Imperial County Municipal Code Ch. 3.36 County Employees' Retirement Law

The board of supervisors of the county of Imperial, state of California, does accept the provisions of Chapter 3, Part 3, Division 4, Title 3 of the Government Code of the state of California, as amended, also known as the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937, and the board of supervisors does by reference adopt and incorporate all and every one of the provisions of the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937 as a part of and applicable to the system and schedules of compensation of all employees, elected officers and appointed officers of the county whose compensation is either fixed or paid by the board of supervisors the county, show are or may hereafter be eligible to the benefits provided by the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937.

(Prior code § 24500)

The provisions of the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937 shall become operative with respect to the officers and employees of the county of Imperial July 1, 1951.

(Prior code § 24501)

The percentage increases in monthly retirement allowances or optional death allowances, payable to or on account of members of the county retirement system and the percentage increases in monthly retirement allowances payable to or on account of members who were retired for disability as authorized by Government Code Section 31681.51 and Section 31739.31 are adopted.

(Prior code § 24502)

The board of supervisors of the county of Imperial does adopt the provisions of Section 31641.04 of Article 7 of Chapter 3, Part 3, Division 4, Title 3, of the Government Code to be operative in the county of Imperial as a basis for establishing an early retirement incentive program for the eligible employees of the county of Imperial as determined from time to time by resolution of the board of supervisors.

(Prior code § 24504)

Notwithstanding any mandatory retirement policies of the county to the contrary, it shall be the policy of Imperial County to allow safety members to continue county employment after a member reaches age sixty (60) if the conditions and standards as set forth in this section and elsewhere within this code are satisfied. Such employment policy shall be known as the safety member continuing conditional employment program.

A. The director of human resources will send a retirement inquiry letter to each safety member upon the member reaching the age of fifty-nine (59) years. The retirement inquiry letter shall be sent within ten (10) working days after the member's fifty-ninth birthday and inquire whether the safety member intends to retire at age sixty (60), or intends to participate in the safety member continuing conditional employment program.

B. Each such safety member shall, within thirty (30) days of receipt of the retirement inquiry letter, respond in writing to the director of human resources. Each such safety member shall either (1) indicate he or she intends to retire from county service at age sixty (60); or (2) indicate he or she desires to remain in county employment as a safety member after attaining age sixty (60). Failure to respond without good cause shall constitute an election not to participate in the safety member continuing conditional employment program.

C. A safety member seeking to participate in the continuing conditional employment program shall cooperate in such medical examinations as shall be required by the county health officer. Such safety member shall not unreasonably without cause consent to release of medical information and shall execute appropriate medical releases as necessary to effect the requirements of this section.

D. For members seeking to participate, the director of human resources shall immediately verify the member's job analysis, submit it to the county executive officer, and forward the safety member's request to the health officer.

E. The health officer shall verify the physical requirements in the safety member's job, examine the member, and submit findings to the county executive officer. Such examination shall be conducted as close in time to the member's sixtieth birthday as is administratively feasible.

F. The county executive officer shall then review the job analysis, medical findings, and any other relevant materials he or she deems appropriate, and make a final nonappealable decision which shall be: (1) the safety member must retire at age sixty (60); or (2) the safety member may continue to work until age sixty-one (61).

For each subsequent sequential year that the member qualifies under the complete evaluation process set forth in this section, the member may serve such additional years under the safety member continuing conditional employment program.

(Prior code § 24505)

A. The board of supervisors of the county of Imperial pursuant to the provisions of Section 31874 of Article 16.5 of Chapter 3, Part 3, Division 4, Title 3 of the Government Code adopts Section 31870 of Article 16.5 of Chapter 3, Part 3, Division 4, Title 3 of the Government Code as the basis for annual determination of cost of living adjustment for retirees.

B. The provisions of this chapter shall become effective on July 10, 1992.

(Prior code § 24506)

A. After an actuarial study by The Segal Company dated February 12, 2008 and adopted by the Imperial County board of retirement on February 20, 2008, the board of retirement recommends that a retrospective cost of living increase be adopted by the Imperial County board of supervisors. The Imperial County board of supervisors adopts Articles 16.5 and 16.6 of the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, and specifically, Government Code Sections 31870, 31871, 31874, 31875, 31876, 31877, 31878, and 31879. The Imperial County board of supervisors grants to retirees of the Imperial County employees' retirement system a retrospective cost of living adjustment of two percent per annum. This cost of living adjustment shall apply prospectively to payments on allowances beginning January 1, 1987 and thereafter to all retirees, survivors and beneficiaries of the Imperial County employees' retirement system who retired on or before March 31, 1993. No right, claim or interest shall be created in applying these sections to retirement allowances paid prior to January 1, 1987.

B. For purposes of granting retrospective cost of living adjustments in allowances pursuant to these sections, the board of supervisors finds that as of the first day of January of each of the years 1987 through 1993, there has been during the preceding year a cost of living increase according to the Consumer Price Index of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

C. Pursuant to Government Code Section 31870, such retrospective cost of living increases shall be limited to a maximum of two percent per year and any cost of living increase or decrease in any year which is not met by the annual change of two percent shall be accumulated to be met by an increase or decrease in future years. This provision is commonly referred to as "banking" of cost of living adjustments.

D. The board of supervisors provides for retrospective cost of living adjustments as follows:

E. The cost of the entire benefit shall be borne by the Imperial County employees' retirement system. The board of the retirement system, at their September 20, 2006 meeting, adopted a resolution setting aside excess earnings of the retirement system to fund this benefit. According to the actuarial report, the total cost is two million twenty-three thousand dollars ($2,023,000.00).

F. This section shall be deemed effective thirty (30) days after the date of adoption by the Imperial County board of supervisors.

G. Pursuant to Government Code Section 7505, the Imperial County board of supervisors adopts the actuarial study of February 12, 2008 and this section shall take effect no sooner than two weeks after a public meeting on the matter.

(Ord. 1433 § 1, 2008)