Pass: 84,690 / 60.2% Yes votes ...... 56,014 / 39.8% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

THE PROPOSAL:
This Charter change would allow the City Council to create a program that would let police offcers and firefighters who served in the militar or other public agencies to purchase service credits. The proposed Charter amendment requires the program to be cost neutral. Participating employees would pay the full cost of the purchased credits. This Charer amendment also would require periodic review of this program to ensure there is no cost to the City. Requirements and limitations for program participation would be established by the City CounciL. This program would provide benefits similar to those offered by other law enforcement agencies.

Meaning of Voting Yes/No

A YES vote on this measure means:

You want to allow the City to set up a program for police offcers and firefighters to purchase pension service credits for prior militar and other eligible service with other public agencies.

A NO vote on this measure means:

You do not want to allow the City to set up a program for police offcers and firefighters to purchase pension service credits for prior military and other eligible service with other public agencies.

City of Los Angeles

Video

CBS-2 / KCAL-9

• Props L And M To Appear On Ballot - 12/12/06

In order to maintain the highest public safety standards, and to attract the best Police Officers and Firefighters to serve our City and our communities, it is important to provide a competitive benefits package that will appeal to this select pool of applicants, particularly since we must compete with other local agencies who want to hire those same officers and firefighters. We believe a public service pension buyback program would be an effective recruiting incentive.

The Public Service Purchase Program will allow the members of the Los Angeles public safety departments to purchase service credit with the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pension Plan for previous full-time military service, or other qualifying public service.

Those who take advantage of the program and purchase their prior public service will receive increased pension payments upon retirement.

This program will have no impact on the City=s General Fund. Not a single cent will come from the pockets of the taxpayers. Police Officers and Firefighters who are entitled to participate in the program must pay the full cost into the Pension Plan.

This is truly a win-win program for the residents of the City of Los Angeles and to the dedicated men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us.

(No arguments against Measure LosAngeles-M were submitted)

Section 1234. Authority of City Council to Establish a Public Service Purchase (PSP) Program by Ordinance.

(a) Council Authority. The Council may by ordinance adopted in accordance with the provisions of this section establish a voluntary Public Service Purchase (PSP) program to allow members to purchase service credit with the Fire and Police Pension Plan (the Plan) for prior full-time service with other public agencies that may include military service. The authority granted in this section shall include the authority to determine which members may participate in the program and specify what public service is eligible for purchase, to establish eligibility requirements and benefit limitations, to conduct periodic review of the costs and usefulness of the program for recruitment and retention purposes, and to terminate or make changes to the program. The authority granted in this section shall include the authority to make necessary modifications to requirements of other Charter and Los Angeles Administrative Code provisions of the Plan for the specific and limited purpose of implementing a PSP program.

(b) Limitations of the PSP Program. The authority given to the Council to establish a PSP program is specifically limited as follows:

(1) The PSP Program Shall Be Cost Neutral. The member shall be required to pay the full actuarial cost of the service credit to be purchased as determined by the Plan's actuary based upon the additional benefits available from the Plan as a result of the purchase. The City shall conduct periodic reviews of the PSP program to ensure the program is cost neutral to the City insofar as the additional benefits provided by the Plan are concerned, without regard to incidental administrative expenses incurred by the Plan.

(2) Limitations on Service Purchases. A member may only purchase full-time service with eligible public agencies. A member may purchase full-time service with a branch of the United States military service only if the member was honorably discharged. Full-time service with any bona fide police agency or fire suppression agency may be purchased only if the member was not terminated for cause. A member may not purchase service for which the member is eligible, or may become eligible, to receive a retirement benefit from another entity unless federal law requires otherwise.

(3) Restrictions Applicable to Purchased Service. Purchased service shall be included in a member's years of service for purposes of calculating the amount of the member's service pension, but shall not be included in years of service for purposes of establishing eligibility for service retirement. Purchased service may be used to qualify for other retirement benefits that are dependent on years of service, such as the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) or health premium subsidies or reimbursements payable after retirement, if authorized by ordinance and the member has paid the full actuarial costs to cover these additional benefits.

(4) Refund of PSP Program Payments. In the event a member terminates employment, all payments made by the member under the PSP program, including interest accruing on the payments, shall be refunded to the member upon request. If a member dies and contributions become payable from the Plan upon his or her death, all payments made by the member under the PSP program, including interest accruing on the payments, shall be considered contributions of the member and shall be paid accordingly.

(5) PSP Program May Be Modified or Terminated. If the Council determines that the PSP program is not cost neutral and/or that the program is not useful for recruitment or retention, the PSP program may be modified or terminated by the Council by ordinance provided that the appropriate employee representatives have received a minimum of sixty days notice prior to Council action. Agreements entered into prior to the PSP program's termination shall be honored based upon the benefits available from the Plan at the time the agreement was executed. If the PSP program is modified by ordinance, existing agreements to purchase service will continue to be honored based upon the benefits available from the Plan at the time the agreement was executed, unless the agreement is modified to encompass different benefits with actuarial costs adjusted accordingly.

(c) Mode of Adoption. Ordinances adopted pursuant to this section shall be adopted in the same manner as provided in Charter Section 1618(b), but the Council shall be advised in writing by an enrolled actuary as to the cost of the proposed program.

Approved as to Form and Legality
ROCKARD J. DELGADILLO, City Attorney