| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to the City of Lakeland, Polk County; |
| 3 | amending the Charter of the City of Lakeland; providing |
| 4 | for replacing all current members of the civil service |
| 5 | board; increasing membership of the board; deleting an |
| 6 | obsolete provision; providing that the civil service |
| 7 | director shall be a city employee and supervised by the |
| 8 | city manager; providing membership of the pension board; |
| 9 | providing qualification of members; providing that the |
| 10 | board may employ a retirement services director; providing |
| 11 | duties of the retirement services director; providing an |
| 12 | effective date. |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 15 |
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| 16 | Section 1. Sections 2, 3, 6, and 8 of Article I of |
| 17 | Division II and section 22.1 of Article II of that division of |
| 18 | the Charter of the City of Lakeland are amended, and sections |
| 19 | 22.3, 22.4, and 22.5 are added to Article II, to read: |
| 20 | ARTICLE I. |
| 21 | CIVIL SERVICE BOARD |
| 22 | Section 2. Appointment of initial members. |
| 23 | On June 1, 2008, or as soon thereafter as practical As of the |
| 24 | effective of this section, in addition to those members then |
| 25 | serving on the present civil service board who shall continue to |
| 26 | serve for the terms for which they were appointed, the city |
| 27 | commission shall appoint three (3) two (2) persons and the full- |
| 28 | time employees of the city shall appoint three (3) two (2) persons |
| 29 | to the board. The six (6) four (4) new members shall be appointed |
| 30 | in the following manner: Two (2) One (1) to serve a one-year terms |
| 31 | term; two (2) one (1) to serve a two-year terms term; and two (2) |
| 32 | to serve three-year terms. Upon taking office, those members shall |
| 33 | select a seventh member. That member shall serve a three-year |
| 34 | term. |
| 35 | Section 3. Appointment of subsequent members; terms. |
| 36 | Upon the expiration of the terms described above, successor |
| 37 | members shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years. Each year |
| 38 | the city commission shall appoint one member and the full-time |
| 39 | employees of the city shall appoint one member. Successors to the |
| 40 | seventh member serving as the selection of the other members of |
| 41 | the board shall be selected by the other members of the board. |
| 42 | Beginning January 1, 1977, and each third year thereafter, or upon |
| 43 | any earlier vacancy in the membership by the member appointed by |
| 44 | the members of the board, the board shall appoint one member. The |
| 45 | method of election of members to the civil service board by full- |
| 46 | time employees of the City of Lakeland under this section and the |
| 47 | previous section shall be prescribed by ordinance. |
| 48 | Section 6. Authority to employ civil service director, |
| 49 | clerk, etc., and prescribe their duties. |
| 50 | The civil service board is authorized on behalf of the City |
| 51 | of Lakeland, with the concurrence of the City Manager, to employ, |
| 52 | as a City of Lakeland employee, a director of civil service. The |
| 53 | City of Lakeland, who shall employ such staff of employees as may |
| 54 | be reasonably necessary for the proper performance of the duties |
| 55 | of the board. The board shall prescribe the duties to be performed |
| 56 | by the director of civil service, who shall be supervised on a |
| 57 | day-by-day basis by the City Manager or his or her designee. |
| 58 | Section 8. Election of chairman; term; filling of vacancy. |
| 59 | Upon initial appointment of the board and immediately after |
| 60 | the first of January each year, the board shall organize by |
| 61 | electing one of its members as chairman to hold office until the |
| 62 | election and qualification of his or her successor at the next |
| 63 | organization meeting of the said board. In the event the office of |
| 64 | the board member, who shall be chairman, shall become vacant, a |
| 65 | new chairman shall be elected by the board immediately after such |
| 66 | vacancy shall be filled. |
| 67 | ARTICLE II. |
| 68 | CITY OF LAKELAND EMPLOYEES' PENSION AND RETIREMENT SYSTEM |
| 69 | Section 22.1. Board of trustees, members, terms of office. |
| 70 | (a) The City of Lakeland Employee Pension System shall be |
| 71 | administered by a pension board consisting of seven (7) trustees. |
| 72 | Those trustees serving on May 31, 2008, shall continue to serve |
| 73 | until the expiration of the terms for which they were appointed. |
