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1689 ORDINANCE NO. 1689 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SANFORD, FLORIDA, ENACTING INTO LAW AN AMENDED PENSION PLAN FOR FIREFIGHTERS; PROVIDING FOR IMPROVED DISABILITY BENEFITS; PROVIDING FOR A LOWER RETIREMENT AGE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; REPEALING ALL ORDINANCES IN CONFLICT HEREWITH; AND, PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE HEREOF. WHEREAS, the City of Sanford, Florida, Firefighters are presently provided pension and certain other benefits under Chapter 175, Florida Statutes, and WHEREAS, the City Commission desires to provide certain increased retirement benefits for the Firefighters of the City, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY OF SANFORD, FLORIDA, AS FOLLOWS: Section 1: That this Ordinance Number 1689 be adopted to read as follows: DEFINITIONS. As used herein, unless otherwise defined or required by the context, the following words and phrases shall have the meaning indicated: 1. . City means City of Sanford, Florida. 2. Agreement means this written instrument setting forth the provisions of the Retirement System. 3. .System means the City of Sanford Firefighters' Retirement System as contained herein and all amendments thereto. 4. Fund means the Trust Fund established herein as part of the System. 5. Board means the Board of Trustees, which shall administer and manage the System herein provided and serve as Trustees of the Fund. 6. Employee shall mean all actively employed employees of the City, including those in their initial probationary employment period, classified as full-time Firefighters, but excluding any civilian members of the Fire 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. 8. Credited Service means the total number of years and completed months of service with the City as an Employee during which Member Contributions have been made to the System. No credit will be given toward Credited Service for service for which the Employee has received a refund of Accumulated Contributions. 9. Earnings means base pay. 10. Average Monthly Earnings means 1/12th of the arithmetic average of annual Earnings (base pay) for the ten (10) highest years of service of the fifteen (15) years immediately preceeding the retirement or termination of a Member. 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. Accumulated Contributions means a Member's own contributions to the Fund, assessed at the rate of 2.6% of Earnings, plus amounts contributed on behalf of the Member at the rate of 5% of Earnings. 13. Spouse means thelawful wife or husband. of a Member-at the time of pre-retirement death or retirement. 14. Effective Date means January 1, 1984. Section 2: MEMBERSHIP 1. Conditions and Eligibility All Members of this System on the Effective Date shall continue participating hereunder. All future new Employees, shall become Members as a condition of employment. 2. Application for Membership Each eligible Employee shall complete an application form covering the following items as well as such other items as may be prescribed by the Board: A. Acceptance of the terms and conditions of the Retirement System, and B. Designation of a Beneficiary and Contingent Beneficiaries. 3. Change in Designation of Beneficiary A Member may from time to time change his designated Beneficiary by written notice to the Board upon forms provided by the Board. Upon such change the rights of all previously designated Beneficiaries to receive any benefits under the System shall cease. Section 3: BENEFIT AMOUNTS AND ELIGIBILITY 1. Retirement Dates A. Normal Retirement - a Member's Normal Retirement Date shall be the first day of the month coincident with or next following the earlier of the attainment of age sixty (60) or the completion of twenty-five (25) years of Credited Service. A Member may retire on his Normal Retirement Date or on the first day of any month thereafter. Each Member shall become 100% vested i~' his accrued benefit on his Normal Retirement Date. B. Early Retirement - A Member may retire on his Early Retirement Date which shall be the first day of any month coincident with or next following both the attainment of age forty-five (45) and the completion of ten (10) years of Credited Service. C. Delayed Retirement - An employee may remain on active employment beyond the Normal Retirement Date in accordance with the City Policy. The Delayed Retirement Date shall be the first day of the month coincident with, or next following, actual retirement. Nothing herein contained shall be construed to give any Employee the right to be retained in the employ of the City or to interfere with the right of the City to terminate the employment of any Employee at any time, to have any right or interest in the Fund other than as is herein provided. 