Exciting enhancements are coming soon to eCode360! Learn more 🡪
Township of West Norriton, PA
Montgomery County
By using eCode360 you agree to be legally bound by the Terms of Use. If you do not agree to the Terms of Use, please do not use eCode360.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Code
New Laws (27) Index
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
A Police Pension Fund, to be known as the "West Norriton Township Police Pension Fund," is hereby established by West Norriton Township for the benefit of such full-time employees of its police force as shall receive honorable discharge therefrom by reason of age and service, or disability, and the families of such as may be killed in the service.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The Police Pension Fund shall be maintained by charges against each member of the Police Department, by annual appropriations made by West Norriton Township, by payments made by the State Treasurer to the Township Treasurer from the monies received from taxes paid upon premiums by foreign casualty insurance companies for purposes of pension retirement for policemen, by the proceeds of appropriate policies of insurance designed to protect the integrity of the Police Pension Fund, and by gifts, grants, devises or bequests granted to the Police Pension Fund by authority of § 703.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The Police Pension Fund is hereby authorized to take, by gift, grant, devise or bequest, any money or property, real, personal or mixed, in trust for the benefit of such fund; and the care, management, investment and disposal of such trust funds or property shall be vested in the Trustees of the West Norriton Township Police Pension Fund; and the trust funds shall be governed thereby, subject to such directions, not inconsistent therewith, as the donors of such funds and property may prescribe.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The Police Pension Fund shall be under the direction of the Board of Commissioners of West Norriton Township or such committee or persons as the Board of Commissioners may from time to time designate by resolution, who shall act as Trustees of the Pension Fund, and such Trustees shall have full responsibility for the administration of the program established hereunder and shall hold, invest, reinvest and distribute all funds or property received pursuant hereto in trust for the purposes of this Part 7A. The Trustees shall be subject to such rules and regulations as may from time to time be adopted by the Board of Commissioners by ordinance or resolution. The Trustees shall have full power of authority by a majority action of its members, either directly or through their designated representatives, to do all acts, execute, acknowledge and deliver all instruments, and to exercise, for the sole benefit of the participants hereunder, any and all powers and discretion necessary to implement and effectuate the purposes of this Part 7A, including, for purposes of illustration, but not limited to any and all of the following:
A. 
To hold, invest and reinvest all funds received pursuant to this Part 7A in such legal investments as may be authorized as legal investments under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania;
B. 
To enter into contacts or deposit agreements on behalf of West Norriton Township with one or more insurance companies, in order to provide the pension and other benefits herein set forth, and to pay the premiums and deposits required by the purchase of said contracts;
C. 
To retain or purchase as an investment any form of annuity or contracts of similar nature and to exercise, with respect thereto, any right or incident of ownership;
D. 
To retain any property which may at any time become an asset of the Fund, as long as said Trustees may deem it advisable; and
E. 
To make distribution of the monies in the fund in accordance with the terms of this Part 7A.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Each police officer who is employed by West Norriton Township on a full-time basis, who shall have a minimum period of total service in the aggregate of 25 years with the Township, and who shall have attained 50 years of age may retire or be retired and thereafter shall receive pension or retirement benefits as hereinafter provided on the first day of the month coincident with or next following the later of his 50th birthday and completion of 25 years of service.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Any participant hired prior to January 1, 2000, who shall serve as a police officer and who has completed 25 years of continuous service shall be entitled to an additional monthly payment of $100 a month for each year of service beyond 25 years, for each completed year of service in excess of 25 years. Said service increment shall be in addition to the monthly pension payment or other retirement benefits to which the participant shall be entitled. Any per month increment of $100 due to a participant for additional years of service, in addition to language allowed under Act 600, shall be paid from the Police Pension Fund. The length-of-service increment shall be capped at $100 for officers hired on or after January 1, 2000.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
1. 
Any member who becomes permanently disabled as a result of a line-of-duty injury or illness shall receive a disability benefit according to the following schedule:
Length
Percentage of Compensation
1st day through 24 months
100%
25th month through 48 months
90%
49th month through 60 months
80%
After 60th month
70%
2. 
