired prior to October 1 , 2000; and
WHEREAS, the City and the PBA have entered into a Memorandum of
Understanding, dated July 2, 2024 ("MOU"), setting forth their agreement for certain
police officer members hired after October 1 , 2000 but before October 1 , 2003, to receive
credited service in the Retirement Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the City of Aventura Police Officers'
Retirement Plan has recommended an amendment to the Retirement Plan to comply with
the MOU; and
WHEREAS, the trustees of the City of Aventura Police Officers' Retirement Plan
have requested and approved the amendments provided herein as being in the best
interests of the participants and beneficiaries and improving the administration of the
Plan; and
City of Aventura Ordinance No. 2024-14
WHEREAS, the City Commission has received and reviewed an actuarial impact
statement related to this change; and
WHEREAS, the City Commission deems it to be in the public interest to provide
this change to the Retirement Plan for its police officers.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE
CITY OF AVENTURA, FLORIDA':
Section 1. That each of the above-stated recitals are hereby adopted and
confirmed.
Section 2. That Chapter 36 "Retirement," Article II "Police Pension Plan and
Trust Fund," Section 36-37, "Time of hire", of the City Code of Ordinances be amended
as follows:
Sec. 36-37. - Time of hire.
(a) Employees hired as a City of Aventura Police Officer prior to
October 1 , 2000 shall be eligible to receive credited service from
the initial date of employment as a police officer at the plan's three
percent benefit accrual rate, provided the employee transfers all
funds from the City 401(a) plan to the defined benefit plan effective
October 1 , 2003. Employees hired as a City of Aventura Police
Officer prior to October 1 , 2000 who elect not to transfer all funds
from the City 401(a) plan shall only receive prior credited service at
a two percent benefit accrual rate. The City shall make no further
contributions to the 401(a) plan.
Employees hired as a City of Aventura Police Officer on or after
October 1 , 2000 shall receive credited service effective October 1 ,
2003 and shall retain all balances to their credit in the 401(a) plan;
provided, however, that the City shall make no further contributions
to the 401(a) plan. Employees hired as a City of Aventura Police
Officer on or after October 1 , 2000 shall continue to accrue vesting
rights in the 401(a), but the City shall make no additional
contributions.
(c) Notwithstanding (b) above, Aany employee hired on or after
October 1 , 2000 and prior to October 1 , 2003, and named in the
Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Aventura and
the Police Benevolent Association, dated February 26, 2018 may
Words in str eeu type are deletions from exist text and word in underline type are additions to existing
text.
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City ofAventura Ordinance No. 2024-14
purchase credited service for service rendered to the City as a
police officer between October 1 , 2000 and September 30, 2003 as
set forth below:
(1) Said election shall be made in writing no later than August
31 , 2018 on a form approved by the Board of Trustees;
(2) Subject to Paragraph d. of Subsection (6) below, prior to the
employee's separation from service with the City for any
reason, the employee shall pay the full actuarial cost of the
purchase, as determined by the plan's actuary;
(3) The employee shall pay in advance any expenses related to
the actuarial calculation, as determined by the Board of
Trustees;
(4) The payment shall be made by either, or a combination, of
the following means:
a. Trustee to trustee transfer from an eligible retirement
plan or a 457 plan; and
b. Installment payments including interest at the plan's
actuarially assumed rate of investment return
pursuant to an irrevocable payroll deduction
authorization as set forth in Subsection (6) below.
(5) Any years and months of service purchased hereunder shall
be treated as credited service within the meaning of Section
36-22 of the retirement plan.
(6) Installment payments shall be subject to the following
conditions:
a. The employee must execute an irrevocable payroll
deduction authorization form, specifying the amount
of the bi-weekly deductions and the duration of the
authorization. The specified amount shall be that
determined by the plan's actuary to be sufficient to pay
the entire actuarial cost of the purchase within the
specified duration of the payroll deduction
authorization, which duration shall not extend beyond
the earlier of:
1 . Three years from the date of the employee's
first paycheck after September 30, 2018; and
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City ofAventura Ordinance No. 2024-14
2. The earliest date upon which the employee
would become eligible for normal retirement
under Section 36-26.
b. The deducted amounts shall be contributed to the
retirement plan and shall be considered employee
contributions that are "picked-up" (within the meaning
of Section 414(h)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code) by
the City. The employee shall not be entitled to any
option of directly receiving cash in lieu of the amounts
subject to deduction. Picked-up contributions shall be
made from the same source as the payment of salary
and wages to the employee;
C. The amount provided in the payroll deduction
authorization shall include interest, as calculated by
the plan's actuary, at the retirement plan's actuarially
assumed rate of return on investments.
d. If, upon the date of the employee's separation from
service with the City for any reason, there remains an
unpaid balance of the actuarial cost of the purchase,
then the employee shall receive years (and fractions
thereof) of service credit in accordance with the
amount of the cost paid prior to separation.
