Approve the proposed ordinance on first reading and set the ordinance for second reading on May 15, 2024.

The City of Miami Beach has the following five (5) classified employee groups that are represented by bargaining units:

·         Group I - Represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 1554;

·         Group II - Represented by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) William Nichols Lodge No. 8;

·         Group III - Represented by the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local 1510;

·         Group IV - Represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) Local 3178; and

·         Group V - Represented by the Government Supervisors Association of Florida (GSAF), OPEIU, Local 100

In addition, the City has one classified employee group, Group VI, comprising all other classifications in the classified service not covered by a bargaining unit. This group is commonly referred to in the City of Miami Beach as “Others”.  There is a seventh salary group comprised of at-will employees commonly referred to as Unclassified.

Employees represented by the FOP and IAFF are eligible for a defined benefit pension plan governed by Part I, Subpart B, Article IX, Related Special Acts, of The Miami Beach City Code entitled "Pension System For Disability And Retirement Of Members Of Police And Fire Departments.”

All other full-time employees are eligible for a defined benefit pension plan governed by Part I, Subpart B, Article VI, Related Special Acts, of The Miami Beach City Code entitled “Pension and Retirement System for Officers and Employees Generally.”

Under current law, participants are generally required to begin taking distributions from their retirement plans at age 72.

Under section 112.1816, Florida Statutes, if a firefighter participates in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, the retirement plan must consider the firefighter totally and permanently disabled in the line of duty if he or she meets the retirement plan’s definition of totally and permanently disabled due to the diagnosis of cancer or circumstances that arise out of the treatment of cancer. The Fire and Police Pension plan document currently lacks language regarding the cancer presumption for firefighters.

On May 21, 2020, The Fire and Police Pension Board voted to change the plan's definition of actuarial equivalence by adopting the recommended long-term interest rate of 7.5%, effective October 1, 2020.

The Administration and the Fire and Police Pension Board wish to amend the Fire & Police Pension Plan to increase the required minimum distribution age to 73 starting on January 1, 2023. This amendment will bring the plan in compliance with the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, which contains tax-related retirement legislation, commonly known as the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.

The Administration and the Fire and Police Pension Board wish to amend the Fire & Police Pension Plan to include the conclusive firefighter cancer presumption established by section 112.1816, Florida Statutes. This amendment will bring the plan in compliance with the Florida Statutes and all other applicable laws.

On March 16, 2023, the Fire and Police Pension Board voted to change the plan's definition of actuarial equivalence by adopting the recommended long-term interest rate of 7.2% effective October 1, 2023. This amendment will change the actuarial assumption for the long-term interest rate from 7.5% to 7.2%.

The Fire and Police Pension Office has notified the Administration that the Plan’s actuary, Gabriel Roeder Smith and Company, has confirmed that they will issue a no-cost actuarial impact statement based on the attached proposed ordinance.

The Administration recommends amending Part I, Subpart B, Article IX, Related Special Acts, of The Miami Beach City Code entitled "Pension System For Disability And Retirement Of Members Of Police And Fire Departments.”

Based on the foregoing, the Administration recommends that the City Commission approve the proposed ordinance on first reading and set the ordinance for second reading May 15, 2024.