The amount of the disability payments shall be based upon the member's salary for the pay period immediately preceding the date of determination of permanent injury. The amount of the disability payments hereunder shall be reduced to the extent that the member receives payments based on compensation under the Workers' Compensation Act or from any collateral source funded or paid for by the Township or from any state-funded plan. Benefits shall commence on the date the member is deemed by the Pension Committee to be permanently disabled. Any member who receives benefits for the same injuries under the Social Security Act (49 Stat. 620, 42 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.) shall have this minimum disability benefit offset or reduced by the amount of such benefits.
3. 
Disability Pension Benefits for DROP Participants. The disability pension and salary continuation benefits under § 707, Subsections 1 and 2, shall not be available to members who have entered the DROP Program. Rather, any member who participates in the DROP Program and who then applies for and receives a disability pension shall only be entitled to a disability pension equal to the monthly pension benefit payable upon his entry into the DROP Program, which shall not be increased under any circumstances.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The amount of pension or retirement benefits shall be computed at 1/2 the monthly average salary, as defined below, of the participant during the last 36 calendar months of employment. Such retirement benefits shall be payable monthly during the balance of the participant's life following actual retirement; and the benefits for any month shall be computed as the sum of:
A. 
Any pension benefits from pension plans heretofore established by a private organization or association for the members of the police force, but only to the extent that the commonwealth or West Norriton Township shall have contributed to such pension plan monies raised by taxation; and
B. 
Benefits from the Pension Fund established hereunder to the extent necessary to bring the total benefits in any month up to 1/2 of the aforesaid monthly avenge salary.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
For the purposes of pension benefit calculations, the definition of "monthly avenge salary" shall be based on an officer's date of hire. For participants hired by the Township on or after January 1, 2000, "monthly average salary" shall include only base pay, longevity pay, education incentive pay, and overtime pay paid to such participant during the last 36 months immediately prior to retirement. For participants hired prior to January 1, 2000, and only as to those participants, "monthly average salary" shall include base pay, longevity pay, education incentive pay, and overtime pay, as well as sellbacks of holiday, personal and vacation time (but excluding sellback of sick leave), paid to such participant during the last 36 months immediately prior to retirement. Except as specifically provided herein, "monthly average salary" shall not include variable pay and shall exclude all other forms of compensation.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 710, Death of Officer in Service, was repealed by Ord. 10-652, 2/9/2010, because such benefit is now provided by the commonwealth.
[1]
Editor's Note: Former § 711, Survivor Benefit, was repealed by Ord. 10-652, 2/9/2010, because such benefit is now provided by the commonwealth.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
1. 
The surviving spouse of a participant who retired prior to April 17, 2002, and who dies, or if no spouse survives or if he or she survives and subsequently dies or remarries, then the child or children under the age of 18 of such participant, shall receive 50% of the pension the participant was receiving at the time of his or her death.
2. 
The surviving spouse of a participant who retired on or after April 17, 2002, who dies, or if no spouse survives or if he or she survives and subsequently dies, then the child or children under the age of 18 years or, if attending college, under or attaining the age of 23 years, of such participant shall receive 50% of the pension the participant was receiving at the time of his death.
3. 
The phrase "attending college" shall mean the eligible children are registered at an accredited institution of higher learning and are carrying a minimum courseload of seven credit hours per semester.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
When required by the Trustees, each member of the police force shall pay into the Pension Fund monthly an amount up to 8% of all forms of pensionable compensation, the Trustees to determine annually the percentage to be paid in accordance with any applicable provisions of the governing collective bargaining agreement. For purposes of this § 713, "pensionable compensation" shall be defined as all forms of compensation that are includable in a police officer's pension calculation, as more fully described under § 709. All such charges shall be deducted by the Township through payroll deductions on a pretax basis. The remainder of the needed annual contribution shall become the obligation of the Township and shall be paid by it to the Pension Fund by annual appropriations.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Payments made by the State Treasurer to the Township Treasurer from the monies received from taxes paid upon premiums by foreign casualty insurance companies for purposes of pension retirement or disability benefits for policemen shall be used as follows:
A. 
To reduce the unfunded liability and, after such liability has been funded;
B. 