3 2. Retirement Benefit A. Normal or Delayed - a Member retiring hereunder on or after his Normal Retirement Date shall receive a monthly benefit which shall commence on his Retirement Date and be continued thereafter during his lifetime, ceasing upon death. If, after payment commences, the Me'mber should become deceased before one hundred twenty (120) monthly payments have been made, payment will then continue to the Beneficiary until such one hundred twenty (120) payments have been made in total, at which time benefits shall cease. The monthly retirement benefitshall equal two percent (2%) of Average Monthly Earnings, for each year of Credited Service. B. Early - A Member retiring hereunder on his Early Retirement Date may receive either a deferred or an immediate monthly retirement benefit payable for life, but with one hundred twenty (120) monthly payments guaranteed in any event, as follows: i. A deferred monthly retirement benefit which shall commence .on what would have been his Normal Retirement Date had he remained as an Employee and shall be continued on the first day of each month thereafter. The amount of each such deferred monthly retirement benefit shall be determined in the same manner as for retirement at his normal Retirement Date except that Credited Service and Average Monthly Earnings shall be determined as of his Early Retirement Date; or, ii. An immediate monthly retirement benefit which shall commence 9n his Early Retirement Date and shall be continued on the first day of each month thereafter. The benefit payable shall be as determined.in sub-paragraph (1) above, reduced by one-fifteenth (1/t5th) for each of the first 5 years, one- thirtieth (1/30th) for each of the next 5 years, and actuarially reduced for each additional year by which the commencement of benefits precedes the Normal Retirement Date. C. Limitation of Benefits - The initial monthly Normal and Delayed retirement benefit determined in accordance with paragraph 2.a., above, and the amount of the initial Early retirement benefit determined prior to the reduction required pursuant to subparagraph 2.B. ii. shall not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of such Member's Average Monthly Earings. 3. Disability A. Non-Service Incurred - Any Member may be retired upon approval of the Board, for disability if he is found by the City upon examination to be mentally, physically or psychologically incapacitated so as to be wholly unable to properly perform his duties as a Firefighter of the City of Sanford and is not eligible for City-provided benefits for disability which occurs in the line of duty. B. Exclusions - A Member will be considered totally disabled if, in the opinion of the Board, he is wholly prevented from rendering useful and efficient service as a Firefighter; and a Member will be considered permanently disabled 'if, in the opinion of the Board of Trustees, such Member is likely to remain so disabled continuously and permanently from a cause other than is specified below: (a) Excessive and habitual use by the Member of drugs, intoxicants or narcotics; (b) Injury or disease sustained by the Member while willfully and illegally participating in fights, riots, civil insurrections, or while committing a crime; (c) Injury or disease sustained by the Member while serving in any armed forces; (d) Injury or disease sustained by the Member after his employment has terminated. (e) Self-inflicted disability, unless approved by the Board. C. Determination of Disability - No Member shall be permitted to retire under the provisions of this section until examined by a duly qualified physician or surgeon, to be selected by the Board for that purpose, and iS found to be disabled in the 5 degree and in the manner specified in this section. Any Member retiring under this section shall be examined periodically by a duly qualifled physician or surgeon or board of physicians and surgeons to be selected by the Board for that purpose, to determine if such disability has ceased to exist. D. Benefit Amount - The benefit payable to a Member who retires with a total and permanent disability shall be an amount equal to sixty percent (60%) of his or her rate of regular base salary in effect as of the date of disability. E. Payment of Benefits - The monthly retirement income to which a Member is entitled in the event of his disability retirement will be payable on the first day of each month. The first payment will be made on the first day of the month following the date the Board approved the payment of such retirement income. The last payment will be, if the Member recovers from the disability prior to his Normal Retirement Date, the payment due next preceding the date of such recovery, or, if the Member dies ~ithout recovering from his disability, the payment due next preceding his death or the one hundred twentiet~ monthly payment, whichever is later. Any monthly retirement income payments due after the death of a disabled Member shall be paid to the designated Beneficiary (or Beneficiaries). F. Recovery - If the Board finds that a Member who is receiving a disability retirement income is, at any time prior to his Normal Retirement Date, no longer disabled, as provided herein, the Board shall direct that the disability retirement income be discontinued. Recovery from disability as used herein shall mean the ability of the Member to render useful and efficient service as an Employee. tf the Member recovers from disability and re-enters the service as an Employee, his service beginning with the first month for which he received a disability retirement income payment and ending with the date he re-entered the service, will not be considered as Credited Service for the purpose of this System. 