Borough voters will have say
on firefighters’ incentive plan
FREEHOLD — Borough voters will have a chance to participate in the future of the Freehold Fire Department.
Council members approved a resolution on July 21 to place a question proposing a Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP) on the November ballot. If voters approve the plan, firefighters will have an incentive program aimed at keeping them with the department.
According to Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina, the intent of LOSAP is to develop a deferred compensation program for volunteers and to generate earnings and long-term savings for the volunteers who serve in a municipality. Participants in LOSAP are not paid for their service on an annual basis, but do receive compensation into a deferred account.
The program is based on a point system devised by the firefighters themselves. Having researched other municipalities which have already gone through the process, the borough chose to model its point system and LOSAP after the one being used in Red Bank.
According to former councilman Bill Maushardt, a member of the LOSAP committee and a firefighter for more than 30 years, the fire department has seen declining membership in recent years.
Maushardt said he remembers a time when there was a waiting list to become a firefighter. That is not the case today, he said, adding that the department needs to advertise for members now.
The fire department will assign a point value for duties a firefighter performs on an annual basis.
Now that the proposal has received the OK from the council, it will be brought to residents as a ballot question in November.
Bellina said if LOSAP is enacted the borough will have to allocate $126,000 in the annual budget to fund the program. The annual cost of each participant is a maximum of $1,150. Multiply that figure by 110 firefighters to arrive at the total.
If LOSAP is not approved by voters on Election Day the motion will die, according to Bellina.
If it is approved, the second part of the process will come into play. According to the administrator, the program will go out to one of five or six financial institutions already approved by the state.
Council President Sharon Shutzer said she was pleased the governing body approved LOSAP to be placed on the ballot. She expressed satisfaction that the decision will be left up to residents.
"Legislators made a wise decision to have this approved by the people of each municipality. Voters will have the last say," Shutzer said. "I am not comfortable making a decision that has that much financial impact on a community."
Councilman Michael DiBenedetto said he sees his role as one with a "double-edged sword." DiBenedetto is also a firefighter.
"I try not to get overly involved but it’s difficult not to," the councilman said, adding that LOSAP was being proposed not so much to encourage people to join the department as to "keep the volunteers we already have."
— Clare Marie Celano