The board of chosen freeholders shall thereupon within thirty days after receipt of such fiscal statement publish the same in at least one newspaper having general circulation in such county and also publish a notice that a public hearing will be held to consider the question as to whether the members of the county police department shall be permitted to become members of the fund and in what manner the county contribution for prior service credits shall be paid. Such notice of public hearing shall set forth the place, the time and the date that such hearing shall take place. The date so fixed for the hearing shall be not less than five days after such publication but must be held before October fifth of that year. At such public hearing any citizen or taxpayer of such county shall be heard. After the public hearing the board of chosen freeholders shall pass such resolution adopting one of the three methods of payment. Such resolution adopting a method of payment shall be binding except that if installment payments are provided for, any installment may be paid before the time such installment becomes due under the method adopted in said resolution. After the passage of such resolution, a certified copy thereof shall be forwarded by the clerk of such board of chosen freeholders to the board of trustees of the police and firemen’s retirement system of New Jersey.

L.1946, c. 192, p. 783, s. 2.