To apply against the annual obligation of the Township for future service cost or, to the extent that the payment may be in excess of such obligations;
C. 
To reduce member contributions.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
No person participating in the Police Pension Fund established by this Part 7A who becomes entitled to receive a benefit therefrom shall be deprived of his right to his accrued benefit upon the basis of which he first became entitled thereto.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
1. 
Any member of the police force of the Township who for any reason whatsoever shall be ineligible to receive a pension after having contributed any charges to the Police Pension Fund established by this Part 7A shall be entitled to a refund of all such monies paid by him into the Police Pension Fund immediately upon discontinuance of his employment with the Police Department. If such discontinuance is due to death, such monies shall be paid to his designated beneficiary or, in the absence thereof, to his estate.
2. 
Effective April 17, 2002, the surviving spouse of a member of the police force who dies before his pension has vested or, if no spouse survives or if he or she survives and subsequently dies, then the child or children under the age of 18 or, if attending college, under or attaining the age of 23 years, of the member of the police force shall be entitled to receive repayment of all money which the member invested in the Pension Fund, plus interest or other increases in value of the member's investment in the Pension Fund, unless the member has designated another beneficiary for this purpose.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Any officer who ceases to be employed as a full-time police officer by the Township of West Norriton prior to completing normal retirement age and service requirements but after having completed 12 years of total service shall be entitled to vest his retirement benefits by filing with the Secretary of the Township of West Norriton, within 90 days of the date he ceases to be a full-time police officer, a written notice of his intention to vest. Upon reaching the date which would have been his normal retirement date if he had continued to be employed as a full-time police officer, he shall be paid a deferred, monthly accrued pension determined by applying the percentage of his years of service years to the years of service he would have rendered had he continued to work until his normal retirement date to the gross pension, using, however, the monthly average salary during the thirty-six-month period prior to his termination of full-time employment. Such pension or retirement benefits for any month shall be those benefits determined in accordance with § 708 hereof to the extent necessary to bring the total benefits of any month up to his partial superannuation retirement allowance outlined above.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The Township shall employ an approved actuary. The actuary shall prepare and certify the actuarial valuation report, make cost estimates prior to the adoption of any benefit plan modification, and perform experienced investigations when needed. The actuary's tasks shall be conducted in conformity with the requirements of the Municipal Pension Plan Funding Standard and Recovery Act (Act 205) and related regulations and guidelines.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
The pension payments herein provided for shall not be subject to attachment, execution, levy, garnishment or other legal process and shall be payable only to the participant or his designated beneficiary. No participant or beneficiary shall have any right to alienate, encumber or assign any assets of the fund held by the Trustees on his behalf or any of the benefits or payments or proceeds of any contract or agreement purchased or acquired by the Township hereunder. Any contract or agreement purchased or acquired pursuant to this Part 7A, upon the life of such participant, shall contain a provision, in substance, that, to the extent permitted by law, none of the benefits or payments or proceeds of such contract or agreement shall be subject to any legal process by any creditor of such participant or beneficiary of such participant.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Benefit payments shall be charged to the Police Pension Fund. Expenses of administering the Police Pension Fund, which are directly associated with the plan, which are necessary, reasonable and which benefit the plan, including the compensation of the actuary, shall be paid from the assets of the Pension Fund. Disbursements of such administrative expenses shall be documented in sufficient detail to satisfy the Office of the Auditor General.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Pension payments made under the provisions of this Part 7A shall not be a charge on any other fund in the Treasury of the Township or under its control, except the Police Pension Fund herein provided for.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Any member of the police force employed by West Norriton Township who has served in the Police Department, on a full-time basis, for a period of at least six months and who shall thereafter enter into the military service of the United States shall have credited to his employment record, for pension or retirement benefits, any of the time spent by him in such military service, if such person returns to his employment within six months after his separation from the military service.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
Unless the context specifically indicates otherwise, the plural shall include the singular, and the masculine shall include the feminine, and vice versa, wherever used in this Part 7A.
[Ord. 08-629, 10/14/2008]
1. 