6 4. Pre-Retirement Death Exclusion - Self-inflicted disability, unless approved by the Board. A. Prior to Eligibility for Retirement The death benefit payable to the designated Beneficiary of a Member who dies prior to becoming eligible for Early, Normal or Delayed Retirement shall equal the Member's Accumulated Contributions. B. Deceased Employees Eligible for Retirement - For any deceased actively employed Member who was eligible for Early, Normal, or Delayed Retirement as of his date of death, the benefit payable shall be the retirement benefit determined as though the deceased Member had retired on his date of death, with the resulting amount then being payable to the Beneficiary on a monthly basis for ten (10) years, or on such other actuarially equivalent basis as approved by the Board. 5. Vesting - If a Member terminates his employment, either voluntarily or by discharge, and is not eligible for any other benefits under this System, he shall be entitled to the following: A. With less than 10 year of Credited Service - Refund of Accumulated Contributions. B. With 10 or more years of Credited Service - 1. The pension benefit accrued to his date of termination payable for life, commencing at the Member's election on his Early Retirement Date or later, provided he does not elect to withdraw his Accumulated Contributions, and provided he survives until benefit payments actually begin. The benefit rate per year of service shall be the same as determined for Early or Normal Retirement, and shall depend upon the time of commencement of benefit payments. In the event that the Member dies prior to the commencement of benefits the Member's beneficiary will receive the Member's Accumulated Contributions, 2. Refund of Accumulated Contributions. Forfeitures arising from terminations of employment shall serve only to reduce future City contributions and shall remain as a part of the assets of the Fund. Section 4: OPTIONAL FORMS OF BENEFITS Each Member entitled to an Early, Normal, or Delayed Retirement Benefit shall have the right at any time prior to the date on which benefit payments begin to elect to have his benefit payable under any ofthe Options hereinafter set forth in lieu of the benefits provided herein, and to revoke any such elections and make a new election at any time prior to the actual commencement of payments. The value of payable optional benefits shall be actuariatly equivalent to the value of benefits otherwise payable, and the present value of payments to the retiring Member must be at least equal to fifty percent (50%) of the total present value of payments to the retiring Member and his Beneficiary. The Member shall make such an election by written request to the Board, such request being retained in the Board's files. OPTION 1 - Joint and Last Survivor Option The Member may elect to receive a benefit during his lifetime and have such benefit (or designated fraction thereof) continued after his death to and during the lifetime of his Spouse or a relative other than his Spouse. The election of Option 1 shall be null and void if the designated Beneficiary dies before the Member's benefit payments commence. OPTION 2 - Life Annuity The Member may elect to receive an increased benefit payable for life only, and ceasing upon death. OPTION 3 - Other In lieu of the other optional forms enumerated in this Section, benefits may be paid in any form approved by the Board so long as actuarial equivalence with the benefits otherwise payable is maintained. 8 Section 5: CONTRIBUTIONS 1. Member Contributions A. Amount - Members shall contribute at the rate of 2.6% of Earnings. In addition, the City shall contribute on behalf of actively employed Members, amounts equal to 5% of their respective Earnings. Such contributions shall be deposited to the Fund no less frequently than monthly. B. Guaranteed Refund - All benefits payable under this System are in lieu of a refund of Accumulated Contributions. In any event, however, each Member shall be guaranteed the payment of benefits on his behalf at least equal in total amount of his Accumulated Contributions. 2. State Contributions Any monies received or receivable by reason of laws of the State of Florida, for the express purpose of funding and paying for retirement benefits for the Firefighters of the City shall be deposited in the Fund within 30 days of receipt. 