Explanation
BACKGROUND: This ordinance authorizes the Director of the Department of Finance and Management to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Franklin County Commissioners in order to reimburse Franklin County for the City's portion of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) costs arising out of the lawsuit known as State ex rel,. Altman-Bates v. Pub. Emps. Retirement Bd. 2016-Ohio-3100 that mandates service credit for up to 254 current and former employees of the non-profit Franklin County Public Defender’s office (FCPD) hired between 1985 and 1992. The Ohio Supreme Court's decision in Altman-Bates is based upon a previous court case also involving pension obligations known as State ex rel. Mallory v. Pub. Emp. Retirement Bd. (1998), 82 Ohio St. 3d 235, 1998-Ohio-380. The City of Columbus and Franklin County previously negotiated an agreement to settle the financial obligations of the Mallory case which was authorized by City Council through ordinance 0782-1999. This agreement stated that the two entities would share expenses associated with the Mallory case.
The (FCPD) office was organized as a non-profit corporation prior to 1999. The Public Employees Retirement Board (PERB) had initially determined that employees of the non-profit Franklin County Public Defender’s Office were not entitled to service credit in OPERS. However, in the Mallory case, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered OPERS to credit service time to the FCPD employees and further directed Franklin County to remit pension contributions to OPERS on behalf of the employees who worked for the former (FCPD) office hired between 1985 and 1992.
From 1976 through the present, the City of Columbus has contracted with the Franklin County Commissioners and the FCPD office for the performance of the City’s duty under Chapter 173 of the Columbus City Codes, 1959, and Section 120 of the Ohio Revised Code to provide legal counsel to indigent persons charged with municip...
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