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ROTTERDAM
Cap on Carman VFD pensions focus of district vote Tuesday
System now pays out about $100K yearly; future troubling
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.

    Voters in the Carman Fire District will have a chance to limit a fi refighter pension plan so that it doesn’t place an undue burden on the company’s finances in the coming year.
    Ken Posson, chairman of Carman’s Board of Fire Commissioners, said the resolution on Tuesday’s ballot proposes changes that would bump down taxpayer-funded pension costs to roughly $100,000 next year. Without the changes, he said the district faces a contribution of more than $180,000, which represents more than a quarter of the overall budget.
    “And don’t be surprised if it’s higher than that,” he said Friday.
    The resolution on Tuesday’s ballot proposes to reduce the maximum number of credit years from 40 to 25 and fix the interest rate used to calculate payouts. Firefi ghters would also be prevented from taking a lump-sum payout — if the resolution is approved by voters.
    “It’s eating a big share of our budget up,” he said of the pension fund.
CREDIT FOR SERVICE
    Many volunteer fire companies have what is called a length-ofservice award program that acts in a similar manner as a pension. Vested fi refighters are given credits for each year served on the force and then provided with a modest monthly stipend at retirement age.
    Carman has a defined benefit program, which requires an annual contribution from the company and allows fi refighters to begin collecting from it at the age of 60. Currently, fi refighters can accrue up to 40 years of credit.
    Once eligible to collect from the pension, firefighters can either receive a lump sum based on a variety of factors or monthly payments for the duration of their lives. At Carman, Posson said collecting a lump-sum pay out can result in the fire company having to pump tens of thousands of dollars back into the pension fund through its annual budget.
    “When you take a lump sum — especially when you have two or three in firefighters taking it in a year — that takes a big chunk out of the fund,” he said. .............................>>>>.....................>>>>..................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01500&AppName=1

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Who elects fire commissioners?
The residents of a fire district who are registered to vote may cast their ballot for commissioners in a fire district election which is held the second Tuesday of December (with limited exception). Unfortunately, few people other than friends and families of firefighters cast votes in fire district elections.
In the spring of 2007, Commission staff conducted an informal survey of participation in 2006 fire district elections. They sampled 20 town clerks in 17 counties whose jurisdictions included 62 fire districts and found that over 25% of those fire districts failed to file election results with the clerks. Of those reporting, it was found that most had fewer than 100 people voting, and in 18 out of 44 districts fewer than 50 people cast votes.
While participation in fire district elections was minimal, there were some anomalies in the voting totals for some rural towns. For example, in the Town of Greenfield (Saratoga County), 414 people cast ballots in the election for fire commissioners. However, this election followed the defeat a few months earlier of a proposition to purchase two ladder trucks (590 votes cast) and a candidate was challenging the incumbent who had been championing the purchase of the fire trucks.
Four of the districts in which the most votes were cast were in the Town of Huntington, population 195,289. The number of people voting in all of the Huntington fire districts was 2573 out of a total electorate of 125,692, or two percent of the electorate.
What is a fire protection district?
Although the term “fire protection district” is similar to “fire district,” they represent very different ways of managing fire protection. While a fire district is a separate unit of government, run by elected commissioners; a fire protection district is a geographic service area within a town, established for the purpose of fire protection. Towns contract for fire protection services within these districts at the expense of the property owners in that district. The contract may be with a city or village fire department, a fire district, or an independent fire company.
A town board can create a fire protection district, consolidate adjoining fire protection districts, alter the boundaries of a fire protection district, or dissolve a fire protection district on its own motion or by petition. There are 951 fire protection districts in the state, down from 1,015 in 1988.
Contracts between a town and a fire protection district vary in detail; some simply name a price for protection. The trend is for town boards to convert fire protection districts to
Fire District Commissioner
Total Votes
(December 2006 – 44 Districts Reporting)
Number of Fire Districts
Votes Cast
(Per District)
18
0 - 50
8
51 - 100
5
101 – 200
6
201 - 300
7
301 - 600
fire districts, placing the decisions regarding fire protection in the hands of independently elected fire commissioners.
What is an independent fire company?
An independent fire company is a special not-for-profit corporation formed to provide fire protection to a fire district, fire protection district or village under contract. The contract is with the governing body – a board of fire commissioners, town board, or village board of trustees. There are 800 independent fire corporations.
How is fire protection financed?
In cities and villages, general municipal tax levies support fire protection. In areas of the town served by fire protection districts, the town levies property tax.
A fire district has the power both to incur indebtedness and to require the levy of taxes. Fire district taxes are assessed against the taxable properties within the district and levied and collected at the same time and in the same manner as town taxes. Towns collect fire district taxes and distribute them to fire districts. These funds may be used to purchase buildings, equipment, and insurance, as well as pay for firefighter training. They may also pay for annual inspection dinners and refreshments served after meetings and emergencies.
Fire districts get over 90% of their revenue from property taxes. Total revenues raised by fire districts have increased 61% from 1995 to 2005, with an average annual increase of 4.9 percent, as reported in the Financial Report on Fire Districts.
In addition to funds raised through taxes, there are two other main sources of funding. The first is funds that are donated to a fire department, such as through coin drops or other charitable fund-raising activities or paid in exchange for facility rentals or special services. The second source is a tax on certain fire insurance policies written by out-of-state insurance companies. Foreign insurance companies contribute two percent of the fire premiums written on property located in the state to be distributed to the fire departments and fire districts statewide. Fire insurance money - $43 million in 2007 - must be used for the benefit of the fire department and its fire companies, as determined by the members. For example, fire insurance funds may be used to purchase dress uniforms, turn out gear, and office equipment; and to pay for installation banquets and holiday parties. However, those funds may not be used to fund a length of service award program, and members may not be compelled to use these monies to defray ordinary operating expenses of the fire department. (A portion of the tax is also used for the support and maintenance of the firemen's home at Hudson, New York.)
Other sources of funding include federal assistance, state grants, county subsidies, and tax-exempt bonds.
How much is spent on fire protection?
Statewide, in 2006 $1.5 billion was spent on fire protection among counties (4% of total), cities (39%), towns (11%), villages (9%) and fire districts (37%). With such a large share of expenditures attributable to a relatively little-known unit of local government, this brief examines fire districts in more detail.
Fire districts, as autonomous units of government, report their expenditures directly to the Office of the State Comptroller. OSC reported that in 2006 fire districts spent $601.1 million for current operations, equipment and capital outlay, and debt service. Expenses for current operations were responsible for 64% of all spending in fire districts, with equipment and capital outlay (28%) and debt service (8%) making up the balance. This distribution of expenditures has been consistent over the past decade, and reflects the capital-intensive nature of fire protection and emergency medical services when largely provided through volunteer labor.
Does the town board have approval over a fire district budget?
No. Fire district budgets are determined by boards of commissioners, and inserted, unchanged, into town budgets. Fire districts prepare a proposed budget and discuss it at a public hearing on the third Tuesday in October. Notice requirements include publishing notice of the hearing in the newspaper and posting notice on the town sign board and district website, if one exists. The budget is submitted to the town on or before November 20 each year.
Are there any limits on how much a fire district may spend?