3. City Contributi'ons So ~ong as this System is in effect, the City shall make, on at least a quarterly basis, contributions to the Fund in an amount equal to the difference in each year between the amounts contributed per paragrah 1.Ao hereof plus State contributions for the year, and the total cost for the year as shown by the most recent annual actuarial valuation of the System. The total cost for any year shall be defined as the total Normal Cost plus the additional amount sufficient to amortize the Unfunded Accrued Past Service Liability over not more than a thirty (30) year period. 4. Other Private donations, gifts, and contributions may be deposited to the Fund. Such deposits may, at the discretion of the Board, be accounted for separately and kept on a segragated bookkeeping basis. Funds arising from these sources may be used for additional benefits for Members, as determined by the Board. 9 Section 6: ADMINISTRATION 1. The general administration and responsibility for the proper operation of the Retirement System and for making effective the provisions of this Ordinance are hereby vested in a Board of Trustees which shall be designated as the plan Administrator for the System. The Board shall consist of five (5) persons as follows: A. The Mayor; B. The City Clerk; C. The Fire Chief, and D. Two employee members of the Fire Department to be elected as hereinafter provided. 2. The regular term of office of each elected Trustee shall be two (2) years. The elected Employee Trustees already holding office at the time of the adoption of this Ordinance shall continue in office as Trustees hereunder until October 1, 1984. Elections shall be held for the term beginning October 1, 1984 and each October 1 thereafter. Each Employee Trustee may succeed himself if re-elected as hereinafter provided. 3. Future elective Employee Trustees shall be elected in the following manner: by vote of all actively employed members of the Fire Department who come within the purview of this Ordinance at places designated by the Board, of which all qualified members entitled to vote shall be notified in person or by posting a notice on the Department bulletin board at least ten days in advance of said election. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for office shall be declared elected and shall take office immediately upon commencement of the term of office for which elected or as soon thereafter as he shall qualify therefor. In the event that two (2) Trustees are to be elected in the first election held under this Ordinance, the candidate with the second highest number of votes shall be elected for a term of one (1) year only. An election shall be held not more than thirty (30) and not less than ten (10) days prior to the commencement of the term for which a trustee is to 10 be elected. The Board shall establish and administer the nominating and election procedure for each election. The Mayor shall serve as Chairman of the Board and the City Clerk shall serve as the Secretary and Treasurer. In addition, the Board of Trustees shall elect from among its members a Vice Chairman within ten (10) days after the new Employee Trustee is elected and duly qualified. 4.~ If a vacancy of a Board Member occurs, the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term in the same manner as the office was previously filled. Except, if the vacancy of an elected Member occurs within 120 days of a regular election, the remaining Board Members shall appoint a successor from the Department to complete the balance of the unexpired term, and if prior to 120 days, then a Special Election shall be called by the Board to fill the balance of the unexpired term. 5. The Trustees shall serve without compensation, but they may be reimbursed from the Fund for all necessary expenses which they may actually expend through service on the Board. 6. Each Trustee except the City Clerk shall, withinten (10) days after his appointment or election, take an oath of office before the City Clerk of the City, that so far as it develops upon him he will diligently and honestly administer the affairs of the said Board, and that he wil not knowingly violate or willingly permit to be violated any of the provisions of the law applicable to the Retirement System. Such oath shall be subscribed to by the members making it and certified by the said Clerk and filed in the Office of the City Clerk prior to the member being seated on the Board. 7. Each Trustee shall be entitled to one vote on the Board. Three affirmative votes shall be necessary for a decision by the Trustees at any meeting of the Board. NO proxy votes may be cast. 8. Subject to the limitations of this Ordinance the Board of Trustees shall from time to time establish uniform rules and 1t regulations for the administration of funds created by this Ordinance and for transactions of its business, including provisions for expulsion due to non-attendance of its elected and appointed Members which could result in a vacancy. 