Hazlet seeks pension plan for first aid volunteers

Staff Writer

By ELAINE VAN DEVELDE

HAZLET — Plans are under way in the township to keep current First Aid volunteers and attract new members via a Length-of-Service Award Program (LOSAP).

LOSAP is another term for a pension program designed to give those emergency service volunteers a little extra to retire on. The program awards people with this benefit if they have given at least five years of service with the town.

The Township Committee in Hazlet has opted to put the issue up for a referendum vote because the money for the program would come from taxpayers.

"We’re going to let the taxpayers decide," said Committeeman Paul Coughlin.

Coughlin went on to explain that there are 52 people in the First Aid Squad who, should the referendum pass voter scrutiny, could be eligible for a $600-annual pension after the first five years of service, and a maximum of $1,150 after 10 years.

Voter approval of the referendum would authorize the expenditure of $60,000 a year for the first five years, then $30,000 a year in following years.

As Coughlin explained it, the referendum would also call for a "five-year vesting process of 20 percent over the course of the next five years."

The ballot question had to be introduced and passed 60 days prior to the fall election to get on the ballot.

"The package is a nice thank-you incentive for our volunteers," Coughlin said. "When you think of how much they save us in services that would otherwise have to be paid for entirely by taxpayers, this contribution toward a small pension is nothing; it’s a minimal cost to taxpayers for what they get in return."