(a) The following words, terms, and phrases, wherever used in this subpart, including this section, shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them in this section, unless the context plainly indicates otherwise or that a more restricted or extended meaning is intended:
(1) ANNIVERSARY DATE. The date of establishment and the month and day thereof annually thereafter.
(2) APPOINTED EMPLOYEE. A person who holds his or her office or position by reason of being appointed by the mayor or city council or other appointing authority of the city; who is not a classified service employee; and who serves solely at the pleasure of the respective appointing authority.
(3) BASIC MONTHLY EARNINGS and MONTHLY SALARY. Basic monthly compensation, exclusive of overtime or other forms of extra compensation but including longevity pay, which shall be regarded as having been received in equal monthly installments during each of the months prior to the accrual date for which the longevity is payable, whether paid to the member employee in monthly or other installments.
(4) BOARD. The board of managers as herein provided.
(5) BOARD OF HEALTH. The county board of health whose territorial jurisdiction includes the territory of the city.
(6) BOARD OF MANAGERS. The administrative board of the system as provided in Division 3.
(7) CHILD. Includes sons or daughters of the participant or retiree as determined by the laws of intestate succession of this state in effect as of the date of the death of the participant or retiree.
(8) CITY. Means and has reference to each Class 1 city of the State of Alabama, separately, the classified as a Class 1 municipality according to the last, any preceding, or any succeeding federal census.
(9) CIVIC CENTER or CIVIC CENTER AUTHORITY. Any public corporation, authority, or agency organized pursuant to state law for the purpose of providing, constructing, operating, and maintaining a civic center in the county in which the city is located or in the city.
(10) CIVIL DEFENSE AGENCY. Any public organization, agency, or authority organized or existing pursuant to state law and exercising civil defense or emergency management functions within the city or within the city and elsewhere in the county.
(11) CLERK or CITY CLERK. The city clerk of the city.
(12) CONSTRUCTIVE EMPLOYEE. An employee of a constructive subsidiary of the city such as an airport authority, library board, civil defense, civic center, communications district, or emergency management district/agency.
(13) COUNCIL or CITY COUNCIL. The governing body of the city.
(14) COUNTY. The county in which the city is located and if city is located in more than one county, then that county in which the major portion or larger part of the city is located.
(15) CREDITED SERVICE or CREDITABLE TIME.
a. The credited service or creditable time of a participant or employee member shall include the following:
1. All of such participant’s or employee member’s paid membership time.
2. All participant’s or employee member’s paid prior service time.
3. One half of each year completed in the unclassified service of the city as a common laborer prior to becoming a participant or employee member, provided that such participant or employee member shall have completed not less than 10 consecutive years of such service under the provisions contained herein.
b. No participant or employee member having pension credit hereunder for unclassified service, nor the spouse or other survivor of any participant or employee member, shall be entitled to receive any allowances or pension benefits under any pension or retirement system created only for unclassified employees of the city.
(16) CUSTODIAN. The custodian of the fund.
(17) DATE OF ESTABLISHMENT or DATE OF ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SYSTEM FOR A CITY. The date of establishment of the system for each Class 1 city according to any federal census preceding or subsequent to the passage of this subpart, shall be deemed September 1, 1937. The date of establishment of the system for each such city of a Class 1 municipality according to any federal census preceding the passage of this subpart, but which may have such a population according to any federal census succeeding the passage of this subpart, shall be deemed the date upon which such city first reaches such population according to such succeeding federal census.
(18) DIRECTOR OF FINANCE. The employee of the city whose duties are those of treasurer or director of financial services for the city.
(19) EFFECTIVE DATE. The date of establishment.
(20) EMPLOYEE. A person between whom and the city there exists the technical relationship of employer and employee, whether such person be employed through the principal governing body of the city or through a subsidiary body such as a library, airport authority, emergency management authority, communications district, or park board.
(21) EMPLOYEE MEMBER. A person who is simultaneously a qualified employee and a participant.
(22) EMPLOYER. The city.
(23) FINAL AVERAGE SALARY. The sum of the three years of highest compensation, exclusive of overtime or other forms of extra compensation but including longevity pay, in the 10 years immediately preceding retirement after the effective date of this plan, divided by 36 months. Effective July 1, 1996, compensation in excess of one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000), or such other amount provided in the Internal Revenue Code, shall be disregarded. Such amount shall be adjusted for increases in the cost of living in accordance with § 401(a)(17)(B), Internal Revenue Code, except that the dollar increase in effect on January 1 of any calendar year shall be effective for the fiscal years beginning with or within such calendar year. Effective July 1, 2002, compensation in excess of one hundred sixty thousand dollars ($160,000) shall be disregarded. Such amount shall be automatically adjusted for increases in the cost of living in accordance with § 415(d), Internal Revenue Code, except that the dollar increase in effect on January 1 of any calendar year shall be effective for the fiscal years beginning with or within such calendar year. If compensation for any prior determination period is taken into account in determining a participant’s benefits for the current fiscal year, the compensation for such prior determination period is subject to the applicable annual compensation limit in effect for that prior period.
