BILL NUMBER: S5564
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act authorizing the village of Port Chester to offer an optional
twenty-year retirement plan to a certain police officer employed by such
village
 
PURPOSE:
This bill will allow Michael Sprague, a police officer employed by the
village of Port Chester, to elect to be covered under the provisions of
section 384-d of the New York retirement and social security law.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
Michael Sprague, a member of the New York state and local police and
fire retirement system, who was appointed as a police officer with the
village of Port Chester on January 7, 2013, and who, through no fault of
his own, failed to file a timely application to participate in the
special twenty year retirement plan contained in section 384-d of the
retirement and social security law, resulting in the crediting of his
service with the village of Port Chester in the general retirement plan
contained in section 375-i of such law, shall be given full credit in
the special twenty-year retirement plan for such service upon the
election of the village of Port Chester to assume the additional cost of
such service. The village of Port Chester may so elect by filing a
resolution of its local legislative body together with certification
that such police officer did not bar himself from participation in such
retirement plan as a result of his own negligence.
Section 2. All employer past service costs associated with implementing
the provisions of this act shall be borne by the village of Port Chester
and may be amortized over a ten-year period.
Section 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Police Officer Michael Sprague was hired on January 7, 2013 and on Janu-
ary 14, 2013, the Village completed and faxed his application (Form
PF5022) to the NYS Police and Fire Retirement System. It was returned to
the Village with Officer Sprague's registration number and plan code
384-d filled in by NYS on the appropriate sections of the form. The
first the Village learned that the officer was in the plan designated
375-i and not plan 384-d was when it received the annual report. NYS
advised the Village that the application form was not complete since it
had not been notarized, and that NYS had attempted to contact the offi-
cer. The Village did not follow up to ensure that the officer was in the
correct plan.. The Village has since had a change of payroll clerks, and
now desires to correct this omission. The Village requests this special
legislation to reopen the plan.
The identical bill S5551 passed the Senate and Assembly in 2017 and was
signed by the Governor.
Subsequent to 55551 being adopted into law, the village of Port Chester
approved a resolution to make the required payments to the state to
transfer Officer Sprague into the correct retirement plan. However,
Officer Sprague was not made aware that to complete the transfer, he had
to file additional forms. Said forms were not received by Officer Spra-
gue nor was he notified that the matter was pending. Officer Sprague was
advised by the village's human resources department that everything
concerning the retirement issue was completed and put to rest after the
bill passed and the village board approved the resolution. Officer Spra-
gue relied upon this assurance and trusted that everything was in order.
In November 2022, Office Sprague discovered, from retirement account
information newly accessible online, that he remained in the wrong
retirement plan, under 375i. Officer Sprague contacted state retirement
personnel and was advised that a new bill, similar to the last one,
would need to be introduced to rectify this error.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2017: S5551, passed Senate and Assembly, signed by Governor. Not timely
acted upon.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
See fiscal note.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.