Loading...
1995-01013-Ordinance No. 94-060 Recorded 12/7/199495-01013 BEFORE THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF REVIEWED W11 -1i LEGAL COUNSEL DESCHUTE , ORE90N An Ordinance Amending the County's * 0137-1623 Policy Regarding PERS Contribution * _? for Non -Represented County Employees to Comply with Ballot Measure 8, * :"= i !,j Declaration of Employer Pick -Up for Purposes of IRC Section 414(h) and Declaring an Emergency. ORDINANCE NO. 94-060 -' CJ1 WHEREAS, Deschutes County (County) is a participant in the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and all qualified County employees, as that term is used herein, are members of PERS; and WHEREAS, since at least 1981 the County has chosen, pursuant to ORS 237.075, to pay on behalf of each qualifying employee the employee contribution to PERS; and WHEREAS, on November 8, 1994, the voters of the State of Oregon approved Ballot Measure 8, which requires that members of PERS contribute 6 percent of their salary or gross wage to PERS; and WHEREAS, it is necessary for the County to change its current personnel rules and its current practice and policies in order to comply with Ballot Measure 8; and WHEREAS, the County desires to comply with Ballot Measure 8, while protecting its employees consistent with Ballot Measure 8; now, therefore, THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF DESCHUTES COUNTY ORDAINS as follows: Section 1. Amendment of Personnel Rules. That Deschutes County Chapter 3.32, "Personnel Benefits and Practices," is amended to read as follows: "3.32.060 Retirement "The County shall be a participant in the public employees retirement system (PERS) or its equivalent. After the employee has satisfactorily completed the employee's six- month probationary period and holds a position requiring that the employee works in excess of six hundred hours per year, the County shall make contributions to the PERS system, both as to the employer contribution and the employee contribution, to the maximum extent allowed by the Oregon Constitution." �, F 1 - ORDINANCE N0. 94-060 (12-7-94) KEYP � � �� O � 4FD JAI 011995 87995 013'7-1624 Section 2. Implementation of Ballot Measure 8 PERS Withholding. (1) Effective with the pay period beginning January 1, 1995, the County shall suspend its current policy and practice of directly paying on behalf of qualifying employees the 6 percent employee contribution to PERS allowed by ORS 237.075 (employee "pick-up") and shall, as required by Ballot Measure 8, commence withholding, along with other required withholdings, from each qualifying employee's salary or gross wage a sum in the amount of 6 percent of the employee's salary or gross wage as the employee's PERS contribution and shall pay such amount withheld for PERS directly to PERS as the employee's PERS contribution. (2) The withholding of and payment to PERS by the County of the employee PERS contribution provided for in Subsection (1) above shall become the policy of the County when any suits or actions, including appeals, bearing on the constitutionality of Ballot Measure 8 as it applies or may apply to the County's withholding and payment to PERS of such PERS contributions are finally resolved in a manner to uphold Ballot Measure 8 or when the statute of limitations runs for bringing any such suits or actions, whichever occurs later. Section 3. Special Fund or Account. The Board shall establish by resolution or order a special interest-bearing fund or account to hold for the benefit of its qualifying employees the funds that it would otherwise have contributed to PERS on behalf of such qualifying employees until such time as any suits or actions, including appeals, bearing on the constitutionality of Ballot Measure 8 as it applies or may apply to the County's withholding and payment to PERS of such PERS contributions are finally resolved or when the statute of limitations for bringing any such suit or action has run, whichever occurs later. Section 4. PERS Contribution as Excludable from Gross Income for Federal Income Tax Purposes. (1) The 6 percent PERS contribution withheld under Section 2 of this ordinance from each qualifying employee's salary shall be paid to PERS by the County in lieu of payment to PERS by the employee; the employee shall have no option to receive the contributed amount directly instead of having it paid by the County to PERS. (2) The salary earned after the effective date of this provision and thereafter reported on each qualifying employee's W-2 form for federal income tax purposes shall be reduced by the amount of the employee's PERS contribution. (3) For the limited purposes of Internal Revenue Code Section 414(h)(2), and related tax statutes, the employee's contribution to PERS will be picked up by the County as a pre-tax contribution as the term "picks up" is used in the Internal Revenue Code. (4) The County shall provide PERS with written notification of enactment of this ordinance no later than January 6, 1995. 2 - ORDINANCE NO. 94-060 (12-7-94) Section 5. Definitions. following definitions apply: 013'7-1625 For the purposes of this ordinance, the (1) "Qualifying employee" means any employee of the District who has satisfactorily completed the employee's six-month probationary period in a manner consistent with ORS 237.011 or ORS 237.025 and who holds a position requiring that the employee work in excess of six hundred hours per year. (2) "Ballot Measure 8" means that measure proposed by initiative petition to amend Article IX of the Oregon Constitution regarding public employee pensions that appeared as Measure No. 8 on the general election ballot on November 8, 1994. Section 6. Applicability. (1) Section 2 of this ordinance applies to all qualifying County employees except those covered by a collective bargaining agreement, or any extension thereof, entered into by and between the County and a bargaining unit prior to January 1, 1995 and which agreements require the County, as provided for under ORS 237.075, to pay the PERS employee contribution. (2) Section 3 of this ordinance shall apply as of January 1, 1995 to County employees not covered by collective bargaining agreements described in Section 6(1) of this ordinance. (3) Section 3 of this ordinance shall apply to employees of each bargaining unit covered by collective bargaining contracts as of the date that any contract described under Section 6(1) of this ordinance expires. (4) Sections 2 and 3 of this ordinance shall apply to all County employees not qualifying as of the effective date of this ordinance who become qualifying employees, as that term is defined herein, at any time thereafter, as of the date that such employees become qualifying employees. Section 7. Liability. Should any portion of this ordinance be determined by final order of a court or agency of competent jurisdiction to be unlawful or ineffective, and if any payment or repayment is required as a result of such determination, the employees receiving any benefit under this ordinance shall be responsible for such repayment, including any interest, with each employee's share of the total obligation to be determined in a prorated amount by the Board of Commissioners. Section 8. Severability. (1) If any provision of this ordinance is held invalid for any reason by a court or administrative body of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall remain valid and in full force and effect. 3 - ORDINANCE NO. 94-060 (12-7-94) 013"7-1626 (2) If any provision of this ordinance is held invalid as to any collective bargaining unit, the provisions of this ordinance shall remain valid and in full force and effect as to all other collective bargaining units or groups of employees covered by this ordinance. Section 9. Emergency. This Ordinance being necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is declared to exist, and this Ordinance takes effect on its passage. DATED this 7th day of December, 1994. ATT T: R cording Secretary BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF DESCHUTES COUNTYJ OREGON P , C TOM TROOP, Commissioner l /^ y� BARRY H. ALAUGHTER, Commissioner 4 - ORDINANCE NO. 94-060 (12-7-94)