BY LAYLI WHYTE
Staff Writer
LITTLE SILVER — Volunteering in the borough will soon have more benefits than just helping out your neighbors.
The Borough Council, at the meeting last Monday, passed a resolution to adopt the Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP), which will give volunteers of the borough’s fire department and emergency medical services, compensation for their time.
In the general election in November 2003, the voters of the borough approved a referendum that would allow the borough to set aside up to $1,150 per volunteer to be invested at the individual’s discretion
Borough Administrator Michael Biehl said the borough has around 90 people who may qualify for the program.
The total cost to the borough is estimated to be $80,500 annually.
The program establishes a tax-deferred-income benefit account for each qualified volunteer member.
According to the resolution passed this week, the borough has, after soliciting proposals from contractors offering prototypical LOSAP plans, decided on Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., whose agent is Lincoln Financial Group, as the plan the program will follow.
“It offers a greater level of service to the borough, provides a higher fixed rate on investments, and charges a lower percentage for administrative fees to the plan participants,” according to the resolution.
Not all volunteers will be eligible for the program. According to Biehl, a volunteer must earn 50 points a year in order to qualify.
Points are earned in a number of different ways, including attending drills (one to two points per drill) and answering calls (the number of points earned depends on how long one has been in service to the borough).
Training courses such as basic firefighter training and fire police training will also earn points, as can working in elected or appointed positions, such as chief engineer or fire police captain.