[HISTORY: Adopted by the Borough Council of the Borough of
Paramus 4-19-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-11. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to create stipend program for
the Paramus Office of Emergency Management.
[Amended 3-13-18 by Ord. No. 2018-06]
The following provisions shall be codified in the Paramus Code:
A.
Stipend program.
Any member of the Paramus Office of Emergency Management (hereinafter
referred to as O.E.M.) who shall respond to 40% of town wide emergencies,
to include, but not limited to, fires, floods, snow emergencies, lost
persons, active shooter or any other activity deemed a Borough emergency
to which he/she is assigned or attends during any one calendar month
shall be entitled to an allowance fixed by the Mayor and Council,
in the amount of $500 per month, in the amount of $600 per month effective
July 1, 2018, or in accordance with any effective changes to the Paramus
Volunteer Fire Department stipend program. Effective January 1, 2019,
the monthly allowance will be equal to $700 per month. Effective January
1, 2020, the monthly allowance will be equal to $800 per month. To
be eligible to receive the monthly allowance each member will receive
credit for drills at the Life Safety Complex or any other sanctioned
day and/or night exercises or meetings. Additionally, members must
attend a minimum of six (6) monthly training sessions with O.E.M.
Should any member be unavailable to attend a monthly training session
due to a conflict with their work schedule they will be afforded the
opportunity to attend a make-up session to be arranged with the O.E.M.
Coordinator and/or any one of the Deputy Coordinators. Any O.E.M.
member attending an approved training class, whether at the Bergen
County O.E.M. training center in Mahwah, or any other official training
center, in or out of county, will be afforded credit for the monthly
training requirement in the month they attend the classes. Advanced
permission from the Coordinator and/or any one of the Deputy Coordinators
will be required for members to receive credit for attending outside
training classes. O.E.M. members are also assigned to be "on call"
for two (2) calendar weeks per duty assignment three (3) to four (4)
times per calendar year, depending on their scheduled rotation. This
assignment places the member on 24/7 status during this time period
and will, if not excused by the O.E.M. Coordinator and/or any one
of the Deputy Coordinators, respond to all emergencies necessitating
O.E.M. assistance. Many of the O.E.M. members are also volunteer members
of the Paramus Volunteer Fire Department and Paramus Volunteer Rescue
Squad. These members are covered by the existing stipend ordinance
of the Borough. Therefore, under no circumstances will an existing
member of the Paramus Volunteer Fire Department or Paramus Volunteer
Rescue Squad receive two (2) stipend disbursements during any given
month. The accumulated moneys for each of the three months in each
quarter shall be paid to the member at the first pay period for the
following month. For example, stipends earned from July 1 to September
30, will be paid on the last Mayor and Council meeting of October;
stipends earned from October 1 to December 31, will be paid on the
last Mayor and Council meeting of January, etc.
B.
Annual review of stipend.
During the month of January of each succeeding year, the Mayor
and Council will review the allowance provisions and make any changes
it shall deem necessary.
C.
Construal of payments.
The payments set forth above shall constitute reimbursement
for various expenses which may be incurred by the volunteer members
of the Office of Emergency Management in the faithful performance
of their duties and shall not be considered as salary, nor shall such
payments be considered to in any way construe the creating of a paid
or partially paid Office of Emergency Management within the Borough
of Paramus.
D.
Yearly clothing allowance.
There will be no clothing allowance approved at this time. This
provision will be reviewed by the Mayor and Council yearly.
E.
Verification of attendance.
The Coordinator of O.E.M. shall institute an authentication
procedure for the verification of attendance which shall be approved
annually by the governing body. Such procedure shall include, but
shall not be limited to, a requirement that each member of O.E.M.
personally sign a roster or an approved witnessed absentee roster
at the completion of and after each emergency indicating his or her
attendance at such emergency, with such signatures to be witnessed
by the ranking member in charge. Each member of O.E.M. shall maintain
on file a specimen of his/her signature; and the forms utilized in
recording the attendance for each call shall be subject to the random
and periodic audit under the direction of the Borough Administrator.
These verification procedures will affect all members of O.E.M. with
the exception of the Coordinator and the Deputy Coordinators who,
by virtue of their position within the O.E.M., will not be subject
to the verification of each emergency responded to within the confines
of the Borough of Paramus, as many times they are required to remain
at an emergency for extended periods of time and the verification
procedures presently under consideration would not and could not become
applicable. The O.E.M. Coordinator and the Deputy Coordinators will
be responsible to the Borough Administrator to verify their attendance
at each emergency if their names do not appear on the attendance roster.
F.
Execution of waivers.
No member of O.E.M. shall be entitled to any payment hereunder
until he/she shall first have executed a waiver to be prepared under
the direction of the office of the Borough Clerk, waiving any and
all claim to pension, civil service or employment status of any kind
whatsoever as a result of receiving payment under the provisions of
this chapter.
G.
When effective; expiration; payments.
This chapter shall take effect January 1, 2016 upon passage.
Payments shall be calculated and made within the calendar quarter
immediately following the preceding quarter as outlined above.
H.
Biannual report by Coordinator.
The Coordinator of O.E.M. shall biannually report the effect
of such payments on the membership and attendance and such other information
as may be directed by the Mayor and Council regarding the operation
of the program on the volunteer O.E.M. as a unit.
Unless expressly stated otherwise or required by law, this chapter
shall not create any rights that did not exist before this chapter
and this chapter shall not be deemed to create any vacancies unless
the law requires otherwise.
