SPECIAL MEETING
January 24, 1955
The special meeting of City Council was held Monday, January 24, 1955, at 7:30 P.M. with Mayor Haman presiding. Councilmen present were Messrs. Biddle, Davis, Holpp, Mundy, Petty, Smith and Tischer.
MINUTES
Minutes of the last regular meeting were accepted as read.
POWER PLANT WELL
City Manager Ward reported that the well at the power plant failed on January 20, 1955. Norman Shannahan of Shannahan Artesian Well Co. described the action that would be necessary to determine the condition of the pump and well and whether it would be possible to restore it to service. Council directed that a new well be drilled, beginning as soon as possible, on the site of he old ball park if approved by the State Board of Health, and the examination and restoration of the power plant well be done without delaying the drilling of the new well.
BOND REQUIREMENTS
Council discussed the result of a meeting with a representative of an investment counseling firm of Philadelphia and the possibility of members of the finance committee traveling to New York to consult with Mr. Washburn, bond attorney.
WATER MAIN - EDGEHILL
George Schultz, Jacob Ehrlich and Val miller requested permission to extend a water main from the North Little Creek Road to properties owned by them on Mitchner Road. The request was tabled until the status of a water line in Edgehill Acres, constructed by Richter & Meyers, is determined.
EDGEHILL ACRES WATER LINE
The City Manager was directed to write Richter & Meyers and request them to attend the Hearing Committee meeting, February 7, 1955 and report on the status of the Edgehill Acres water line.
OLD DOVER ORDINANCE
A proposed ordinance, designed to preserve the Colonial atmosphere in sections of Dover was tabled for further study.
SILVER LAKE
A letter was received from A.B. Magee Jr. requesting that the City discontinue the practice of opening the valve in Silver Lake dam during the summer months to procure cooling water for the power plant. Council pointed out that the City had used the water for many years but that the level of the lake had not been drastically lowered until 1954 when farmers began diverting water for irrigation purposes. The Mayor will reply to Mr. Magee’s letter.
TRIFFILIS PROPERTY
Building Inspector Thomas Baker reported that the recent fire at 447 S. New St. had created damage of more then 50% of the value of the building making the structure unsafe. He recommended that the building be condemned and ordered razed. Council condemned the building as unsafe and ordered it razed.
FIRE MARSHALL
Council authorized the Building Inspector to notify the Fire Marshall of known fire hazards existing in the City.
STREET SWEEPING SIGNS
Council authorized purchase from the State Highway Department of $500 worth of street signs stating no parking on nights when streets are to be swept.
BUSINESS LICENSE
Council authorized the issuance of a business license to William Turner, Pear Street, for training and breeding dogs.
NEW STREET CURB
Council authorized depression of the curb on the east side of New Street between Loockerman and North Streets for entrance to a parking area of Capitol Cleaners.
STORM SEWER - COLUMBIA AVENUE
Council directed that the developers of Lakewood Manor install a storm sewer on Columbia Avenue between West Street and Pear Street.
S. NEW STREET RIGHT-OF-WAY
Council directed that those portions of the New Street right-of-way between South Street and Waples Avenue not yet acquired be condemned and purchased for public use.
PENSION ORDINANCE
By unanimous vote, Council adopted the following ordinance:
AN ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE PENSIONS FOR COVERED EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF DOVER.
Be It Ordained By The Council Of The City OF Dover In Council Met:
Section 1. Every covered employee of the City of Dover, within the meaning of this Ordinance, may be retired after such employee shall have served in covered employment for thirty years, or on or after attaining the age of sixty years in the case of a female employee, or the age of sixty-five years in the case of male employee, and shall after retirement during the remainder of his or her life receive the pension fixed by this Ordinance, subject to such qualifications and reservations as are herein contained; provided that any covered employee may continue active work at the option of the City of Dover, irrespective of his age, provided he continues mentally and physically fit to properly discharge his duties.
Section 2. An employee shall be considered in “covered employment”, within the meaning of this Ordinance, while the employee receives, or in the case of service prior to the enactment of this Ordinance, has received a regular salary or wage form the City Treasury; provided, however, that an employee shall not be considered in covered employment while employed in an office to which said employee had been elected by popular vote at a regular City election.
An employee who shall be in covered employment on the date of retirement and who shall have served in covered employment for at least fifteen (15) years during the period that ends on the date of retirement and that includes no interruptions aggregating not over five years, shall be considered “a covered employee” within the meaning of this ordinance.
