Sec. 16. SEPARATION OF FIREMEN'S AND POLICEMEN'S PENSION FUNDS IN CERTAIN CITIES.  In any city or town subject to and operating under the Pension Law, the governing Body and Board of Trustees may, if it is deemed advisable and a majority of the members of said Fire Department or Police Department vote therefor, authorize and provide for the maintenance and administration of Pension Funds for each Department, said Funds to be the Policemen's Division of the Firemen and Policemen Pension Fund and the Firemen's Division of the Firemen and Policemen Pension Fund, to be kept independent of and apart from each other, and said Funds of each Department to consist of contributions by members of said Department, donations thereto and funds received from any source by said Department the purpose and effect of said division being to maintain the membership of and the payments into each Department separate, and to limit the rights of the members of each Department and their beneficiaries to the Pension Fund of their Department, and after the creation and establishment of a Firemen's Division of said Pension Fund and a Policemen's Division of said Pension Fund, the rights of Firemen shall be limited to the Firemen's Division of said Pension Fund, and the rights of Policemen and their beneficiaries shall be limited to the Policemen's Division of said Pension Fund.  After a separation has been voted and approved, as above provided, the Board of Trustees shall apportion the existing Firemen and Policemen Pension Fund between the two (2) Funds on the basis of contributions made by the members of the respective Departments and donations or payments to said Departments, and thereafter all payments to members or their beneficiaries of benefits, now accrued or hereafter accruing, shall be made from the Fund of their Department.  Where a separation of funds is had, as hereinabove provided, the governing body of any city or town whose voters have authorized the payment of funds from the public treasury into the Firemen and Policemen Pension Fund is hereby authorized to pay to the Board of Trustees, for the use of the Pension Fund of each division above provided for, sums not to exceed in total the amount voted by the people to be paid into the single fund.
Sec. 17. VALIDATION OF PROCEEDINGS FOR SEPARATION OF PENSION FUNDS.  All Acts and proceedings had and done by the governing body and Board of Trustees of the Pension Fund of any such city or town, subject to the above provisions, in creating, establishing, maintaining, and administering separate Pension Funds for Firemen and Policemen are hereby legalized, approved, and validated, as well as the division by said governing body and Board of Trustees of any public funds voted by the voters of said city or town for the Firemen and Policemen Pension Fund between said two (2) Funds, and said governing body and Board of Trustees shall continue the separate maintenance and administration of said Funds in the manner hereinabove provided.  This section and Section 16 of this Act provide only for the separation of pension funds into policeman and fireman divisions and grant the governing body no power or authority granted to the Board of Trustees under any provision of this Act, and the Board of Trustees shall have exclusive charge of administration and maintenance of the fund.
Sec. 18. OPERATION OF FUND NOTWITHSTANDING CENSUS CHANGE.  Any city which has heretofore established a firemen and policemen fund in accordance with Article 6243B of Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes or as amended, shall continue to operate such fund under the provisions of this Act.  It is further provided that the fact that any future Federal Census may result in said city being above or below the population bracket herein specified shall not affect the validity of such fund and such fund shall continue to be operated pursuant hereto.