19-13-210. Participation in retirement system. (1) Cities of the first and second class that employ full-paid firefighters shall participate in the retirement system. If a city of the first or second class is reduced to a city of the third class or a town under 7-1-4118, it shall continue to participate in the retirement system as long as it has retired firefighters or survivors eligible to receive retirement benefits.

(2) Firefighters hired by the Montana air national guard on or after October 1, 2001, or on or after the date of the execution of an agreement between the department of military affairs and the board, whichever is later, shall participate in the retirement system.

(3) (a) A city that is not covered under subsection (1) and that has full-paid firefighters covered by the public employees' retirement system and any rural fire district department with full-paid firefighters covered by the public employees' retirement system may elect to be covered under the retirement system as provided in 19-13-211.

(b) An election by a city fire department to be covered by the retirement system must be made through adoption of an ordinance stating that the governing body of the city agrees to be bound by the provisions of the retirement system.

(c) A similar election may be made by a rural fire district through adoption of a resolution stating that the governing body of the fire district agrees to be bound by the provisions of the retirement system.

(d) The ordinance or resolution must specify the effective date of the election. The provisions of the retirement system become applicable on the effective date specified in the adopted ordinance or resolution. A certified copy of the ordinance or resolution must be provided to the board.

(4) The following are the terms and conditions of an election to join the retirement system pursuant to subsection (3):

(a) Each firefighter employed by the fire department before the effective date of the election must be given 90 days from the effective date of the election to make an individual, one-time, irrevocable election to remain in the public employees' retirement system or to join the retirement system. Failure to make an election under this subsection (4)(a) must be considered an election to remain in the public employees' retirement system.

(b) Each firefighter employed by the fire department who is hired on or after the effective date of the election must be covered by the retirement system.

(c) A firefighter electing to join the retirement system may retain prior service in the public employees' retirement system or purchase the prior service and transfer that prior service to the retirement system as provided for in 19-2-715.