§8-14-21. Election to determine if civil service provisions of article shall apply to Class III city or Class IV town or village; existing police civil service not affected; certain regular members automatically covered.

Any Class III city or Class IV town or village having a paid police department and which has not prior to the effective date of this article established a police civil service system, may, by ordinance, provide for an election to determine whether the civil service provisions of this article shall apply to such city, town or village. Such election shall be held at the first regular municipal or general election held therein after the adoption of said ordinance and shall be conducted and the results thereof ascertained as provided by law for other elections. The ballots, or ballot labels where voting machines are used, shall have printed thereon:

/ For Police Civil Service

/ Against Police Civil Service

If a majority of all of the legal votes cast on this question be against police civil service, then none of the civil service provisions of this article shall apply within such city, town or village. If a majority of all of the legal votes cast on this question be for police civil service, then all of the civil service provisions of this article shall apply within such city, town or village with like effect as if such Class III city or Class IV town or village where a Class I or Class II city: Provided, That all members of the paid police department of such city, town or village who were so employed by such city, town or village on the date of the election and who, as of such date, have had four or more years' service as members of any paid police department (including the years any member occupied the office of chief of any such paid police department) shall be considered to have been appointed as members under the civil service provisions of this article and shall hold their positions as members in accordance therewith. All members of the paid police department of such city, town or village who do not have, as of the date of such election, four or more years' service as members of a paid police department (including the years any member occupied the office of chief of any such paid police department) shall be subject to all examinations provided for in the civil service provisions of this article for members, except that if any such individual has sustained an injury or injuries in the line of duty while in police service, such injury or injuries shall not disqualify such individual under the medical examination required under the civil service provisions of this article.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to any such city, town or village operating under police civil service on the effective date of this article.