9. The Board of Trustees shall engage such actuarial, accounting and other services as shall be required to transact the business of the Retirement System. The compensation of all persons engaged by the Board of Trustees and all other expenses of the Board necessary for the operation of the Retirement System shall be paid from the Fund at such rates and in such amounts as the Board of Trustees shall agree. Funds may be distributed by a disbursing agent as determined by the Board, but only upon authorization by the Board of Trustees. 10. Any elected or appointed Trustee who neglects the duties of his office, as determined by the Board, may be removed by four (4) concurring votes among the Board of Trustees. 11. For all acts and determinations of the Board the Secretary shall prepare minutes. 12. ..The duties and responsibilities of the Board of Trustees shall include, but not necessarily be limited by, the following: A. To construe the provisions of the System and determine all questions arising thereunder. B. To determine all questions relating to eligibility and participation. C. To determine and certify the amount of all retirement allowances or other benefits hereunder. D. To establish uniform rules and procedures to be followed for administrative purposes, benefit applications and all matters required to administer the System. E. To distribute to the Members annually, pertinent financial information concerning the System. F. To receive and process all applications for participation and benefits. G. To authorize all payments Whatsoever from the Fund, and to notify the disbursing agent, in writing, of approved benefit 12 payments and other expenditures arising through operation of the System. H. To have performed actuarial studies and actuarial valuations, and make recommendations regarding any and all changes in provisions of the System. I. To perform such other duties as are specified in this Ordinance. 13. The Board of Trustees shall furnish to the City Auditor such available investment and actuarial information regarding the System as shall be requested. Section 7: FINANCES AND FUND MANAGEMENT 1. As part of the System there is hereby established the Fund, into which shall be deposited all of the contributions and assets whatsoever attributable to the System. 2. The actual custody and supervision of the Fund (and assets thereof) shall be vested in the Board of Trustees. Payment of benefits and disbursements from the Fund shall be made upon authorization from the Board. 3. The Board may appoint the Treasurer or a National or State Bank with Trust powers to serve as Custodian of the Fund. All assets of the Fund shall be promptly and continually deposited therewith. In order to fulfill its investment responsibilities as set forth herein, the Board may appoint the Treasurer or retain the services of the Custodian Bank, an investment advisor registered under Investment Advisors Act of 1940, or an insurance company for purposes of investment decisions and management. Such investment manager shall have full discretion in the investment of assets subject to limitation of this agreement and any guidelines as prescribed by the Board. 4. All funds and securities of the System may be commingled in the Fund, provided that accurate records are maintained at all times reflecting the financial composition of the Fund, including accurate current accounts and entries as regards the following: 13 A. Current amount of Accumulated Contributions of Members on both an individual and aggregate account basis, and B. Receipts and disbursements, and C. Benefit payments, and D. Current amounts clearly reflecting all monies, funds and assets whatsoever attributable to contributions and deposits from the City, and E. All interest, dividends and gains (or losses) whatsoever, and F. Such other entries as may be properly required so. as to reflect a clear and complete financial report of the Fund. 5. The Board of Trustees shall have the following investment powers and authority: A. The Board of Trustees shall be vested with full legal title to said Fund, subject, however, and in any event to the authority and power of the City Commission to amend or terminate this Trust, provided that no amendment or Fund termination shall ever result in the use of a~y assets of this Fund except for the payment of regular expenses and benefits under this System. All contributions from time to time paid into the Fund, and the income thereof, without distinction between principal and income, shall be held and administered by the Board or its agent in the Fund and the Board shall not be required to segregate or invest separately any portion of the Fund. B. The Fund may be invested and reinvested in such securities or property, real or personal, wherever situated and whatever kind, as shall be approved by the Board of Trustees, including but not limited to stocks, common or preferred, and bonds, .and other evidences of indebtedness or ownership. C. The Board of Trustees may retain in cash and keep unproductive of income such amount of the Fund as it may deem advisable, having regard for the cash requirements of the System. D. No person or entity shall be liable for the making, retention