(d) Notwithstanding (b) and (c) above, any employee hired on or after
October 1 , 2000 and prior to October 1 , 2003, and named in the
Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Aventura and
the Police Benevolent Association, dated July 2, 2024, ("Eligible
Employee") shall receive Credited Service at a two percent (2%)
benefit accrual rate for service rendered to the City as a police
officer between October 1 , 2000 and September 30, 2003.
Alternatively, such Eligible Employees may elect to purchase
Credited Service at a three percent (3%) benefit accrual rate for
service rendered to the City as a police officer between October 1 ,
2000 and September 30, 2003, as set forth below:
(1) Eligible Employees' election shall be made in writing no later
than July 31 , 2024, on a form approved by the Board of
Trustees; and
(2) Employees electing to purchase Credited Service at the
three percent (3%) benefit accrual rate shall pay for such
service no later than September 30, 2024, by rolling over to
the Retirement Plan the entire balance in their city-sponsored
401 a Plan attributable to their service as police officers for the
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City of Aventura Ordinance No. 2024-14
City of Aventura, inclusive of repayment of any loans taken
from their respective 401 a accounts. Notwithstanding, any
such Eligible Employees who had previously made payments
to the Retirement Plan for the purchase of prior Credited
Service for the period of employment as a police officer
between October 1 , 2000 and September 30, 2003, pursuant
to subsection (c) hereof, and who timely elects to purchase
service at the three percent benefit accrual rate under this
subsection (d), shall only roll over the difference between the
balance in their city-sponsored 401 a Plan attributable to their
service as police officers as described herein minus the
amount already paid to the Retirement Plan for Credited
Service purchased pursuant to subsection (c) hereof.
Section 3. Repeal. All sections or parts of sections of the Code of Ordinances
of the City of Aventura, all ordinances or parts of ordinances, and all resolutions or parts
of resolutions in conflict herewith, be and the same are hereby repealed to the extent of
such conflict.
Section 4. Severability. Should any section or provision of this Ordinance, or
any paragraph, sentence or word, be declared by a Court of competent jurisdiction to be
invalid, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remainder hereof, as a whole or a
part hereof, other than the part declared to be invalid.
Section 5. Inclusion in the Code. It is the intention of the City Commission of
the City of Aventura that the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made a
part of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Aventura and that the sections of this
Ordinance may be renumbered or relettered and the word "ordinance" may be changed
to "Chapter", "Section", "Article", or such other appropriate word or phrase, the use of
which shall accomplish the intentions herein expressed.
Section 6. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall be effective upon passage by
the City Commission on second reading.
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City ofAventura Ordinance No. 2024-14
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner Kruss, who moved its
adoption on first reading. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Bloom, and upon
being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Amit Bloom Yes
Commissioner Rachel S. Friedland Yes
Commissioner Billy Joel Yes
Commissioner Paul A. Kruss Yes
Commissioner Michael Stern Yes
Vice Mayor Dr. Linda Marks Yes
Mayor Howard Weinberg Yes
The foregoing Ordinance was offered by Commissioner Joel, who moved its
adoption on second reading. This motion was seconded by Commissioner Kruss, upon
being put to a vote, the vote was as follows:
Commissioner Amit Bloom Yes
Commissioner Rachel S. Friedland Yes
Commissioner Billy Joel Yes
Commissioner Paul A. Kruss Yes
Vice Mayor Dr. Linda Marks Yes
Mayor Howard Weinberg Yes
PASSED on first reading this 2nd day of July, 2024.
PASSED AND ADOPTED on second reading this 3rd day of September, 2024.
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City ofAventura Ordinance No. 2024-14
•
OWARD S. WEINBERG, ES
MAYOR
ATTEST:
ELLISA L. HORVA MMC
CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL SUFFICIENCY:
'. I A
ROBERT MEYERS
CITYATTORNEY
WEISS SEROTA HELFMAN COLE + BIERMAN, P.L.
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