Section 30. Participation by municipalities  


Latest version.
  • a. A municipality may elect to
      participate  in the retirement system.  Such election shall be exercised
      by the adoption of a resolution approved by its local  legislative  body
      and  any  other body or officer required by law to approve resolution of
      such local legislative body.  Upon the filing of  a  certified  copy  of
      such   resolution   with   the   comptroller,  such  election  shall  be
      irrevocable, and the municipality shall become a participating employer,
      subject, however, to the conditions provided in this subdivision.
        1. A municipality not participating in the retirement system prior  to
      October  first, nineteen hundred fifty-three, and which has not provided
      old-age and survivors insurance coverage for its employees, may, at  the
      time  of  making  election  to participate, exclude from eligibility for
      membership in the retirement system such class or classes of offices and
      positions for which membership in the  retirement  system  is  not  made
      mandatory  by  this  article,  as  the  municipality may specify in such
      resolution.  Participation by any such municipality  which  may  exclude
      from  eligibility  for membership any class or classes of its offices or
      positions shall not become effective until such municipality shall  have
      entered  into  an  agreement  to provide old-age and survivors insurance
      coverage for such class or classes of offices or positions in the manner
      and to the extent provided by article three of this chapter.
        2. Any municipality participating in the retirement  system  prior  to
      October  first,  nineteen hundred fifty-three, may, by the adoption of a
      resolution in the manner herein provided and filed with the  comptroller
      prior  to  the  time  such  municipality  makes  an agreement to provide
      old-age and survivors insurance coverage for  its  employees,  elect  to
      exclude  from  eligibility  for  membership in the retirement system any
      class or classes of offices or positions for  which  membership  in  the
      retirement  system is not made mandatory by this article.  Public notice
      of the proposed adoption of any such resolution shall be given at  least
      three  months  prior  to  the adoption thereof.   Officers and employees
      holding offices or positions in any  such  excluded  class  or  classes,
      however,  who  are  members  of the retirement system at the time of the
      filing of such resolution shall continue to be members of the retirement
      system. Such resolution providing for such  exclusion  from  eligibility
      for   membership   shall  not  become  effective,  however,  until  such
      participating municipality shall  have  entered  into  an  agreement  to
      provide  old-age  and  survivors  insurance  coverage  for  the class or
      classes of  offices  or  positions  so  excluded  from  eligibility  for
      membership  in  the  retirement  system  in the manner and to the extent
      provided by article three of this chapter.
        3. The power to exclude employees from eligibility for  membership  in
      the retirement system pursuant to paragraph one or paragraph two of this
      subdivision  a  shall  terminate  on  the  day  after  the  modification
      extending the old-age and survivors insurance  system  to  any  position
      covered  by  such  system  and  held  by  an  employee  of  a  political
      subdivision of the state (exclusive of one in a policeman's or firemen's
      position) is executed.
        b. Participation by members of local pension systems.
        1. In the event that sixty per centum of  the  members  of  any  local
      pension  system  petition  to  become members of this retirement system,
      their  participation  may  be  approved  in  the  manner   provided   by
      subdivision a of this section.
        2. As of the date such participation is approved:
        (a) The operation of such local pension system shall be discontinued.
        (b)  The  existing  pensioners  and  annuitants  of such local pension
      system shall be continued and paid  at  their  existing  rates  by  this
      retirement system.
    
        (c) Any cash and securities to the credit of such local pension system
      shall be transferred to this retirement system.
        (d)  The  trustees  or other administrative head of such local pension
      system shall certify the proportion, if any, of the funds of such system
      that represents the accumulated contributions of  the  members  and  the
      individual shares of the members therein.  Such shares shall be credited
      to  the  respective  annuity  savings  accounts  of such members in this
      retirement system. The balance of  the  funds  so  transferred  to  this
      retirement  system  shall  be offset against the liability on account of
      existing  pensioners,  annuitants  and  active  members.  The  resulting
      liability  so  determined  shall be the basis for the rate of deficiency
      contribution of  such  county,  city,  town  or  village  as  determined
      pursuant to section twenty-three of this article.
        c.  Participation  by  a  municipality  pursuant to this section shall
      cover all agencies of the government of such municipality including  the
      free  public  library,  if  any,  of  such municipality, unless separate
      participation by any such agency or school district public  library  has
      been approved pursuant to section thirty-one, thirty-one-a or thirty-two
      of this article.