§ 24-8-401 - Board of trustees. - Arkansas Statutes

24-8-401. Board of trustees.

(a) (1) In cities in a county having a population of one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) or more, in which county there are two (2) or more municipal courts with a judge of a municipal court licensed to practice law, there is created a board of trustees which shall consist of the mayor, city clerk, city treasurer, city health officer, and municipal judges of the city.

(2) In counties having a population of at least one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) and at least one (1) county municipal court, there is hereby created a board of trustees which shall consist of the county judge, county clerk, county treasurer, and the judge of the county municipal court.

(b) (1) The board shall receive and administer the funds collected under the provisions of this subchapter and shall have the power to make necessary rules therefor.

(2) (A) The board shall have the authority to invest such funds as are not necessary for the immediate use for payment of retirement benefits in interest-bearing securities of the State of Arkansas or certificates of the United States or any or all such securities.

(B) Subject to subdivision (b)(2)(C) of this section, a city or county having municipal judges' and clerks' pension plans with assets in excess of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) shall have full power to invest and reinvest the moneys of the plan and to hold, purchase, sell, assign, transfer, or dispose of any of the investments so made, as well as the proceeds of the investments and moneys. Such authority shall be implemented by the mayor and the city treasurer, or the county judge and the county treasurer, respectively.

(C) The investments and reinvestments shall only be made in accordance with the prudent investor rule as set forth in 24-3-417 -- 24-3-426.

(D) A city or county having municipal judges' and clerks' pension plans with assets in excess of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) may employ an investment advisor as its agent to make investment recommendations and to invest the assets pursuant to a written investment policy, subject to the terms, conditions, limitations, and restrictions imposed by law upon investments of state retirement systems, as set forth in 24-3-417 -- 24-3-426.

(E) The investment policy shall not limit the investments to interest-bearing bonds.

(F) A city, mayor, or city treasurer, or county, county judge, or county treasurer, respectively, who complies with the requirements of 24-3-425(a) is not liable to the beneficiaries or to the trust for the decisions or actions of the agent to whom the function was delegated.

(G) By accepting the delegation of a trust function from a city or county, an agent submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state.

(c) (1) The city treasurer or county treasurer, as the case may be, shall be the treasurer of the board and, at the direction of the board, shall deposit the funds paid into the board in some suitable depository. He shall draw and sign all necessary checks at the direction of the board.

(2) He shall execute a bond in a sum fixed by the board to guarantee his good faith in the handling of any funds coming into his hands under the provisions of this subchapter.

(d) The city clerk or county clerk, as the case may be, shall be the secretary of the board.

(e) The board shall constitute one (1) of its members as chair, who shall serve for a period of two (2) years.

(f) Meetings of the board may be called by the chair or by a majority of the members in a manner established by the board.

(g) (1) The city clerk or county clerk, as the case may be, shall receive the sum of ten dollars ($10.00) for each and every meeting attended, but he shall not be paid more than fifty dollars ($50.00) in any one (1) year.

(2) All other members shall serve without pay.