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Tax cap could prevent volunteer firefighter pensions

Published: Monday, August 22, 2011



By WILLIAM J. KEMBLE
Correspondent

TOWN OF ULSTER – Town board members are seeking legal advice whether state tax cap restrictions will prevent the Bloomington Fire Company from moving forward with a length of service retirement program.

Supervisor James Quigley provided the update following a Town Board meeting Thursday, saying the 2 percent limit on property tax increases for the Eddyville Fire Protection District could prevent enough money from being available to pay toward the $86,717 needed annually.

“Now there is some discussion with the attorneys over how the LOSAP (length of service retirement program) fits in reference to the tax cap legislation that the (state) Senate and Assembly passed and the governor signed,” he said.

Quigley said the tax cap legislation became a question because the Town Board has authority over Eddyville Fire Protection District budget but not the Bloomington Fire -Department spending plan.

“I’m still trying to find out whether it’s part of their budget or a different taxing district, which has been thrown out at me,” he said.

“Their (Eddyville district) budget is $60,000 and they have a 2 percent tax cap, which means they can raise the rates $1,200,” Quigley said. “The LOSAP is going to cost $13,000 the first year. So the question is whether the LOSAP is part of the $60,000 budget, which means you can’t raise the rates enough under the tax legislation to get there.”

Approval for the program was given April 12 by Rosendale residents in the Bloomington Fire Protection District in a 110-41 vote and by Ulster town residents in the Eddyville Fire Protection District in a 34-10 tally.

Ulster County tax records show the Bloomington Fire Department has contracts with the Town of Ulster for 275 properties in the Eddyville Fire Protection District and Rosendale for coverage of 813 properties in the Bloomington Fire Protection District.

Officials said there are 8 to 10 members who would qualify for benefits after being on the active roster for a year if the proposition is approved. Volunteers would be required to participate in a training program and respond to calls before accumulating credit toward service.