[Adopted 5-3-1971 by Ord. No. 87; amended
in its entirety 6-30-1993 by Ord. No. 197]
The Town of Canton hereby creates a pension
program for full-time employees of the Town of Canton, excluding all
employees participating in any other pension or retirement plan by
virtue of that employee's employment by the Town. Said pension plan
is to provide a pension, provided that the cost thereof has been approved
by the Board of Finance and appropriation has been voted by the legislative
body of the Town. Benefit formulas, vesting requirements, options
available, definition of full-time employment, retirement date or
dates, eligibility, and all other terms of the pension program shall
be determined by the Board of Selectmen of the Town, which may be
advised with respect to such pension plan matters by a Pension Committee
created by ordinance.[1] The Board of Selectmen shall make such determinations
on the basis of the best interest of the Town and its employees, and
decisions reached by the Board of Selectmen shall be at its sole discretion.
Said plan is to include employees of the Canton Public Library on
the same basis as Town employees, including the provision that they
shall not be eligible if they are participating in any other pension
or retirement plan by virtue of their employment by the Public Library.
Employees of the Visiting Nurse Association, now known as "Canton
Public Health Services, Inc.," who qualify under the pension plan
as of September 10, 1979, will continue under the plan, but all Canton
Public Health Services, Inc., employees not fully qualified as of
such date are excluded from the plan and will not be eligible for
pension benefits. This pension program may be modified or terminated
by a Town vote at any time.
A.
The Board of Selectmen shall have the power to delegate such responsibility for the management and direction of the pension program to such financial or insurance institution or institutions as it deems appropriate and shall have the authority to enter into such agreements with financial and insurance institutions as it deems appropriate. The Board of Selectmen shall periodically review said program and may modify the program as it deems appropriate, provided that any increase in pension benefits shall be adopted only with the approval of the Board of Finance and pursuant to a Town Meeting, except as otherwise set forth in Subsection B.
B.
The benefits and terms of the pension program for
employees included within the plan represented by a union or unions
shall continue as they presently exist or have been modified or may
in the future be modified by union contract entered into in accordance
with the law.
