§ 71. Accrual of liabilities. 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, a county may by local law provide for the operation of a plan on an accrued liability basis whereby amounts charged to participants shall be based on the estimated total liability of participants actuarially computed, arising each year. A county also may by local law provide for the operation of a plan on an experience rating basis, whereby amounts charged to participants shall be based either partially or totally on the past liability of participants. Once adopted, an accrued liability basis or an experience rating basis shall not thereafter be discontinued.

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2. If a county elects to operate its plan on an experience rating basis, the chief elected official of such county shall create and appoint a labor-management safety committee. The purposes of the committee shall be to educate public employees of the plan participants in proper health and safety procedures in the work places of the participants, and to design such additional programs as may be appropriate to the development of a safe working environment in participants' facilities and job sites. The committee shall accomplish these purposes by establishing and maintaining such employee safety and health programs as it deems appropriate and by publicizing the availability of such programs. The purposes and powers of the committee may be expanded by the county by adopting rules and regulations pursuant to section sixty-five of this chapter.

3. The committee, which shall be appointed by the chief elected official, shall be comprised of an equal number of employer and employee representatives consisting of not less than three nor more than five representatives each of the employer and of the employees, respectively. The participants in the plan shall submit to the chief elected official a list of candidates for the labor-management safety committee. In cases in which employee organizations recognized or certified to represent employees of the participants pursuant to Article 14 of the civil service law exist, such recognized or certified employee organizations shall submit a list of employee candidates for the labor-management safety committee to the chief elected official. The chief elected official shall create the committee from the lists of candidates so submitted. The chief elected official, or person designated by him, shall act as the chairperson of the committee, but shall not be entitled to vote on any committee business. The members of the committee shall serve without salary, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties pursuant to this section. The committee shall meet at least four times a year, with at least one meeting in each calendar quarter. The chairperson shall designate the dates of the meeting, and shall give at least ten days written notice to each committee member of each meeting. The costs and expenses of the committee and its health and safety programs shall be an administrative expense of the plan.

4. A recognized or certified employee organization may file a grievance in writing with the chief elected official of the county alleging that the county is not complying with subdivision two or three of this section. The grievance shall designate in detail the particulars in which the employee organization alleges the county has failed to comply with either or both such subdivisions. The chief elected official shall answer the grievance in writing within fifteen days of its filing.

5. If such answer is unsatisfactory to the employee organization, or is not received by the employee organization within fifteen calendar days, then the employee organization may submit the grievance to arbitration. In such event the employee organization shall request in writing a list of three arbitrators from the nearest regional office of the American arbitration association. The association shall compile and send a copy of such list to each party. Each party shall rank the arbitrators in order of decreasing preference from one to three and shall return the marked list within ten calendar days of receipt to the regional office of the American arbitration association from which the list was requested. Such office shall then determine the arbitrator most acceptable to both parties.

6. The arbitrator selected shall hear arguments from both parties and from such additional witnesses as the arbitrator deems necessary to assist in rendering a decision. Within thirty days of such hearing the arbitrator shall render a decision which shall be final and binding on both parties.