[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Ridgefield as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Fire Department — See Ch. 35.
[Adopted 11-6-1974 by Ord. No. 992 as Ch. 26, Art. I of the 1967 Code]
[Amended 10-22-2001 by Ord. No. 1765[1]]
A. 
A pension not to exceed the sum of $6,200 annually shall be paid to the widow of any volunteer fireman who may die as the result of injuries sustained in the performance of duty as a member of the Volunteer Fire Department, as long as she shall not remarry, or to the minor child or children of such fireman, if he leaves no widow surviving him, or to said minor child or children after the death of such widow and until such minor child or children shall attain his or their majority.
B. 
The pension provided for herein shall be subject to annual adjustments based on the percentage increase in the cost of living, the first such adjustment to be made in January 2006. The annual adjustment shall be computed by determining the percentage increase in the CPI index from December 2004 (the base CPI) and the CPI index for December of each successive year, beginning with December 2005. That percentage increase shall be multiplied by the pension amount paid by the Borough in Year 2005 to determine the increase in the amount of the pension payable in the next calendar year, beginning January 2006. For purposes of this section, the term "CPI index" shall mean the consumer price index published by the federal government for urban wage owners and clerical workers in the New York-Northeastern New Jersey area.
[Added 12-12-2005 by Ord. No. 1959]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided for prospective applicability to those persons already receiving pension benefits under this chapter, as well as to those who may become so entitled in the future, effective as of the first day of the first month of final adoption.
The payment of such pension shall become effective if and when such fireman shall die as a result of injuries sustained in the course of performance of duty as a member of the Volunteer Fire Department and upon the passage of a resolution providing for the payment of such pension by the governing body.
In the event of the occurrence of such event, and after the passage of such resolution, the governing body shall make provision, in its annual budget, for the payment of such pension and the same shall be paid in the same manner as municipal employees are paid.
The initial payment of such pension shall be made after the passage of a resolution providing for the payment of such pension by the governing body and shall take effect as of the date of death of such volunteer fireman.
[Adopted 11-6-1974 by Ord. No. 992 as Ch. 26, Art. II of the 1967 Code]
In the event of death of any eligible member of the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department who is not entitled to and who has previously waived the benefits, including the death benefit, of the New Jersey State Firemen's Association, the widow or other next of kin of such deceased fireman shall be entitled to receive from the Borough of Ridgefield an amount equal to that amount provided by the death benefit at the time of the demise of the eligible member of the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department of the New Jersey State Firemen's Association.
Coverage under this article shall be deemed to include all active members of the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department as of the effective date of this article and, in addition, those persons who may become active members of the Ridgefield Volunteer Fire Department subsequent to the effective date of this article who are not, or will not, be entitled to and who have waived, or will in the future waive, the benefits, including the death benefits, of the New Jersey State Firemen's Association.
The same standards and regulations regarding eligibility for claims for death benefits provided in the Rules, Constitution and Bylaws of the New Jersey State Firemen's Association, including, but not limited to, those provided in Article 8, General Relief Fund Rules, of the New Jersey State Firemen's Association, shall be applicable with regard to eligibility for benefits under this article.