§ 30 — Participation by municipalities

§ 30. Participation by municipalities. a. A municipality may elect to\nparticipate in the retirement system. Such election shall be exercised\nby the adoption of a resolution approved by its local legislative body\nand any other body or officer required by law to approve resolution of\nsuch local legislative body. Upon the filing of a certified copy of such\nresolution with the comptroller, such election shall be irrevocable, and\nthe municipality shall become a participating employer, subject,\nhowever, to the conditions provided in this subdivision.\n 1. A municipality not participating in the retirement system prior to\nOctober first, nineteen hundred fifty-three, and which has not provided\nold-age and survivors insurance coverage for its employees, may, at the\ntime of making election to participate, exclude from eligibility for\nmembership in the retirement system such class or classes of offices and\npositions for which membership in the retirement system is not made\nmandatory by this article, as the municipality may specify in such\nresolution. Participation by any such municipality which may exclude\nfrom eligibility for membership any class or classes of its offices or\npositions shall not become effective until such municipality shall have\nentered into an agreement to provide old-age and survivors insurance\ncoverage for such class or classes of offices or positions in the manner\nand to the extent provided by article three of this chapter.\n 2. Any municipality participating in the retirement system prior to\nOctober first, nineteen hundred fifty-three, may, by the adoption of a\nresolution in the manner herein provided and filed with the comptroller\nprior to the time such municipality makes an agreement to provide\nold-age and survivors insurance coverage for its employees, elect to\nexclude from eligibility for membership in the retirement system any\nclass or classes of offices or positions for which membership in the\nretirement system is not made mandatory by this article. Public notice\nof the proposed adoption of any such resolution shall be given at least\nthree months prior to the adoption thereof. Officers and employees\nholding offices or positions in any such excluded class or classes,\nhowever, who are members of the retirement system at the time of the\nfiling of such resolution shall continue to be members of the retirement\nsystem. Such resolution providing for such exclusion from eligibility\nfor membership shall not become effective, however, until such\nparticipating municipality shall have entered into an agreement to\nprovide old-age and survivors insurance coverage for the class or\nclasses of offices or positions so excluded from eligibility for\nmembership in the retirement system in the manner and to the extent\nprovided by article three of this chapter.\n 3. The power to exclude employees from eligibility for membership in\nthe retirement system pursuant to paragraph one or paragraph two of this\nsubdivision a shall terminate on the day after the modification\nextending the old-age and survivors insurance system to any position\ncovered by such system and held by an employee of a political\nsubdivision of the state (exclusive of one in a police officer's or\nfirefighter's position) is executed.\n b. Participation by members of local pension systems.\n 1. In the event that sixty per centum of the members of any local\npension system petition to become members of this retirement system,\ntheir participation may be approved in the manner provided by\nsubdivision a of this section.\n 2. As of the date such participation is approved:\n (a) The operation of such local pension system shall be discontinued.\n (b) The existing pensioners and annuitants of such local pension\nsystem shall be continued and paid at their existing rates by this\nretirement system.\n (c) Any cash and securities to the credit of such local pension system\nshall be transferred to this retirement system.\n (d) The trustees or other administrative head of such local pension\nsystem shall certify the proportion, if any, of the funds of such system\nthat represents the accumulated contributions of the members and the\nindividual shares of the members therein. Such shares shall be credited\nto the respective annuity savings accounts of such members in this\nretirement system. The balance of the funds so transferred to this\nretirement system shall be offset against the liability on account of\nexisting pensioners, annuitants and active members. The resulting\nliability so determined shall be the basis for the rate of deficiency\ncontribution of such county, city, town or village as determined\npursuant to section twenty-three of this article.\n c. Participation by a municipality pursuant to this section shall\ncover all agencies of the government of such municipality including the\nfree public library, if any, of such municipality, unless separate\nparticipation by any such agency or school district public library has\nbeen approved pursuant to section thirty-one, thirty-one-a or thirty-two\nof this article.\n