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
BENEFICIARY
The individual identified by a police officer to receive the contents of an officer's DROP account in the event of the death of an officer during the period in which the officer is participating in the DROP but before the officer separates from employment.
DROP
Deferred Retirement Option Plan.
DROP ACCOUNT
A separate account created to accept DROP participants' monthly pension checks while a DROP participant.
FUND or PLAN
The Police Pension Plan for West Norriton Township.
POLICE OFFICERS
Police officers of West Norriton Township.
2. 
Eligibility. As of the effective date of this Part 7A, police officers who have not retired prior to the implementation of the DROP Program may enter into DROP on the first day of any month following completion of 25 years of credited service and attaining the age of 50. Police officers who have elected to receive a disability pension prior to entering the DROP Program shall be ineligible and deemed to have waived the option of participating in DROP.
3. 
Written Election.
A. 
A police officer electing to participate in the DROP must complete and file with the Township Manager a drop option form, prepared by the Township, which shall evidence the officer's participation in the DROP. The form must be signed by the participant and notarized and submitted to the Township prior to the date on which the participant wishes the DROP option to be effective. The DROP option notice shall include an irrevocable notice to the Township, by the participant, that the participant shall resign from employment with the West Norriton Township Police Department effective on a specific date (the "resignation date"). In no event shall the resignation date be shorter than 12 months or longer than 36 months from the execution of the DROP option form. An officer shall cease to work as a police officer on the officer's resignation date, unless the Township terminates or honorably discharges the officer prior to the resignation date.
B. 
In addition, all retirement documents required by the Police Pension Plan Administrator and by the custodian and/or manager of DROP assets must be signed, filed and presented to the Township for approval of retirement and payment of pension. Once a retirement application has been approved by the Township, it is irrevocable. The documentation that must be executed before a police officer may participate in the program shall include a provision releasing the Township from any liability with regard to investment and other losses and shall contain an acknowledgement that any fees, commissions and administrative costs attributable to DROP participation shall be the sole and exclusive responsibility of the police officer.
C. 
As a condition precedent to participation in DROP, the officer must acknowledge and agree to hold the Township harmless for any consequences of the officer's decision to participate in DROP, including but not limited to any tax consequences or implications of DROP participation and/or any monetary loss incurred as the result of DROP participation.
4. 
Pension Contributions. A police officer shall not be required to make any contributions to the fund during his/her DROP period.
5. 
Limitation on Pension Accrual. After the effective date of the DROP option, the police officer shall no longer earn or accrue additional years of continuous service for pension purposes.
6. 
Benefit Calculation. For all retirement fund purposes, the length of service of a police officer participating in the DROP shall remain as it existed on the effective date of commencement of participation in the DROP. Service thereafter shall not be recognized or used for the calculation or determination of any benefits payable by the Police Pension Plan of West Norriton Township. The monthly average salary of the Police Officer for pension calculation purposes shall remain as it existed on the effective date of commencement of participation in the DROP. Earnings or increases in earnings thereafter shall not be recognized or used for the calculation or determination of any benefits payable by the Pension Plan.
7. 
Payments to the DROP Account. The monthly retirement benefits that would have been payable had the police officer elected to cease employment and receive a normal retirement benefit shall, upon the police officer commencing participation in DROP, be paid into the separate account established to receive the participant's monthly pension payments. Such account shall be an individual subaccount of the pension plan set up in each DROP participant's name. This account shall be designated the DROP account. An individual officer's DROP account shall be a self-directed investment vehicle, with the officer having exclusive control over the investment of his or her DROP account monies. The Township shall have no responsibility, and makes no guarantee, for the performance of any investments made by the officer, nor shall the Township guarantee or be required to guarantee that an officer's DROP account generate a specific amount of earnings, interest, or income or any earnings, interest or income at all. Any investment losses occurring in an officer's DROP account shall be the sole and exclusive responsibility of the officer, and the Township shall have no liability or responsibility for the same. Likewise, the Township's establishment of a DROP shall not be construed to endorse any retirement vehicle, investment manager, fund, stock or other investment, nor shall the DROP be construed as providing tax advice or other information to retirees. By entering into the DROP, each participating officer holds the Township harmless for any tax, investment, financial or other consequences of the DROP program or the officer's participation therein. As a condition of DROP participation, each officer acknowledges that investing funds involves the risk of loss and that he/she should consult a professional prior to making any decisions.
