§ 22-138. Transit employees.

Any member in the employ of the City on September 30, 1984, whose employment shall be separated due to the abolishment of the St. Petersburg Municipal Transit System and the extension of transit service into the City by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority shall have all pension membership disposition options available that any other employee of the City has when the employee's employment with the City is terminated. In lieu of any of these aforementioned disposition options, these transit system employees may elect one of the following options:

(1)

Any member may elect to continue in membership of the system while employed by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority in a full time, regularly budgeted position, provided that until October 6, 1985, each employee electing this alternative shall contribute to the system a percentage of such member's earnable compensation as provided in this division. In addition, employer contributions as provided by section 22-133(c) shall be payable on behalf of such member. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority may pay to the pension fund all or a portion of the contribution which normally would have been contributed by the employee, provided however, that any such contribution paid on behalf of the employee by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority shall not be considered to be member contributions for purposes of the return of contributions as provided for by section 22-132(d). Should such a member cease to be an employee of the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority by reason of separation, retirement or death, or become otherwise ineligible for continued membership in the system, such person may elect such disposition of the membership as such person would have been entitled to elect had such person continued in the employment of the City.

(2)

A member may elect to demand that the board disburse from the retirement fund such amounts as may be necessary to assist any member as herein described to purchase retirement credit at such member's option under the rules of the Florida Retirement System, provided that such disbursement for each employee shall not exceed the larger of the present value of the employee's earned benefit under the retirement system as computed by the actuary, or a sum equal to three times the amount of the employee's contribution. Any employee electing this option shall be considered to have withdrawn contributions from the employees' retirement system, thus terminating membership therein. Any member electing this option will not receive interest accrued on such member's contributions.

(Code 1973, § 22-61; Code 1992, § 22-138)