| 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; reorganizing |
| 4 | the civil service board; increasing the number of members |
| 5 | and providing for their appointment; providing that the |
| 6 | director of civil service shall be a city employee and |
| 7 | supervised by the city manager; providing for future |
| 8 | appointments and terms of pension board trustees; |
| 9 | providing appointee qualifications; providing for a |
| 10 | retirement services director, who shall be a city |
| 11 | employee; providing for staff; providing duties; providing |
| 12 | an 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 of the Charter of the City of Lakeland, are amended |
| 18 | to read: |
| 19 | ARTICLE I. |
| 20 | CIVIL SERVICE BOARD |
| 21 | Sec. 2. Appointment of initial members. |
| 22 | On June 1, 2007 As of the effective date of this section, |
| 23 | in addition to those members then serving on the present civil |
| 24 | service board who shall continue to serve for the terms for |
| 25 | which they were appointed, the city commission shall appoint |
| 26 | three (3) two (2) persons and the full-time employees of the |
| 27 | city shall appoint three (3) two (2) persons. The six (6) four |
| 28 | (4) new members shall be appointed in the following manner: Two |
| 29 | (2) One to serve a one-year terms term; two (2) one to serve a |
| 30 | two-year terms term; and two (2) to serve three-year terms. Upon |
| 31 | taking office, those members shall select a seventh member who |
| 32 | shall be appointed by the Lakeland City Commission. The seventh |
| 33 | member shall serve a 3-year term. |
| 34 | Sec. 3. Appointment of subsequent members; terms. |
| 35 | Upon the expiration of the terms described above, successor |
| 36 | members shall be appointed for terms of three (3) years. Each |
| 37 | year the city commission shall appoint one member and the full- |
| 38 | time employees of the city shall appoint one member. Successors |
| 39 | to the seventh member serving as the selection of the other |
| 40 | members of the board shall be selected by the other members of the |
| 41 | board and appointed by the Lakeland City Commission. Beginning |
| 42 | January 1, 1977, and each third year thereafter, or upon any |
| 43 | earlier vacancy in the membership by the member appointed by the |
| 44 | members of the board, the board shall appoint one member. The |
| 45 | method of election of members to the civil service board by |
| 46 | full-time employees of the City of Lakeland under this section |
| 47 | and the previous section shall be prescribed by ordinance. |
| 48 | Sec. 6. Authority to employ civil service director, clerk, |
| 49 | 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 |
| 52 | employ, as a City of Lakeland employee, a director of civil |
| 53 | service. The City of Lakeland, who shall employ such staff of |
| 54 | employees as may be reasonably necessary for the proper |
| 55 | performance of the duties of the board. The board shall |
| 56 | prescribe the duties to be performed by the director of civil |
| 57 | service, who shall be supervised on a day-by-day basis by the |
| 58 | city manager or his or her designee. |
| 59 | Sec. 8. Election of chairman; term; filling of vacancy. |
| 60 | Upon initial appointment of the board and immediately after the |
| 61 | first of January each year, the board shall organize by electing |
| 62 | one of its members as chairman to hold office until the election |
| 63 | and qualification of his or her successor at the next |
| 64 | organization meeting of the said board. In the event the office |
| 65 | of the board member, who shall be chairman, shall become vacant, |
| 66 | a new chairman shall be elected by the board immediately after |
| 67 | such vacancy shall be filled. |
| 68 | Section 2. Subsections (a), (b), and (f) of section 22.1 |
| 69 | of Article II of Division II of the Charter of the City of |
| 70 | Lakeland are amended, and sections 22.3, 22.4, and 22.5 are |
| 71 | added to that Article, to read: |
| 72 | ARTICLE II. |
| 73 | CITY OF LAKELAND EMPLOYEES' PENSION AND RETIREMENT SYSTEM |
| 74 | Sec. 22.1. Board of trustees, members, terms of office. |
| 75 | (a) The City of Lakeland Employee Pension System shall be |
| 76 | administered by a pension board consisting of seven (7) |
| 77 | trustees. Those trustees serving on May 31, 2007, shall continue |
| 78 | to serve until the expiration of their appointed terms. Subsequent |
| 79 | appointments shall be made in accordance with Section 22.3. The |
| 80 | present members of the civil service board and their successors |
| 81 | in office shall serve also on the pension board. Before entering |
| 82 | upon his duties as a member of the board, each member shall take |
| 83 | and subscribe to the oath of office required by the city |
| 84 | charter, which oath shall be administered and filed by the city |
| 85 | clerk. |
| 86 | (b) Immediately after the first of January each year, the |
| 87 | board shall, by majority vote, elect from the trustees a |
| 88 | chairman. The chairman shall serve for the calendar year. In the |
| 89 | event the office shall become vacant, a new officer shall |
| 90 | immediately be elected by the board from among the board |
| 91 | members. The retirement services civil service director shall |
| 92 | serve as secretary of the board and shall keep a complete minute |
| 93 | book of the actions, proceedings or hearings of the board. The |
| 94 | retirement services civil service director shall also be the |
| 95 | custodian of all records and files of said board. |
| 96 | (f) The board shall meet as often as is necessary, upon |
| 97 | the call of the chairman or any member thereof, or upon the |
| 98 | request of the retirement services director of civil service. |
| 99 | Sec. 22.3. Appointment of subsequent trustees; terms. |
| 100 | Upon the expiration of the terms described in Section 22.1, |
| 101 | successor members of the pension board shall be appointed for |
| 102 | terms of three (3) years. Each year the city commission shall |
| 103 | appoint one successor trustee and the full-time employees of the |
| 104 | city shall appoint one successor trustee. Successors to the |
| 105 | seventh trustee serving as the selection of the other members of |
| 106 | the board shall be selected by the other members of the board |
| 107 | and appointed by the Lakeland City Commission. |
| 108 | Sec. 22.4. Qualification of members. |
| 109 | Any qualified voter residing in the City of Lakeland who is |
| 110 | 21 years of age or older shall be eligible to hold office as a |
| 111 | member of the pension board, provided that no person who has |
| 112 | been convicted of a felony, or who is or has been within 1 year |
| 113 | prior to his or her election or appointment an officer or |
| 114 | employee of the city, shall be eligible for election or |
| 115 | appointment to such office. |
| 116 | Sec. 22.5. Authority to employ retirement services |
| 117 | director and prescribe duties. |
| 118 | The pension board is authorized on behalf of the City of |
| 119 | Lakeland, with the concurrence of the city manager, to employ, as |
| 120 | a City of Lakeland employee, a retirement services director. The |
| 121 | City of Lakeland shall employ such staff of employees as may be |
| 122 | reasonably necessary for the proper performance of the duties of |
| 123 | the board. The board shall prescribe the duties to be performed by |
| 124 | the retirement services director. |
| 125 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |