Rockland County, NY Emergency Rescue Services

The Legislature of the County of Rockland believes it to be in the public interest to be able to reimburse the municipalities of Rockland County which border the Hudson River and those fire districts which border the Hudson River for emergency services provided by the aforesaid municipalities and fire districts which are often beyond their fiscal capabilities. Municipalities may adopt local laws relating to the safety, health and well-being of their residents, provided that such local law is not inconsistent with the State Constitution or a general law. Such a local law would be in furtherance of a legitimate County purpose, which is to provide for the safety, health and welfare of its residents. Since the river villages and the river fire districts are often called upon to rescue County residents from the Hudson River and often called upon to engage in searches for all County residents, there is a legitimate County and legislative purpose in enacting such a local law.

§ 56-2 Reimbursement of villages and fire districts.

The Legislature of the County of Rockland is hereby permitted to appropriate and expend, by resolution or budget action, such sums of money as it deems proper and necessary in order to reimburse those villages and fire districts which border on the Hudson River for emergency rescue services provided by those municipalities and fire districts for the benefit of all County residents.

Article II Tuition Assistance Program for Volunteer Emergency Services Personnel

[Adopted 9-2-2003 by Res. No. 479-2003]

§ 56-3 Findings.

Volunteer fire fighters and volunteer ambulance workers contribute enormously to the public safety, health, and general well-being of the residents of their communities at great personal sacrifice and cost to themselves.

Volunteer fire fighters and volunteer ambulance workers donate their personal time to make their communities a safer place to live.

It is important to provide benefits to help recruit men and women who voluntarily put themselves in danger to protect the lives and property of Rockland County residents.

Since the state has enacted benefits in recognition of the enormously important services that these volunteers provide to our communities, college tuition assistance would provide another incentive to keep the corps of volunteers serving our communities and would encourage more volunteers.

Volunteer fire departments throughout the State of New York, and especially in Rockland County, are in need of new volunteers because, with increased fire activities, more is being asked from fewer members each year and new activities demand more hours of training.

The entire system of volunteer fire, rescue, and ambulance services saves taxpayers an enormous amount of money because of the voluntary nature of their work.

§ 56-4 Program established.

A Rockland Community College Tuition Program is hereby created for volunteer fire fighter recruitment through a scholarship fund to be administered by the Rockland County Office of Fire and Emergency Services in accordance with the following minimum criteria.

§ 56-5 Scholarship amount.

The total scholarship amount awarded to any student recruit shall not exceed the equivalent cost of tuition and fees for four full-time semesters, or 60 credit hours. Scholarships may be awarded on a full-time basis and may be prorated to take into account other financial aid being received by the scholarship recipient.

§ 56-6 Recipient qualifications and obligations.

All scholarship recipients shall:

Meet local membership requirements and be accepted into an eligible Rockland County volunteer fire department or eligible volunteer ambulance corps or volunteer emergency medical service squad, as a new active member on or after September 1, 2002. The program is a recruitment tool for new fire fighters and other new emergency services volunteers, and existing fire fighters or former fire fighters who have quit and decide to rejoin are not eligible;

Complete the Rockland Community College admissions process, be accepted for enrollment as a matriculated student, and maintain their status as a student in good standing at the college;

Apply for all other available sources of financial aid through Rockland Community College and use the volunteer fire fighter recruitment scholarship funds only to supplement any costs not covered by other sources of financial aid; and

Agree to maintain acceptable volunteer fire fighter activity and training levels while enrolled as a Rockland Community College student and perform the following post-education service obligations.

(1)

Post-education service obligations.

Receipt of Total Scholarship Funds Equivalent to the Cost of	Obligation
Tuition and fees for four full-time semesters greater than 45 credit hours on a part-time basis or prorated basis in the event of other financial aid	Five years following the receipt of total scholarship funds
Tuition and fees for three full-time semesters or greater than 30 credit hours on a part-time basis or prorated basis in the event of other financial aid	Three years following the receipt of total scholarship funds
Tuition for one or two full-time semesters or between one and 15 credit hours on a part-time basis or prorated basis in the event of other financial aid	Two years following the receipt of total scholarship funds

(2)

Service obligations shall apply regardless of attainment of an associate degree. In the event that a scholarship recipient fails to perform the required service or maintain his or her status as a student in good standing at the college, he or she shall be required to repay the scholarship money previously advanced on not less than a prorated basis for the entire amount of incomplete post-education service.

§ 56-7 Scholarship selection criteria and procedures.

The scholarship program shall constitute a partnership arrangement between the sponsoring volunteer fire department, volunteer ambulance corps or volunteer emergency medical services squad and the scholarship recipient. To ensure the overall success of the program, it is imperative that each sponsoring department and scholarship recipient collaborate on a plan for achieving operational and educational success balancing commitments at home, work, school, and the fire department. The objectives of the program shall include:

Creating a selection process which verifies that both sponsoring department and Rockland Community College prequalification requirements have been met;

Creating a selection process that is objective yet flexible to meet the needs of the program;

Creating a selection process that results in the recruitment of new volunteer fire fighters and other volunteer emergency workers who would have not otherwise joined a fire department; and

Quantifying the actual need for volunteers in the sponsoring fire departments and other volunteer emergency services.

§ 56-8 Administration.

The Rockland County Office of Fire and Emergency Services is hereby authorized, empowered, and directed pursuant to Section 11-3(A) of the Rockland County Charter, to issue and promulgate such rules and regulations as shall be necessary and appropriate to implement the provisions of this article.