§ 13-34. Retirement Board.

(a)

Responsibility for funds. All funds and assets received by the Retirement Board pursuant to the terms of this article shall be held by the Retirement Board in trust for the uses and purposes set forth in this article.

(b)

Consultation with counsel. The Retirement Board may consult with its own counsel or with the Village's counsel with respect to determining its obligations or duties under this article and shall be fully protected in taking such action or failing to take action pursuant to the advice of such counsel.

(c)

Payment to Beneficiary. On the death of a Participant, the Retirement Board shall take such action as may be necessary to have any death benefit due under the Plan made payable to the Beneficiary of the Participant as designated in Writing by the Participant. If no valid Beneficiary designation is in effect or on file with the Retirement Board, such death benefit shall be paid to the Beneficiary designated by the Retirement Board.

(d)

Payment to Participant. Upon retirement, the Retirement Board shall take such action as may be necessary to cause payment to be made to the retired Participant on his benefit commencement date in accordance with the terms of the Plan or the latest election of an optional method of settlement by the Participant.

(e)

Payment of expenses. The Retirement Board shall pay from the funds held in trust such reasonable expenses as may be incurred in the administration of this Plan and trust, including reasonable legal expenses.

(f)

Records. The Retirement Board shall keep account of all its receipts and disbursements. Its books and records with respect to the trust fund shall be open to inspection by the Village.

(g)

Inspection of Village records. The Retirement Board may inspect the books and records of the Village to determine any facts necessary to enable it to perform its duties, or it may rely on any statement of the Village.

(h)

Powers generally. In addition to and not in limitation of all other powers conferred by law and other provisions of the Plan, the Retirement Board shall have the following powers:

(1)

The Retirement Board shall be vested with legal title to trust fund assets.

(2)

The board shall have the power to retain uninvested such cash as the Retirement Board may from time to time consider necessary or advisable.

(3)

The board shall have the power to vote, either in person or by general or limited proxy, or to refrain from voting, on any corporate stock or other securities, for any purpose.

(4)

The board shall have the power to deposit any securities with or under the direction of any committee formed to protect such securities; to participate in, consent to or carry out any reorganization, consolidation, merger, liquidation, readjustment of the financial structure, or sale of assets of any corporation or other organization; to exercise conversion and subscription rights; and to hold any Property received pursuant to any such transaction as assets of the Fund.

(5)

The board shall have the power to keep any securities or other Property in the name of its nominee, a partnership, or corporation, or in its own name, without disclosure of its fiduciary capacity.

(6)

If a bank is serving as a trustee under this article, the board shall have the power to commingle part or all of the assets of the trust in any group trust maintained by the bank as trustee for the collective investment of funds held under employees' pension or profit-sharing plans or trusts which are qualified within the meaning of and exempt from tax under the revenue laws of the United States, and the provisions of any such group trust are made a part of this Plan.

(7)

The board shall have the power to invest in the shares of any regulated investment company.

(8)

The board shall have the power to execute, acknowledge and deliver all instruments it considers necessary or proper for any of the purposes set out in this subsection (h). No Person dealing with the Retirement Board need see to the application of any money paid or property delivered to or on the order of the Retirement Board or inquire into its authority to enter into any transaction.

(9)

Any overpayments or underpayments from the Fund to a Participant or Beneficiary caused by errors of computation shall be adjusted with interest at a rate per annum approved by the Retirement Board. Overpayments shall be charged against payments next succeeding the correction. Underpayments shall be made up from the Fund. Neither the Retirement Board nor any custodian shall sustain any liability whatsoever for the sufficiency of the Fund to meet the payments and benefits provided in this article.

(10)

Any of the powers and functions set out in this subsection (h) reposed in the Retirement Board may be performed or carried out by duly authorized agents, provided that the Retirement Board at all times requires and reviews reports of any such agent, and provided further that legal title to the Fund shall always remain in the Retirement Board.

(11)

The Fund may be invested and reinvested in such securities or Property, real or personal, wherever situated and of whatever kind, including but not limited to stock, common or preferred, bonds, and other evidences of indebtedness or ownership. Investments shall not be made in any stocks, bonds, or other securities owned or controlled by a government other than that of the United States or of the several states.

(i)

Membership and organization; to supervision of plan. The members of the Village Council and two General Employees, who shall be elected by a majority of the General Employees who are members of the Plan, shall constitute the Retirement Board. The Retirement Board shall perform the duties delegated in this article. The Retirement Board shall be the plan administrator. The Mayor of the Village shall be the Chairman, and the Village Clerk shall be the Secretary. The Secretary shall keep records of all meetings and acts of the Retirement Board and have custody of all documents the preservation of which shall be necessary or convenient in the efficient operation of the Plan; such records shall constitute a part of the records of the Village and shall remain in the custody of the Village Clerk. The Retirement Board may use such agents as it may need in the performance of its duties. The Retirement Board shall supervise control of the operation of the Plan in accordance with the terms of this article. It shall have all powers necessary to accomplish that purpose, including, but not by way of limitation, the following:

(1)

To construe this article.

(2)

To define and determine all questions affecting the eligibility of any employee to participate in the Plan.

(3)

To compute or have computed the amount of benefits payable under this article to participating employees.

(4)

To determine or have determined the amount of contributions under this article of each participating employee.

(5)

To authorize all disbursements by it or any custodian of fund assets.

(6)

To control the investment of the funds of the trust and retirement annuity contracts as provided in this article; however, the Retirement Board may delegate investment authority as provided in section 13-33(c).

(7)

To establish uniform rules and regulations for the administration of the Plan and Fund created and for the transaction of its business.

(8)

To conduct hearings on claims for benefits.

(9)

To review reports of and have meetings with the custodian, if any, and investment agent or advisor; to require written reports from fiduciaries on Fund assets and transactions on a semiannual or more frequent basis if deemed advisable; and to require written and oral reports from custodians, if any, investment agents or advisors on at least a semiannual basis, such reports to reflect Fund investment performance, investment recommendations and overall review of Fund investment policies.

(10)

To determine or have determined that the Plan complies at all times with the provisions of State law, including the following:

a.

To have prepared biennially and distributed to all Participants a Plan description which contains pertinent financial and actuarial information.

b.

To ensure that all regular and special actuarial reports are filed with the Florida Division of Retirement within 60 days of receipt.

c.

To have actuarial valuations performed on a regular basis, and have special actuarial work performed so as to determine the cost of any Plan changes or amendments.

(j)

Liability of board and members. The Retirement Board and the members thereof shall be free from liability, joint or several, for the acts of members of such Retirement Board, except to the extent that the members may be guilty of willful misconduct.

(k)

Standards of responsibility. Retirement Board members, in the performance of their duties, must conform and act pursuant to the documents and instruments establishing and governing the Plan and trust. Members shall carry out their duties with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing which a prudent man acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of like character and like aims. Members shall discharge their duties with respect to the plan solely in the interest of the participants and beneficiaries for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to the participants and beneficiaries and defraying the reasonable expenses of administering the plan.

(Code 1974, § 13-24; Ord. No. 337, § 1(13-24), 9-19-89; Ord. No. 363, § 1, 7-16-91; Ord. No. 447, § 1, 11-16-99)