346 Mass. 638 | Mass. | 1964
The Medford city manager and the members of the city council seek declaratory relief concerning (a) their powers with respect to the administration of noncontributory pensions under Gr. L. c. 32, § 89A, in view of St. 1960, c. 728, and (b) the effect of e. 728 in Medford,
Statute 1960, c. 728, entitled, “An Act to transfer to retirement boards the responsibility for administration of certain non-contributory pension legislation,” amended numerous sections of G. L. c. 32. Section 16 of this 1960 statute amended G. L. c. 32, § 89A, so that it now contains the following provision, “The words ‘appropriate public authority’ as used in this section, shall mean . . . as to a . . . city . . . the appropriate retirement board, established under section twenty, having jurisdiction in the governmental unit in which person [sic] was employed . . ..” Chapter 728 was enacted upon a recommendation (1960 House Doc. No. 2727) by the State Retirement Law Commission (see G. L. c. 6, § 102, inserted by St. 1958, c. 623, § 2) in its report submitted pursuant to Res. 1959, c. 57, which stated (p. 8) that there was “urgent need for transferring the responsibility for administering all retirement and pension provisions to the . . . retirement boards in the various governmental units.”
Since July 1,1961, the effective date of c. 728, the retirement board has granted three applications for annuities under G-. L. c. 32, § 89A. The board has requested the city manager to take the necessary steps to obtain an appropriation to pay the annuities. Other action concerning noncontributory pensions has been taken by the board and other similar matters are pending before it. The city manager and the city council contend that they, respectively, are still charged with the responsibility of discharging the duties created by c. 32, relating to non-contributory pensions and that the retirement board has no responsibility in the matter.
We do not suggest that the trial judge could not properly dismiss the bill as a matter of discretion, for the reasons stated by him. Nevertheless, since the city manager and city council have fully argued the principal issue, and because their contentions cannot prevail, a substantial amount of litigation may be avoided, if we grant declaratory relief. See Wellesley College v. Attorney Gen. 313 Mass. 722, 731; Simeone Stone Corp. v. Board of Appeals of Bourne, 345 Mass. 188, 192.
The 1960 amendment of c. 32, § 89A, particularly when read in the light of the report on which the statute was based (see fn. 1, supra), shows that the Legislature intended that the retirement board should exercise all powers under § 89A in any city. The Legislature must have been fully aware of the problems presented by a Plan E charter in this connection, for § 89A provides that the “section shall be- ' come effective ... in a city having a Plan E charter by the
The final decree is reversed. A new decree is to he entered declaring that, in Medford, by virtue of the amendment of G. L. c. 32, § 89A, by St. 1960, c. 728, § 16, the powers and responsibility for the administration of non-con-tributary pension matters dealt with in G. L. c. 32, § 89A, as amended, are vested in the retirement board.
So ordered.
The report pointed out that there were ninety-nine contributory retirement systems in the State and that retirement boards administered contributory systems only (G. L. c. 32, §§ 1-28). The report then stated, “In addition, in every city . . . there are certain designated retiring authorities who administer various provisions for non-contributory pensions and death benefits. This complex situation results in numerous individual officers, officials or boards . . . being charged with the . . . responsibility of retiring specified categories of public employees. The maintenance of multiple retiring agencies in a single governmental unit is administratively unsound and leads to confusion, lack of uniformity and overlapping services. The [commission approves the proposal to consolidate in one agency the responsibility for administering retirement and pension provisions for employees of each governmental unit. In a city, it would be the retirement board of the city . . . . ’'