[Adopted 5-9-1989 by Ord.
No. 89-21; amended 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36]
[Amended 3-20-2001 by Ord. No. 01-5; 10-14-2008 by Ord. No. 08-35; 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36; 3-13-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-06]
Any member of the Paramus Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue
Squad who shall respond to 40% of the alarms for which the fire company
or Rescue Squad to which he/she is assigned is dispatched during any
one calendar month shall be entitled to an additional allowance previously
fixed by the Mayor and Council, in the amount equal to $400 per month
effective October 1, 2008. Effective April 1, 2009, the monthly allowance
will be equal to $450 per month. Effective January 1, 2010, the monthly
allowance will be equal to $500 per month. Effective July 1, 2018,
the monthly allowance will be equal to $600 per month. 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.
In addition, to be eligible to receive the monthly allowance each
member must attend a minimum of six (6) Monday-night training sessions
each quarter with their company or squad, exclusive of the monthly
company meeting night. Should any member be unavailable to attend
a training session due to a conflict with their work schedule they
will be afforded the opportunity to attend a make-up session to be
coordinated with the company or squad Captain or Chief. In addition,
any member attending an approved training class at the Bergen County
Fire Academy, Bergen County EMS Training Center, or any other official
training center will be afforded credit for the monthly training requirement
in the month they attend the classes. Advance permission from the
company or squad Captain or Chief will be required for members to
receive credit for attending outside training classes. 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.
[Added 3-20-2001 by Ord.
No. 01-5; 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36]
During the month of January of each succeeding year, the Mayor
and Council will review the allowance provisions contained in this
Part 2 and make any changes it shall deem necessary.
[Amended 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36]
The payments set forth in § 47-35 above shall constitute reimbursement for various expenses which may be incurred by the members of the Fire Department and Rescue Squad 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 Fire Department or Rescue Squad within the Borough of Paramus.
[Amended 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36]
All members of the Paramus Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue
Squad shall continue to, regardless of the number of actual alarms
responded to, be entitled to the yearly clothing allowance as is fixed
yearly by the Mayor and Council, under the present percentage calculating
method for this reimbursement.
[Added 9-24-1996 by Ord.
No. 96-26; amended 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36]
A.
Upon satisfactory completion of a member's first year of service,
commonly known as the "probation year," the Paramus Fire Department
will issue the following items in lieu of the member's first year's
clothing allowance: one dress and parade uniform as approved by the
Mayor and Council.
B.
This will have no effect on any member who has completed over one
year of service in good standing.
[Amended 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36]
The Chief of the Volunteer Fire Department shall institute a
verification 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 fire fighter and
Rescue Squad member personally sign a roster or an approved witnessed
absentee roster at the completion of and after each alarm indicating
his or her attendance at such alarm, with such signatures to be witnessed
by the officer in charge of the respective fire company or Rescue
Squad; each member of the Volunteer Fire Department or Rescue Squad
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; and that each fire fighter and Rescue Squad member
that responds to a call with a company other than the one to which
he/she is assigned shall be entitled to and granted credit for one
alarm, provided that a completed record of attendance form is witnessed
by the officer in charge of that call. These verification procedures
will affect all members of the Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue
Squad with the exception of the chief officers of the Department who,
by virtue of their position within the Department, will not be subject
to the verification of each call responded to within the confines
of the Borough of Paramus, as many times they are required to remain
at a call/alarm for extended periods of time and the verification
procedures presently under consideration would not and could not become
applicable. Chief officers will be responsible to the Borough Administrator
to verify their attendance at each call if their names do not appear
on the attendance roster.
[Amended 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36]
No member of the Volunteer Fire Department or Rescue Squad 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 Part 2.
[Amended 9-30-1997 by Ord. No. 97-31; 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36]
[Amended 10-13-2015 by Ord. No. 2015-36]
The Chief of the Paramus Volunteer Fire Department 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 fire-fighting
force and the Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad as a unit.
