Resolution No. 11-28 v RESOLUTION NO. 11-28
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA SUPPORTING
POLICE OFFICER PENSION PLAN AND DISABILITY PRESUMPTION REFORMS TO
MAKE THE PLAN SUSTAINABLE, SOUND AND SECURE FOR CURRENT AND
FUTURE POLICE OFFICERS
WHEREAS, to honor their service now and in years to come, current and future police officers in
the City of Atlantic Beach deserve a pension plan that is sound, secure and sustainable; and
WHEREAS, the City of Atlantic beach opposes unfunded mandates from the Florida Legislature
that have created a pension plan system for local police officers that is unstable, unsustainable and
unreliable for current and future police officers; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature has imposed significant unfunded mandates onto the City of
Atlantic Beach relative to the operation of the Atlantic Beach's police officer defined benefit pension plan
by mandating minimum pension benefit levels and mandating the use of revenues to fund pension plan
costs; and
WHEREAS, prior to state mandates established in 1999, the City of Atlantic Beach was largely free
to bargain with local police unions, or provide for the non - unionized police, the pension benefits that best fit
the priorities and needs of the city of Atlantic Beach and its police officers; and
WHEREAS, in 1999, the Florida Legislature passed a law that established pension plan mandates
that included revisions to how the City of Atlantic Beach could use insurance premium tax revenues to fund
its police defined benefit pension plan by forcing the City of Atlantic Beach to use any increase in the tax
revenues to provide new, extra pension benefits for police officers; and
WHEREAS, since 1999, the mandate to provide new, extra pension benefits to police and
firefighters with increases in insurance premium tax revenues has required cities across the state to provide
collectively more than $460 million in new, extra pension benefits to police and firefighters; and
WHEREAS, state pension mandates continue to force the City of Atlantic Beach to provide extra
pension benefits to police officers even though the City of Atlantic Beach struggles with funding the current
level of pension benefits provided to police officers; and
WHEREAS, even if the City of Atlantic Beach desired to reduce the level of pension benefits
provided to police officers to address the City of Atlantic Beach's critical revenue constraints, the state
Division of Retirement imposes a policy that police pension benefit levels may not be reduced to a level
lower than the level that existed in 1999; and
WHEREAS, if the City of Atlantic Beach did lower its pension benefits for police officers to a level
lower than existed in 1999, the state Division of Retirement would withhold all the City of Atlantic Beach's
insurance premium tax revenues as a penalty; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature has provided that health conditions related to heart disease,
hypertension or tuberculosis suffered by a police officer are presumed to be job related, and these "disability
presumptions" are applicable to both workers' compensation and disability pension claims; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature has written and the courts have interpreted the disability
presumption laws so favorably toward these employees that cities and other government employers
basically cannot overcome the presumption and show the health condition was not work related; and
WHEREAS, "disability presumptions" and other loopholes in the police officer pension laws
threaten the City of Atlantic Beach taxpayer - funded police pension plan by increasing the potential for
abuse in the police pension system; and
WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature transferred all operational and administrative control of police
pension plans from the City of Atlantic Beach to a legislatively created board of trustees, a separate legal
entity apart from the City of Atlantic Beach that exercises broad powers outside the City of Atlantic Beach's
control; and
WHEREAS, the City of Atlantic Beach supports flexibility in state law that would allow cities to
deal with their local problems locally, and needs for the Florida Legislature to remove barriers in state law
that prohibit this flexibility; and
WHEREAS, the City of Atlantic Beach is seeking immediate mandate relief from the Florida
Legislature and requests the Legislature to untie its hands so that it can responsibly address its pension and
other personnel issues locally and in a manner that best serves its taxpayers, stops potential pension abuse
and protects pensions for current and future generations of police officers.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Commission of the City of Atlantic Beach,
Florida:
Section 1. That the City of Atlantic Beach, Florida hereby supports responsible police defined
benefit pension and disability presumption reforms to ensure sound, secure and stable pensions will be there
for current and future police officers.
Section 2. That the City of Atlantic Beach, Florida believes local issues should be addressed locally
and hereby requests the Florida Legislature to remove itself from the local collective bargaining process
between the City of Atlantic Beach and its police officers.
Section 3. That the City of Atlantic Beach, Florida hereby requests the Florida Legislature to
remove mandates establishing minimum pension benefit standards for police pensions, remove the
requirement to provide new, extra pension benefits to police, and allow the City of Atlantic Beach to use
insurance premium tax revenues to pay for the level of pension benefits for police officers that meets the
needs and priorities of the City of Atlantic Beach.
Section 4. That the City of Atlantic Beach hereby requests the Florida Legislature to prohibit the
state Division of Retirement from imposing administrative polices that result in increased costs to the
taxpayers of the City of Atlantic Beach in providing the police pension plans.
Section 5. That the City of Atlantic Beach hereby requests the Florida Legislature to enact
responsible police officer pension reforms to bring a fairer balance to the application of disability
presumption laws relating to certain health conditions suffered by police officers by requiring a police
officer to meet age and employment requirements, allowing a disability presumption to be overcome by a
preponderance of the evidence, and allowing certain individual risk factors to be considered when applying
a disability presumption, such as tobacco use, weight and diet, genetics and lifestyle choices.
Section 6. That the City of Atlantic Beach urges the Florida Legislature to pass and the Governor to
approve the above responsible pension recommendations relating to police pension plans and disability
presumptions in the 2012 legislative session.
Section 7. That the City of Atlantic Beach Clerk is directed to transmit a copy of this resolution to
Governor Rick Scott, the Florida Legislature, and the Florida League of Cities, Inc.
Section 8. That this resolution shall be effective upon adoption.
Passage adopted by the City Commission of the City of Atlantic Beach, Florida on this 12 day of
December, 2011.
6 , 0 _ 44itz
MIKE BORNO
Mayor
APPROA D AS TO FORM:
• L,417 C. NSEN, ESQUIRE
C; Attorney
ATTEST:
DONNA L. BARTLE, CMC, City Clerk