| 74 | Subsequent appointments shall be made in accordance with Section |
| 75 | 22.3. The present members of the civil service board and their |
| 76 | successors in office shall serve also on the pension board. Before |
| 77 | entering upon his or her duties as a member of the board, each |
| 78 | member shall take and subscribe to the oath of office required by |
| 79 | the city charter, which oath shall be administered and filed by |
| 80 | the city clerk. |
| 81 | (b) Immediately after the first of January each year, the |
| 82 | board shall, by majority vote, elect from the trustees a chairman. |
| 83 | The chairman shall serve for the calendar year. In the event the |
| 84 | office shall become vacant, a new officer shall immediately be |
| 85 | elected by the board from among the board members. The retirement |
| 86 | civil services director shall serve as secretary of the board and |
| 87 | shall keep a complete minute book of the actions, proceedings or |
| 88 | hearings of the board. The retirement civil services director |
| 89 | shall also be the custodian of all records and files of said |
| 90 | board. |
| 91 | (c) The trustees shall not receive any compensation as such |
| 92 | but may receive reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred in |
| 93 | connection with their duties as a trustee, provided such |
| 94 | reimbursement is approved by the board. |
| 95 | (d) Any action by the board shall require the vote of at |
| 96 | least four (4) trustees present and eligible to vote. Four (4) |
| 97 | trustees present and eligible to vote shall constitute a quorum. |
| 98 | Any action by the board shall require the vote of at least four |
| 99 | (4) trustees. |
| 100 | (e) Those board members serving on the effective date of |
| 101 | this article are hereby continued in office for the remainder of |
| 102 | their terms. |
| 103 | (f) The board shall meet as often as is necessary, upon the |
| 104 | call of the chairman or any member thereof, or upon the request of |
| 105 | the retirement services director of civil service. |
| 106 | (g) The board shall promulgate rules of procedure as may be |
| 107 | required for the conduct of its business. |
| 108 | Section 22.3. Appointment of subsequent trustees; terms. |
| 109 | Upon the expiration of the terms described in Section 22.1, |
| 110 | successor members of the pension board shall be appointed for |
| 111 | terms of three (3) years each as follows: Each year the city |
| 112 | commission shall appoint one trustee and the full-time employees |
| 113 | of the city shall appoint one trustee. Successors to the seventh |
| 114 | trustee serving as the selection of the other members of the |
| 115 | board shall be selected by the other members of the board. The |
| 116 | method of election of members to the pension board by full-time |
| 117 | employees of the City of Lakeland under this section shall be |
| 118 | prescribed by ordinance. |
| 119 | Section 22.4. Qualification of members. |
| 120 | Any qualified voter residing in the City of Lakeland who is |
| 121 | over the age of twenty-one (21) years shall be eligible to hold |
| 122 | office as a member of the pension board, provided that no person |
| 123 | who has been convicted of a felony and, except as provided in |
| 124 | this section, no person who is or has been within one (1) year |
| 125 | prior to his or her election or appointment an officer or |
| 126 | employee of the city shall be eligible for election or |
| 127 | appointment to such office. The city commission may appoint one |
| 128 | person to the pension board who is or has been within one (1) |
| 129 | year prior to his or her election or appointment an officer or |
| 130 | employee of the city and the full-time employees of the City of |
| 131 | Lakeland may appoint one such individual to the board, provided |
| 132 | that no more than two such individuals may serve on the board at |
| 133 | any one time. |
| 134 | Section 22.5. Authority to employ retirement services |
| 135 | director and prescribe duties. |
| 136 | The pension board is authorized on behalf of the City of |
| 137 | Lakeland, with the concurrence of the City Manager, to employ, as |
| 138 | a City of Lakeland employee, a retirement services director. The |
| 139 | City of Lakeland shall employ such staff of employees as may be |
| 140 | reasonably necessary for the proper performance of the duties of |
| 141 | the board. The board shall prescribe the duties to be performed by |
| 142 | the retirement services director. |
| 143 | Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |