[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Board
of Aldermen of the Town of Boonton 7-1-2002 by Ord. No. 13-2002.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
A Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP) is
hereby created in accordance with Chapter 388 of the Laws of 1997[1] to reward members of the Volunteer Fire Department for
their loyal, diligent, and devoted services to the residents of the
Town of Boonton.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:14-183 et
seq.
The LOSAP shall provide for fixed annual contributions
to a deferred income account for each volunteer member that meets
the criteria set forth below. Such contributions shall be made in
accordance with a plan that shall be established by the Town of Boonton
pursuant to P.L. 1997, c.388;[1] and such plan shall be administered in accordance with
the laws of the State of New Jersey, the United States Internal Revenue
Code, and this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:14-183 et
seq.
The LOSAP shall provide for annual contributions
to each eligible member that meets the criteria as follows:
A.
For the purpose of rewarding length of service intentions
of this program, the membership of the Boonton Fire Department shall
be divided into two categories: active and post-active.
B.
To reward the previous and continued involvement with
the Department of the post-active members, a monetary sum equal to
30% of the maximum benefit shall be awarded through this program,
provided the post-active member remains active in the Department.
The minimum benefit of the program is 30% of the maximum. A post-active
member would need point accrual, as defined below, of 50 to be eligible
for the disbursement. For each 10 points over the minimum 50 a post-active
may gain, his disbursement increases 5% of the maximum.
|
Post-Active
Points
|
Percent of
Maximum Award
|
|---|---|
|
50
|
30
|
|
60
|
35
|
|
70
|
40
|
|
80
|
45
|
|
90
|
50
|
|
100
|
55
|
C.
A post-active member does not need to meet the 30%
alarm response of an active member to benefit from this program. If
a post-active member meets the 30% alarm response quota of an active
member, the benefit calculation would be that of an active member.
D.
Members with less than 25 years of service are considered
active and shall follow the point system as described in the following
sections. To encourage these members to continue their involvement
in the core responsibilities of the Department, an active member needs
to meet a minimum of 30% of alarms to be eligible for any benefit
of the LOSAP program.
E.
New recruits in the Department need to serve a probationary
period of one year before they can benefit from this program.
The estimated cost of the program has been calculated
as follows:
The maximum annual contribution an individual
can receive will be set at the maximum amount allowed in accordance
with Chapter 388 of the Laws of 1997,[1] including increases approved by the New Jersey Department
of Community Affairs, which are based upon the consumer price index.
Currently, the maximum an individual can receive is $1,235.
[1]
Editor's Note: See N.J.S.A. 40A:14-183 et
seq.
Each active volunteer member shall be credited
with points for volunteer services provided to the Volunteer Fire
Department in accordance with the following schedule:
A.
The LOSAP point system is broken down into six categories
with 100 points required of active members for maximum benefits.
(1)
Fire Department responses: 50 points maximum.
(a)
This includes all normally dispatched fire calls,
standbys, searches, police assists, pump-outs or mutual-aid requests.
A response will be Department-wide regardless of apparatus and company
assignments. For example, a member of Maxfield Hook and Ladder would
get credit if he or she responds to a single alarm even though his
or her apparatus is not assigned.
(b)
For a member to achieve 50 points, it will be based
on his or her alarm response percentage. For example: 1% equals one
point. If a member answers 50% of all Department alarms, he or she
will be awarded 50 points. If a member answers 40% of all alarms,
he or she will be awarded 40 points. An active member needs to meet
a minimum of 30% of alarms to be eligible for any benefit.
(c)
If the Fire Chief and LOSAP coordinator agree that
the spatial and temporal distribution of fire responses precluded
an otherwise active member from achieving the necessary eligibility
threshold, attendance at scheduled recalls and maintenance work sessions
may be credited toward the member's response total.
(2)
Training and drills: 25 points maximum.
(a)
This includes in-house Department and company drills
and training sessions as well as approved fire service training outside
the Department.
(b)
To receive credit for attending any course that is
sponsored by an outside agency, fire academy, or other organization,
approval from an officer prior to registration must be obtained and
successful completion of the course must be documented.
(3)
Meetings, company or Department: 20 points maximum.
Attendance at regular company or Boonton Fire Department meetings
will be worth one point. Credit at the monthly Boonton Fire Department
meetings will be Department-wide regardless of voting status of the
member.
(4)
Elected or appointed positions: 50 points maximum.
(a)
Any elected or appointed Department or individual
company position will have a point value applied to each position.
Committee chairmen, co-chairmen, and coordinators point value to be
reexamined yearly and posted with the Chief's standing orders. To
receive credit, you must complete the full term in the position. The
typical point award program is as follows:
|
Point Schedule for
Department Positions
|
Point Schedule for Company Positions
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Department
Positions
|
Point
Value
|
Company
Positions
|
Point
Value
|
Company
Positions
|
Point
Value
|
|
Chief of Department
|
40
|
President
|
10
|
SCBA certified
|
10
|
|
Deputy Chief
|
35
|
Vice President
|
5
|
EMT certified
|
10
|
|
Battalion Chief
|
30
|
Secretary
|
5
|
CPR certified
|
5
|
|
BFD Secretary
|
5
|
Treasurer
|
5
|
FAST certified
|
5
|
|
BFD Treasurer
|
5
|
Captain
|
20
|
Apparatus certified
|
2
|
|
Director
|
30
|
Lieutenant
|
15
| ||
|
Manager
|
25
|
Chief Driver
|
10
| ||
|
Coordinator
|
20
|
Assistant Driver
|
5
| ||
|
Supervisor
|
15
|
Steward/Caretaker
|
5
| ||
|
Chairman
|
10
|
Representative
|
5
| ||
|
Committeeman
|
5
| ||||
(b)
Members who have served the Department as line officers
in the past are rewarded for continued involvement. Their experience
and training continue to be an asset to the Department. Should an
active ex-officer respond to 30% of alarms and earn 50 points in one
year, the following bonus points are awarded:
|
Bonus Point Schedule for Active Ex-Officers
| |
|---|---|
|
Line Office
|
Point Value
|
|
Ex-Chief
|
15
|
|
Ex-Captain
|
10
|
|
Ex-Lieutenant
|
5
|
(c)
Merit points will be awarded at the discretion of
the Board of Chiefs and the Department's LOSAP Committee. The following
are examples of merit awards:
|
Point Schedule for Merit Awards
| ||
|---|---|---|
|
Award
|
Description
|
Point Value
|
|
Life-Saving Award
|
The act of putting one's life in danger to save
another above and beyond the call of duty
|
40
|
|
Humanitarian Award
|
The act of saving the life of another without
putting the life of the firefighter in danger
|
30
|
|
Community Service Award
|
For exceptional service to the Town of Boonton
and its residents
|
20
|
(d)
To encourage recruitment, members who refer new candidates
for membership are eligible for 10 bonus points, provided the new
member remains active for three years.
(5)
Miscellaneous activities: 20 points maximum. Many
of the Departments' activities take place between dispatched calls.
If an activity should take longer than one hour of members' time,
one point is awarded. The maximum of 20 miscellaneous points can be
gained yearly. Miscellaneous activities include:
|
Company and Department work sessions
|
|
Fire prevention activities
|
|
Emergency Medical Services assist
|
|
Participation in Department funerals
|
|
Representing Department at out-of-town parade
|
|
Committee meetings
|
|
Chiefs inspection dinner
|
|
Mutual-aid associations
|
|
Any other activity deemed appropriate by the
Board of Chiefs and LOSAP Committee
|
|
Community events
|
|
Little League opening day festivities
|
|
Halloween parade
|
|
Santa parade
|
|
Santa run
|
|
Vendor inspections and product evaluations
|
|
Fire service trade shows
|
|
Meetings: county and state fire organizations
|
(6)
Fund-raising: 25 points maximum. Any fundraising activity
that has been preapproved by the Board of Chiefs is eligible for point
accrual. This includes, but is not limited to, all House Committee
and Labor Day work sessions, letter pickup, setups, cleanups and operational
hours of the carnival. For each man hour of effort, one point shall
be awarded to a maximum of 25 per year.
A.
An active member is one who has less than 25 years
service to the Department.
B.
To emphasize the Department's core responsibilities,
an active member must respond to 30% of the dispatched alarms to be
eligible for any benefit of the plan. If the alarm response condition
is met, the point sum equals the benefit percentage up to the maximum
of 100%.
A member with more than 25 years of service
to the Department does not need to meet the 30% alarm response requirement
to benefit from this plan. A point total of 50 will be required to
receive a disbursement 30% of the maximum. An increase of 10 points
increases the disbursement 5% up to a total of 55% for 100 points.
This chapter shall not take effect unless it
is approved by the voters as a public question at the next general
election.
[1]
Editor's Note: This chapter was subject to
a mandatory referendum and was passed at the general election held
11-5-2002.