Allowable interruptions from continuous covered employment shall be interruptions arising from (a) leaves of absence granted to employees for illness, or for voluntarily entering the military or naval services of the United States of America in time of war, or upon being called into the Armed Federal Service by operation of Federal law at any time or (b) employment in an office to which the employee has been elected by popular vote at a regular City election, or (c) involuntary severance which shall include a required leave of absence on account of maternity according to rules and regulations prescribed as hereinafter provided, but the employee shall not be considered in covered employment during any period of such interruption, except as hereinafter provided. The time spent by City employees in the Armed Services of the United States, or in the auxiliaries of such Services in time of war, or when called into such Federal Service by operation of Federal law, shall be credited to each such employee as time actually spent in covered employment in this City. No time spent in such services shall be considered any part of the allowable interruptions aggregating not over five years as provided elsewhere in this Ordinance.
This Section shall be construed to include those City employees who were regularly employed on a full time or annual basis, but whose compensation prior to enactment of this Ordinance may have been computed on an hourly or weekly basis. Proof of length, regularity and continuity of the services of such employee shall be determined by the records of the City.
Section 3. PENSION BENEFITS: The pension shall be payable monthly and subject to the limitation that the monthly pension payment shall not exceed Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($250.00) nor be less than Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00). The monthly pension payment shall be one-sixtieth of the monthly retiring base salary multiplied by the number of years (taken to the nearest one-twelfth part of a year) which the employee shall have served in covered employment during the period that ends on the date of retirement and that includes no interruption from continuous covered employment except allowable interruptions not over five years.
In the case of an employee who shall have been continuously in covered employment during the sixty consecutive months ending on the date of retirement, the “monthly retiring base salary” shall be the salary for covered employment paid to the employment during such sixty months, divided by sixty. In the case of an employee whose covered employment during such sixty months shall have been interrupted by an allowable interruption, the “monthly retiring base salary” shall be the salary for covered employment paid to employees during the last sixty months of covered employment, prior to the date of retirement, divided by sixty.
Section 4. DISABILITY PENSION: An employee who shall have become disabled while in covered employment and after having served in covered employment for at least fifteen (15) years during the period that ends on the inception of such disability and that includes no interruptions from continuous covered employment, except allowable interruptions not over five years, so as to be prevented by such disability from performing his or her active duties, may be retired on a disability pension.
Such disabled employee shall be kept on the active salary payroll during the period of authorized sick leave otherwise provided by the City of Dover. At the end of such authorized sick leave such disabled employee shall be retired and shall receive a pension calculated in accordance with Section 3 hereof and payable during the subsequent uninterrupted continuance of such disability until the date when such disabled employee would otherwise become eligible for retirement on pension in accordance with Section 1 hereof; provided however, that in the event the retired employee, while so disabled, shall engage in any gainful occupation or business then such disability pension shall be reduced by the excess, if any, of the compensation or profit earned from such occupation or business over one-half of the salary last received by such employee for active service in covered employment. If such disability shall continue until the date when such disabled employee shall otherwise become eligible for retirement on pension in accordance with Section hereof, then the disability pension shall cease, but such disabled employee shall simultaneously enter upon the pension provided by Section 1 hereof.
Decisions as to whether such disability exists or continues shall be by majority vote of the Disability Commission, consisting of the City Manager, Chairman, who shall, however, have not vote, a member of the City Council to be selected by the City Council, who shall represent the City, a person, either medical or lay, appointed by the Mayor to represent the public, to serve during all or part of the term of the Mayor, in the discretion of the Mayor, and a physician selected by the disabled employee to serve only when the Commission is considered the case of such employee.
The Disability Commission shall, at least once a year or oftener, at its discretion, while the retired employee is receiving a disability pension, require such retired employee to furnish satisfactory proof of the continuance of such disability. Whenever, in the opinion of the Disability Commission it shall appear that such retired employee has recovered to the extent of being able to perform such employee to resume active service, whereupon no further monthly pension payments shall be made under this Section.
Members of the Disability Commission shall serve on the Commission without compensation. The City Manager is authorized to pay the costs of any examinations or investigations which he, with the advice of the City and public members of the Commission, may deem it proper to make concerning the existence or continued existence of such disability.
The period for which the disability pension shall have been paid shall be considered an allowable interruption which is allowable in addition to the allowable interruptions aggregating not over five years, in determining subsequent eligibility for retirement on pension under Section 1 hereof.
Section 5. PENSION BUDGET: PAYMENTS: The City Manager shall use a salary payroll record to include the employees eligible for pension, and at the time of drafting the budget he shall include, in addition to an amount for active employees salaries, the names, addresses and amounts for those employees who are carried on the pension payroll, plus the names and addresses of the employees who may become eligible for retirement during the period covered in the Budget. The payment of the monthly pension benefits of this Ordinance shall be made solely by the City of Dover in the same way and by the same proceedings as salaries are paid and so provided for the active employees, except only as herein otherwise provided.