(24) FIRE AND POLICE EMPLOYEE. Any person who, on or after the effective date of this plan, is employed by the city as a full time firefighter or sworn police officer; police officer shall include policewoman, and fireman or firefighter shall include a female employed in the position of a firefighter.
(25) FISCAL YEAR. The accounting year of the system which shall run from each July 1 to June 30 next following.
(26) FULL TIME EMPLOYEE. A salaried employee who is normally scheduled to work 16 days per month or more, and not a temporary employee or one who is in a temporary position in a regular full-time budgeted position.
(27) FUND. The retirement and relief fund provided for as a part of the system, and shall include assets in the form of money and in other forms.
(28) FUTURE SERVICE CREDIT or PAID MEMBERSHIP TIME. The credit given a participant for employment with the city for which that participant shall have made contributions to the fund through payroll deductions or direct payments where authorized.
(29) GENERAL EMPLOYEES. All employees, including constructive employees of the city, who are employed in full-time positions in departments and by city related entities, other than the firefighters and police officers.
(30) IN THE CLASSIFIED SERVICE. In the classified service as defined in any civil service statute or rule now or hereafter applicable to the city, and for the purposes of this subpart only shall include full time municipal judges, regularly assigned to the trial of cases.
(31) IN THE SERVICE. In the service of the city. A person shall be deemed in the service of the city while the technical relationship of employer and employee exists between such person and the city.
(32) MAYOR. The mayor or chief executive officer of the city.
(33) OFFICE. Means an elective office of the city.
(34) OFFICER or OFFICIAL. Means a person holding an elected office as herein defined.
(35) PARTICIPANT. A qualified employee who participates in the system under Division 4.
(36) PAST SERVICE CREDIT or PRIOR SERVICE TIME. The credit given a participant for employment with the city or as otherwise provided herein except for such a period of time for which the employee received no pay from the city.
(37) PAYROLL PERIOD. A period of time for which a payment of salary is ordinarily made with respect to a qualified employee.
(38) PERSONNEL BOARD. The board of control of any civil service system provided for the city by statute or; if at any time there be no such board of control, then the governing body of the city.
(39) PERSONNEL DIRECTOR. The personnel director provided for the city by statute or; if there be no such personnel director, the city clerk, the custodian, or another, as the board may determine.
(40) QUALIFIED EMPLOYEE. Any person who on or after the date of establishment is employed by the city as a full time employee in a job:
a. Shall include:
1. General full-time employees of the city subject to the merit system.
2. An officer elected by the people who properly elects to participate in the plan.
3. An appointed employee who properly elects to participate in the plan.
4. An employee of the emergency management district, library, airport authority, communication district, or unclassified service of the city.
b. Shall specifically exclude any person who is:
1. An officer of the city who does not elect to participate in the plan.
2. A member of the library, museum, park, airport authority, zoning adjustment boards, or similar boards with active duty on an intermittent basis, such as not regularly upon successive business days.
3. A part-time employee of the city.
4. An appointed employee who does not properly elect to participate in the plan.
(41) RETIREE. A former participant who has been granted a retirement allowance or a disability allowance by the board.
(42) SPOUSE. Shall include widow and widower; and shall mean either husband or wife to whom the employee member is legally married.
(43) SURVIVOR. Any individual eligible to receive a survivor’s benefit pursuant to Division 6.
(44) SYSTEM. The system provided by and comprised within this subpart, and such system shall be the system applicable in and for each Class 1 city, individually, as may have the requisite statutory population according to the last, any preceding, or any succeeding federal census.
(45) TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE. Is a salaried employee who works part-time rather than a full-time employee for the purposes of this subpart and shall include:
a. Part-time employees who are normally scheduled to work less than a full-time employee.
b. Employees employed to work full-time but only for a definite period of time not exceeding 12 months in a 12-month period.
c. Employees whose work is seasonal in nature and who are employed for a period not exceeding four months.
d. Employees who are students of public administration or other professional areas who are employed for a definite period of time not exceeding six months of full-time employment in any 12-month period.
e. Employees who are hired because of an unforeseen condition which is likely to cause loss of life or loss or damage to property, the stoppage of service, or serious inconvenience to the public, the length of employment not exceeding 30 consecutive days.
f. Employees who during a congressionally declared war, period of hostilities, or nationally declared emergency are hired without examination, such employment not exceeding the duration of the war emergency or period of hostilities plus six months.
g. Employees in a job, whether in the classified or unclassified service, the compensation for which is subsidized in whole or part with funds provided under the Federal Comprehensive Employment and Training Act or any federal program for temporary public employment, except any such employees who are in supervisory positions and are designated as administrative employees.
(46) TOTAL COVERED PAYROLL. The total of the basic annual salaries plus annualized longevity pay, but excluding overtime or other forms of extra compensation, of all participants in the system at any point in time.
(47) TREASURER OF FUNDS. The director of finance, or in such director’s absence, his or her designee as approved by the board.
(48) UNCLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE. Employees in all regular, full-time positions not subject to the merit system.
(b) Words written in the singular shall include the plural, words in the plural shall include the singular, words of the masculine gender shall include the feminine gender, and words of the feminine gender shall include the masculine gender unless the context shall clearly and absolutely indicate a more restrictive meaning.