8. 
Accrual of Nonpension Benefits. After a police officer elects to participate in the DROP program, all other contractual benefits shall continue to accrue, with the exception of those provisions relating to the Police Pension Plan. A police officer may utilize available paid leave time during the DROP period.
9. 
Payout. Upon the resignation date set forth in the police officer's drop option notice or such date as the Township separates the participant from employment, the retirement benefits payable to the police officer or the police officer's designated beneficiary, if applicable, shall be paid to the police officer or beneficiary and shall no longer be paid to the police officer's deferred retirement option account. Within 30 days following termination of a police officer's employment pursuant to his/her participating in the DROP program, or as soon as practical thereafter, the balance in the police officer's DROP account shall be paid to the police officer in a single lump-sum payment or, at the police officer's option, in any manner permitted by law. By participating in the DROP, each officer agrees to hold the Township harmless for any tax or other consequences flowing from the officer's disposition of the payout under this section.
10. 
Disability During DROP.
A. 
If a police officer becomes temporarily incapacitated during his participation in DROP, that police officer shall continue to participate in the DROP Program as if fully employed. The police officer shall receive any disability pay to which he may be entitled in the same amount (or not at all) as disabled police officers that are not participating in DROP. In no event shall a police officer on temporary disability have the ability to draw from his DROP account.
B. 
If a police officer becomes permanently disabled during the DROP period, the officer shall be honorably discharged from employment and may obtain the contents of his DROP account. Thereafter, if the underlying condition is the result of a work-related injury, the police officer shall receive a disability pension benefit equal to the pension benefit as calculated upon his entry into the DROP Program. This disability pension benefit shall be in lieu of any other disability pension benefit or salary continuation that may be available to officers who have not elected to enter DROP.
C. 
Notwithstanding any other provision in this subsection, if a police officer is disabled and has not returned to work as of his required resignation date, then such resignation shall take precedence over all other provisions herein, and said officer shall be required to resign.
11. 
Death. If a DROP participant dies before the DROP account balances are paid, the participant's designated beneficiary shall have the same rights as the police officer to withdraw or direct the account balance. If a DROP participant is killed in the line of duty, the participant's survivors, as that term is utilized under Act 600, shall receive the killed-in-service benefit. However, under those circumstances, any amounts in the participant's DROP account at the time of his/her death must be returned to the Township's Police Pension Fund; and, with the exception of the killed-in-service benefit, no other pension benefit will be paid to the participant's account or his/her beneficiary.
12. 
Forfeiture of Benefits. Notwithstanding a police officer's participation in the DROP Plan, a police officer who is convicted or pleads guilty to engaging in criminal misconduct which constitutes a "crime related to public office or public employment," as that phrase is defined in Pennsylvania's Pension Forfeiture Act, 43 P.S. §§ 1311-1314, and interpreted thereunder, shall forfeit his right to receive a pension, including any amounts currently deposited in the DROP account. In such a case, the police officer shall only be entitled to receive the contributions, if any, made by the police officer to the fund, without interest.
13. 
Amendment. Any amendments to the DROP Ordinance shall be consistent with the provisions covering deferred retirement option plans set forth in any applicable collective bargaining agreement and shall be binding upon all future DROP participants and upon all DROP participants who have balances in their deferred retirement option accounts. The DROP Plan may only be amended by a written instrument, not by any oral agreement or past practice.
14. 
Effect of Provisions. A police officer's election to participate in the DROP program shall in no way be construed as a limitation on the Township's right to suspend, demote or to terminate a police officer for just cause or to grant the police officer an honorable discharge based upon a physical or mental inability to perform his or her duties.
15. 
Change in Law. In the event that the DROP provision is declared invalid or illegal by a court of competent jurisdiction or through an administrative determination of the Office of the Auditor General, the police officers shall have the right to bargain in accordance with Act 111 over deletion of this benefit. It is expressly understood that any such bargaining shall not involve bargaining over a replacement provision.