or sale of any investment or reinvestment made as herein provided, nor for any loss or diminishment of the Fund, 14 except that due to his or its own negligence, willful misconduct or lack of good faith. E. The Board may cause any investment in sgcurities held by it to be registered in or transferred into its name as Trustee or into the name of such nominee as it may direct, or it may retain them unregistered and in form permitting transferability, but the books and records shall at all times show that all investments are part of the Trust Fund. F. The Board is empowered, but is not required, to vote upon any stocks, bonds, or securities of any corporation, association, or trust and to give general or specific proxies of power of attorney with or without power of substitutions; to participate in mergers, reorganizations, recapitalizations, consolidations, and similar transactions with respect to such securities; to deposit such stock or other securities in any voting trust or any protective or like committee with the Trustees or with depositories designated thereby; to amortize or fail to amortize any part or all of the premium or discount resulting from the acquisition or disposition of assets; and generally to exercise any of the power of an owner with respect to stocks, bonds, or other investments comprising the Fund which it may deem to be in the best interest of the Fund to exercise. G. The Board shall not be required to make any inventory or appraisal or report to any court, not to secure any order of court for the exercise of any power herein contained. H. Where any action which the Board is required to take or any duty or function which it is required to perform, either under the terms herein or under the general law applicable to it as Trustee under this Ordinance, can reasonably be taken or performed only after receipt by it from a Member, the City, or any other entity, or specific information, certification, direction or instructions, the Board shall be free of liability in failing to take such action or perform such duty or function until such information, certification, direction or instruction has been 15 received by it. I. Any overpayments-or underpayments from the Fund to a Member or Beneficiary caused by errors of computation shall be adjusted with interest at a rate per annum approved by the' Board. Overpayments shall be charged against payments next succeeding the correction. Underpayments shall be made up from the Trust Fund. J. The Board shall sustain no liability whatsoever for the sufficiency of the Fund to meet the payments and benefits herein provided for.. K. In any application to or proceeding or action in the courts, only the City and the Board shall be necessary parties, and no Member or other person having an interest in the Fund shall be entitled to any notice of service of process. Any judgement entered in such a proceeding or action shall be conclusive upon all persons. 6. Any of the foregoing powers and functions reposed in the' Board may be performed or carried out by the Board through duly authorized Agents, provided that the Board at all times maintain~ continuous supervision over the acts of any such Agent; provided further, that legal title to said Fund shall always remain in the Board of Trustees. Section 8: REPEAL OR TERMINATION OF SYSTEM 1. This Ordinance establishing the System and Fund, and subsequent Ordinances pertaining to said System and Fund, may be modified, terminated, or amended, in whole or in part; provided that if this or any subsequent Ordinance shall be amended or repealed in its application to any person benefiting hereunder, the amount of benefits which at the time of any such alteration, amendment, or repeal shall have accrued to the Member or Beneficiary shall not be affected thereby, except to the extent that the assets of the Fund may be determined to the inadequate. 2. If this Ordinance shall be repealed, or if contributions to the System are discontinued, the Board shall continue to adminster the System in accordance with the 16 provisions of this Ordinance, for the sole benefit of the then Members, any Beneficiaries then receiving retirement allowances, and any future persons entitled to receive benefits under one of the Options provided for in this Ordinance who are designated by any of said Members. In the event of repeal, or if contributions to the System are discontinued, there shall be full vesting (100%) of benefits accrued to date of repeal and the assets of the System shall be allocated in an equitable manner to provide benefits on a proportionate basis to the persons so entitled to benefits in accordance with the provisions thereof, with prior preference being directed toward the return of Accumulated Contributions. 