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(a) Created. The general supervision, management and control of the fire department retirement system shall be vested in a board to be known as "board of trustees of the fire pension fund."

(b) Composition. The board of trustees of the fire pension fund shall be composed of the mayor or a designee, city manager or a designee, director of finance, city internal auditor, two regular members of the fire department, and one old hire retiree of the fire department. When 80 percent of members of the old hire pension plan have retired, one of the regular members of the fire department shall be replaced by a second retired member effective at the next election. If there is no regular member of the fire department who desires to serve on the board, then this position shall be filled by a retired member.

(c) Election and term. The active and retired members of the fire department shall be elected by the active members and the retirees for a three-year term commencing on January 1 following such election. The terms shall be staggered such that only one member will be elected each year. The board shall conduct an election during November of each year. Every member who wishes to be a candidate for the board shall file a written announcement of the candidacy with the board not less than 30 days prior to the announced election date. When only one member indicates an interest in running for the vacancy, the board shall declare the nominee to be elected, thus effecting the election by acclamation.

(d) Compensation. The board of trustees of the fire pension fund shall serve without pay.

(e) Filling vacancies. If a firefighter trustee under this article shall cease to be a firefighter in the service of the City, the board shall declare his or her office of trustee vacated.

(f) Officers.

(1) The board of trustees of the fire pension fund shall have the following officers:

a. President. The board shall elect from their members a president of the board.

b. Secretary. The board shall elect from their members a secretary of the board.

c. Legal advisor. The city attorney shall be legal advisor to the board.

(2) The terms of the respective officers specified in subsection (e)(1) of this section shall be as determined by the rules and regulations established by the board.

(g) Medical committee. The board of trustees of the fire pension fund may designate a medical committee consisting of three medical doctors. The medical committee shall serve at the pleasure of the board and receive such compensation as the board shall from time to time determine. The medical committee shall be the medical advisors to the board; and shall perform such duties as required of it in this article and the rules and regulations made and established under this article.

(h) Meetings. The board of trustees of the fire pension fund shall hold meetings regularly, at least quarterly, and shall designate the time and place thereof. All meetings of the board shall be public; each trustee shall be entitled to one vote in the meetings of the board. Four trustees shall constitute a quorum at any meeting of the board and a majority vote shall be determinative of any issue before the board. The board shall adopt its own rules of procedure and shall keep a record of its proceedings.

(i) Rules and regulations. The board of trustees of the fire pension fund shall make all necessary rules and regulations for managing and discharging its duties, not inconsistent with statute or with the provisions of this article, which it may deem necessary or advisable to carry out the provisions thereof; shall hear and decide all applications for pensions under the provisions of this article, and its action upon such applications shall be final and conclusive; except that when in its opinion, justice demands that the actions shall be reconsidered, the actions may be reversed by the board. A record of the action and all other matters coming properly before the board shall be kept.

(j) Investigations, hearings. The board of trustees of the fire pension fund may at any time make such investigation and hold such hearings as may be reasonably necessary to determine eligibility for retirement or disability pension of a member, eligibility of surviving dependents, including questions of dependency of such survivors and ages of minor children and the marital status of anyone receiving benefits.

(k) Plan administration; interpretation. The board has the discretionary authority and power to make factual findings, to fix omissions, to resolve plan ambiguities, to construe the terms of the plan, and to make benefit eligibility and service credit determinations, so long as an action does not contradict an express plan provision.

(l) No reliance upon opinion of individual trustee(s). No individual trustee of the board possesses the authority to make binding representations concerning benefit eligibility or determinations. All determinations of entitlement(s) to benefits and/or the imposition of liabilities must take place in the context of formal board proceedings.

(m) [Vacancies]. When a vacancy occurs in an elected trustee position, the remaining elected trustees shall select a successor trustee who is of the same status as the trustee vacating the position to fill the unexpired term. If the trustee position was held by an active member but there are no active members available and willing to serve on the board, the vacant position shall be converted to a voting retirant trustee. Upon the selection of a voting retirant trustee, the nonvoting retirant position shall be abolished. (Code 1979, §§ 8-180—8-183, 8-185—8-190; Ord. No. 2005-03, §§ 1, 2, 2-28-2005; Ord. No. 2001-68, §§ 2, 3, 11-19-2001; Ord. No. 97-50, §§ 2, 3, 10-6-1997; Ord. No. 97-28, § 1, 6-30-1997; Ord. No. 95-53, exhibit A (§ 8-183), 9-11-1995)