10-09-39 Council Meeting Minutes

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156 Be it remembered the Common Council of the City of South Bend held a regul&T meeting in the Council Chambers, City Hall, Monday, October 9, 1939, at 7 :33 P.M. Councilman Pulaski was absen President McCarthy presided. The reading of the minute: of the previous meeting was suspended.. 0 OMMIUN 10 ATION To the Honorable Common Council of the City of South Bend Gentlemen: October 9, 1939 At a recent meeting you referred to the Board of Public Safety, a.. comrr.unicL.tion received from L. H. Zs cex relative to the alleged attempt to retire certain police officers from the police force of the City of South Bend. In this letter Mr. Essex said in substance, that the adding of ten men to the Pension Fund will deplete the ;pension fund requiring the appropriation of taxes to replenish that fund, which is not now necessary, causing an additional burden to the taxne.yers. He also said that the Pension Board is not compelled to accent policemen who have less than 25 years service to their credit, unless they resign voluntarily. He also stated that the ten men who were sent to the doctor were a:11 able- bodied men eble to carry on their work as police effic Mr. Essex is appa.r�ntly somewhat misinformed as to the facts concerning this situation. lo bep,,in with, the Council has been appropriating money in the past, to contribute to the Pensio Fund. Under the statute it is recuired that two cents per one hundred dollars be levied. on, taxable property for the purr-ose of the Pension Fund. For several years only one and one -half cents has been levied, at the rate of $2.00 per month to the Police Pension Fund. The pension la'hr also ralovides thG.t pensioners, or - policemen who have served twenty years on the department, are entitled to pensions upon retirement whether their retirement is voluntary or otherwise. At the end of twenty years they can retire and receive 50"i4o of the w,:zge of a patrolman e.t the time of their .retirement. The wage of a first class- patrolman, c -t the present time as you kno*w, is $170.00 per month, so that a men i ho has twenty years' service on the Police Department may retire on- a pension of 8 ,55.00 a-month. This pension increases two percent with each additional year of service until the officer has served 25 years, at which time he can retire end receive 6010 of his Monthly wage as a - pension. After 25 years the pension benefits do not increase. In-addition to the retirement provisi ons of the Pension Fund, there are other provisions intended to take care of officer,.-, who become disabled before retirement age or have sufficient service on the department to retire under the retirement provis ion. The law provides, for instance, that the pension board may give up to $75.00, per month temporary disability benefits to any officer who become incapacitated after he hG, s served_ five years, and. before he has completed. twenty years on the department. In the event such an officer becomes incapacitated, he may receive these benefits and then if at a later de-te, his physical condition becomes such that he can again participate in active police work, he can be restored to the department for active service. If an officer has served more than five years, and. less than twenty years on the department, and is retired by the Board of Public S& ety because of his incapacity, due to some physical condi- tion, then. the Pension Board may pay' him up to $50.00 per month. In addition to these provisions there are also provisions for the widows and other dependents of police officers, which of course, are not-material to this discussion. We have outlinedlbriefly the provisions of the pension lase, to show you that Indiana has, perhaps one of the best police -pension systems in the United States. The aim of the police pension laws in this State are twofold: (1) to give security to officers who have served. 'faithfully as protectors of thepublic for a long period of years, so that they will not want in their old age; (2) to make it possible to at r ll times have police departments in the State of Indiana, manned with able-bodied, men capable of carrying on active police duties, by making provisions for the care of those who become ,incapacity -ted during their service in the department. 11ith reference to ' the recent action of this Board, concerning the alleged attempt to retire eertai members of the polce department, Mr. Essex must be misinformed.. It is true that we asked all men .serving on the police department, who have served for a period of tTirenty -three years or more, to have a physical examination. In addition to this, we asked. two other men who have served lefts than tive-rity years to take physical examinations. The reason for this was, that are knew that within this group there were certain !Tien who were physically unable to carry on active police work, and. to perform the full duties as patrolmen on -?;he police department. The reason we chose twenty -three years as a starting; point was because we were anxious, if possible, that a.ny men who were retired. because of physical incapacity, would do so on an e:ieauate pension to care for their needs. A man who has served twenty -three years on the depart;r:ent willretire at a pension of �,,LQ5.20 per month. If they have served twenty -five years or more, they will retire on a pension of $102.00 per month. Many of these men have given long and valuable service to the city of South Bend, and are now at a place in life where they can retire end. receive the benefit of the Tension which the State of Indiana has provided for them. Of the men we requested. to have a physical examination, three Fussed an examination indic<.ting their ability to continue active police work. These men, of course, will continue on the department as long as their physical con�ition remains such that they can perform, the duties of a., first class -patrolman. The other men, as the result of their physical cwndition, are no longer capable of performing active policy service, as revealed by their physical examinations. We believe these men, in justice to them- selves, because of their physical condition, as well as to the citizens of this city, should . retire and receive the pensions Which the lass provides for them, which as we have already ex- ple,ined, ,,kill not be less than $95.20 per month. There are two mien who did not fall „zithin the category of the above described men. They are men who have served lees than twenty -three years on the police department, but who are obviously incapa_cita�ted. because of their physical condition, from carrying on their full duties as active policemen. Both of these men have been off on sick leaves of at least sixty days during the current calendar year. Their physical examination reveals that they both are in such condition, that to attempt to carry on the duties of a first class patrolman, would be dangerous to their physical well - being. One of these men 's a member. of the pension fund, and upon retirement under the temporary disability provisions of the pension fund, he could receive up to 875.00 per month from the pension fund. If he is discharged because o_f. incapacity, he could receive u- to $50.00 per month from the pension fund. The other man was over 42 years of age at the time he :Rent on the department, and therefore, too old to become a member of the pension fund.. Later on the law was changed so as to permit him to become a member of the pension fund., providi he could. pass the required physical examination. He has never been able to pass such an exu ina tion, and therefore, has never been able to become a member of the pension fund. s.