3. The following shall be the order of priority for purposes of allocating the assets of the System upon repeal of the Ordinance or if contributions to the System are discontinued: A. Members already retired under the Early, Normal or Delayed Retirement provisions of the System and those eligible for such Retirement, active or deceased, but not actually retired,.and their Beneficiaries, in proportion to and to the extent of the then actuarially determined present value of the benefits payable less amounts received. If any funds remain, then B. Members retired under the disability provisions of this System, and their Beneficiaries, if any funds remain, then C. Other Members with Accumulated Contributions and other vested benefits, and their Beneficiaries, in the same manner as in "A" above. If any funds remain, then D. All other Members and their Beneficiaries in the same manner as in "A" but based upon Credited Service and Average Monthly Earnings as of the date of termination of the System. The allocation of the Fund provided for in this subsection may, as decided by the Board be carried out through the purchase of insurance company contracts to provide the benefits determined in accordance with this subsection. The Fund may be distributed 17 in one sum to the persons entitled to said benefits or the distribution may be carried out in such other equitable manner as the Board may direct. The Trust may be continued in existence for purposes of subsequent distributions. 4. After all the vested and accrued benefits provided hereunder have been paid and after all other liabilities have been satisfied, including a return to the Satte of Florida of funds as required under Chapter 175, Florida Statutes, then and only then shall any remaining funds revert to the general fund of the City. Section 9: MISCELLANEOUS 1. Medical Board - The Board of Trustees may at its discretion designate a Medical Board to be composed of three (3) physicians, but limited to either MoD.'s and/or D.O.'s, who shall arrange for and pass upon all medical examinations required under the provisions of this Ordinance, shall investigate all essential statements or certifications made by or on behalf of a Member in connection with an application for disabilit~ or retirement and shall report in writing to the Board of Trustees its conclusions and reco~nmendations upon all matters referred to it. The payment for such services shall be determined by the Board of Trustees. 2. Discharged Members~ Members entitled to a pension shall not forfeit the same upon dismissal from the Department, but shall be retired as herein described. 3. Non-Assignabitity No benefit provided for herein shall be assignable or subject to garnishment for debt or for other legal process. 4. Pension Validity - The Board of Trustees shall have the power to examine into the facts upon which any pension shall heretofore have been granted under any prior or existing law, or shall hereafter be granted or obtained erroneously, fraudulently, or illegally for any reason. Said Board is empowered to purge the pension rolls of any person heretofore granted a pension under prior or existing law or heretofore granted under this Ordinance if the same is found to be erronoeous, fraudulent or 18 illegal for any reason; and to reclassify any pensioner who has heretofore under any prior or existing law or who shall hereafter under this Ordinance be erroneously, improperly or illegally classified. 5. Incompetents - If any Member or Beneficiary is a minor or is, in the judgement of the Board, otherwise incapable of personally receiving and giving a valid receipt for any payment due him under the System, the Board may, unless and until claims shall have been made by a duly appointed guardian or committee of such person, make such payment or any part thereof to such persons, Spouse, children or other person deemed by the Board to have incurred expenses or assumed responsibility for the expenses of such person. Any payment so made shall be a complete discharge of any liability under the System for such payment. Section 10: Specific authority is hereby granted to codify and incorporate this Ordinance in the existing Code of Ordinances of the City of Sanford, Florida. Section 11: All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances in conflicts herewith be and the same are hereby repealed. Section 12: That should any section or provision of this Ordinance or any portion thereof, 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 hereto as a whole or' part thereof other than the part to be declared invalid. Section 13: That this Ordinance shall become in full force and effect in accordance with the Charter of the City of Sanford, Florida, but shall apply as of the Effective Date as defined herein. 19 PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida, this Ninth day of April, A.D., 1984. MAYOR City of Sanford, Florida CERTIFICATE I, H. N. Tamm, Jr., City Clerk of the City of San- ford, Florida, do hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Ordinance No. 1689, PASSED and ADOPTED by the City Commission of the City of Sanford, Florida, on the Ninth day of April, 1984, was POSTED at the front door of the City Hall in the City of Sanford, Florida, on the Tenth day of April, 1984. City of Sanford, Florida 20