City of Atlanta v. Southern States Police Benevolent Assoc. of Ga.

The boards of three city of Atlanta defined benefit pension plans have the authority to hire a third party administrator to handle the administration of the pension benefits and to obtain advice from independent legal counsel on matters regarding their authority and dutes.

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This is an appeal from the trial court’s order granting partial summary judgment to the plaintiffs on their claims for declaratory and permanent injunctive relief pertaining to three City of Atlanta defined benefit pension plans. The three pension plans are the Fire Fighters Pension Fund, which covers firefighters employed by the City of Atlanta; the Police Officers Pension Fund, which covers police officers employed by the City of Atlanta; and the General Employees Pension Fund, which covers employees of the City of Atlanta and the Atlanta Board of Education collectively, the “City of Atlanta Pension Funds”. After entertaining cross motions for summary judgment, the trial court ruled that the board of trustees for each of the three City of Atlanta Pension Funds have the exclusive authority to hire a third party administrator to handle the administration of pension benefit payments and to obtain advice from independent legal counsel on matters regarding their authority and duties. The trial court also permanently enjoined the City of Atlanta and other defendants1 from interfering with the decisions on these matters made by the board of trustees for the Fire Fighters Pension Fund and Police Officers Pension Fund. The City of Atlanta now appeals. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. The essential facts are not in dispute. Separate boards of trustees administer the three City of Atlanta Pension Funds. Each board includes an appointee of the Mayor of the City of Atlanta, the Chief Financial Officer of the City of Atlanta, a City Council member, and members elected from active and retired employees.

Unhappy with the City of Atlanta’s administration of the pension funds, the boards of trustees of the Fire Fighters Pension Fund and Police Officers Pension Fund adopted resolutions to hire a third party administrator to perform benefit administration services for the respective pension plans. On January 30, 2003, both Boards signed agreements with Administrative Services, Inc. “ASI” for this purpose.2

City of Atlanta v. Southern States Police Benevolent Assoc. of Ga.

The boards of three city of Atlanta defined benefit pension plans have the authority to hire a third party administrator to handle the administration of the pension benefits and to obtain advice from independent legal counsel on matters regarding their authority and dutes.

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