Section 6. APPLICATION FOR PENSION: CERTIFIED REPORT: RECORDS: A covered employee may request retirement with pension in accordance with this Ordinance by making written request therefor to the City Manager or to the head of the Department or Agency for which he or she is employed, at least thirty (30) days prior to the date of retirement; or the City Manager or the head of the department or agency may, in accordance with this Ordinance, retire a covered employee of his department shall be prepared, at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of retirement, in such form as may be prescribed by the City Manager shall finally decide whether the employee in entitled to the pension benefits and the amount thereof, except only in the case of controversy, provision for which is provided in this Ordinance. A copy of such statement shall also be given to the employee at least fifteen (15) days prior to date of retirement.
All records of whatever kind of character received or to be received by the City Manager on pension cases shall be kept by him as all other official records of the office are preserved.
The City Manager shall be the chief administrative officer of this ordinance. As such he is hereby empowered and directed to make such rules and regulations as may seem to him necessary and desirable to assist in carrying out its provisions. Such rules and regulations must have the approval of the City Solicitor and shall be publicized in full at least once in the City. After such approval and publications such rules and regulations shall have the force and effect of law.
Before any covered employee is retired with pension benefits according to the provisions of this Ordinance the correctness of the facts set forth in the application of any covered employee for benefits shall be certified to by the City Manager or by the head of the department or agency in which such employee is serving at the time of making his application.
Any covered employee who falsifies his age, either in an application to secure pension benefits or to continue in his position beyond the age limit specified for mandatory retirement shall forfeit all his rights and benefits under this Ordinance.
Section 7. ARBITRATION COMMITTEE: HEARINGS: NOTICE: OATHS: For the purpose of settling any controversy that may arise out of the administration of this Ordinance there is hereby created an Arbitration Committee consisting of the Mayor, or his appointee, a member of Council to be selection by Council, and the City Manager, who shall hear and adjudicate such controversy at a time and place convenient to all parties, after due notice in writing has been given to all interested parties, at least ten days before date of hearing, and who shall have the power to administer oaths and to do such acts and make such reasonable rules in the premises as such committee may deem necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Ordinance. The written decision of any two members of the Committee shall be final, and the members of he Committee shall serve without pay.
Section 8. NOTIFICATION: RESOLUTION: When the employee is not entitled to the pension benefits of this Ordinance, the City Manager shall so advise him or her by letter, but if the employee is entitled to pension benefits of the Ordinance, the City Manager shall prepare and give to the employee an appropriate Certificate, signed by the Mayor and attested by the City Manager which certificate may be in the following form;
RESOLUTION
Whereas, The retirement of
(name) (address)
an employee of the City of Dover, from his duties as in the
(title of duty) (name
presents a suitable opportunity for expressing the esteem in which of department of agency)
we hold as a faithful and satisfactory public servant; therefore
(him or her)
BE IT RESOLVED, That the City of Dover expresses its warmest appreciation and thanks to
for the able and loyal manner in which has uniformly
(name) (his of her)
performed public duties and further
(he or she)
RESOLVED, That this resolution be evidence of a right to the pension provided
by the “Dover City Employees Pension Plan”; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the City Manager be hereby requested to sign this Resolution and put the City Seal upon it.
Section 9. OTHER BENEFITS: If any Federal or State of Delaware law now in effect, or hereafter passed, shall provide for annuities, pensions, disability allowances, workmen’s compensation, or other benefits, on account of the same service for which a pension is granted under this Ordinance, then the benefits herein provided shall be reduced to the extent of any Federal or State of Delaware benefits so granted. In the event an employee retired by the City of Dover shall thereafter earn income in such an amount be entitled under Federal law, then the pension granted under this Ordinance shall be reduced to the extent of the Federal benefits so forfeited.
Section 10. BENEFICIARIES OF PENSIONS NOT TO BE EMPLOYED BY THE CITY: No person while receiving a pension under this Ordinance shall be employed by the City of Dover in any capacity, except by appointment of the Mayor or by election by popular vote at a regular City election; and during any such appointed or elected term he or she shall not be entitled to a pension unless he or she serves a term or office without pay.
Section 11. PENSION BENEFITS FREE OF ATTACHMENT: ASSIGNMENT: The pension benefits herein mentioned shall not be subject to attachment or execution and shall be payable only to the beneficiary designated and shall not be subject to assignment and transfer.
Section 12. On and after the effective date of this Ordinance only this new employees who enter the employment of the City of Dover under the age of fifty-one years shall participate in the pension benefits herein provided; provided, however, the foregoing shall not apply to the employment of persons who are absent from covered employment because of any allowable interruptions from covered employment aggregating not over five years.
Section 13. This Ordinance shall become effective on the first day of July, A.D. 1955.
PASSED JANUARY 24, 1955.
Approved:
Clerk of Council Mayor
Council adjourned at 12:40 A.M.
F. Neylan
City Clerk