The Somers Point city fire protection shall be provided
by a single Fire Department comprised of not fewer than 25 active
members. In order to become a member of the City Fire Department,
an individual must apply for and obtain membership in good standing
in a recognized Fire Company of the City of Somers Point, pursuant
to the bylaws of the recognized Fire Company. Any individual having
such membership status in a recognized Fire Company of the City of
Somers Point may apply for membership in the City Fire Department
and shall automatically obtain status as a member of the City Fire
Department 30 days after the filing of an application for City Fire
Department membership with the City Fire Chief, subject to the following
conditions:
Be sound in body and of good health sufficient
to satisfy the Board of Trustees of the Police and Fireman's Retirement
System of New Jersey as to his/her eligibility for membership in the
retirement system.
Have a high school diploma or an equivalency
certificate and be able to read, write and speak the English language
well and intelligently. However, the provisions of this subsection
shall not disqualify from membership any individual who is already
a member of the City Fire Department as of the effective date of this
chapter.
The individual shall agree, in writing, to be bound
by the rules and regulations of the City Fire Department and shall
so agree in his/her application for membership in the City Fire Department.
The City Fire Chief may reject the application for
membership of any individual, so long as the rejection is in writing,
gives reasons for the rejection and is supplied to the individual
and to the designated Council representative to the City Fire Department
within the thirty-day period after the individual files the application.
If the City Fire Chief does not reject the application in the prescribed
manner within the thirty-day period, the application shall be considered
accepted, and City Fire Department status shall occur. The Council
reserves the right to allow City Fire Department membership status
to any individual whose membership application has been rejected by
the City Fire Chief.
As of the effective date of this chapter, recognized
Fire Companies in the City of Somers Point shall be limited to Somers
Point Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 and Somers Point Volunteer Fire
Company No. 2. The recognized Fire Companies shall provide their Company
membership applications to the Municipal Clerk for the public record
and shall maintain a copy on file in its records for inspection.
Any qualified member of a recognized fire company
shall be a member of the City Fire Department regardless of his or
her place of residence. However, the Council may establish priorities
of eligibility by way of rules and regulations which shall guide Council
when considering any individual for an officer position in the City
Fire Department. The rules and regulations priorities of eligibility
section shall follow the requirements of N.J.S.A. 40A:14-9.1 through
40A:14-10.1a.
All references to the "City Fire Department" shall
mean the Somers Point City Fire Department and the officers and individuals
that comprise the City Fire Department.
The Council will select and appoint officers from
names submitted by the recognized Fire Companies, except with respect
to the positions of Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Marshal. All consideration
shall be given to the recommended candidates for office, but the Council
shall have the right to select any other qualified individual or individuals
in the event that the candidates submitted for the position(s) are
not acceptable to the Council. The Council retains the same right
respecting the positions of Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Marshal.
In addition, in the event that City Fire Department candidates for
officer positions do not meet the eligibility prerequisites, the Council
may select such individuals from the City Fire Department as it deems
qualified for officer positions.
So long as there are two recognized fire companies,
the Chief will be selected from one recognized fire company and the
Deputy Chief will be selected from the other recognized fire company.
When a Chiefs term of office is completed, the Deputy Chief may be
appointed by the Council to serve as the next Chief, or the Council
may select another qualified candidate for the office of Chief, so
long as that candidate is selected from the recognized Fire Company
in which the Deputy Chief held membership. It is the intent of this
subsection, so long as there are two recognized Fire Companies, that
the offices of Chief and Deputy Chief shall alternate between the
two recognized Fire Companies such that the Chief and Deputy Chief
shall always be members of different recognized Fire Companies.
Each recognized Fire Company will submit candidate
names to fill one Assistant Chief, one Captain and one Lieutenant
position. As of the effective date of this chapter and so long as
there are two recognized Fire Companies, the Council shall select
one Assistant Chief, one of Captain and one Lieutenant from each recognized
Fire Company. As of the effective date of this chapter and so long
as there are two recognized Fire Companies, the selections of the
Council shall result in one Assistant Chief, one Captain and one Lieutenant
being selected from one of the recognized Fire Companies and the other
Assistant Chief, Captain and Lieutenant being selected from the other
recognized Fire Company.
The office of Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Marshal shall be filled by the Council from recommended candidates supplied by the Chief, subject, however, to the Council's rights stated in Subsection A above and elsewhere in this chapter. The selection made shall be such that the Fire Marshal and Assistant Fire Marshal shall be from different recognized Fire Companies, and the position shall alternate such that whenever the Fire Marshal is selected from one recognized Fire Company, then the position of Assistant Fire Marshal shall be selected from the other recognized Fire Company.
The Chief and Deputy Chief of the City Fire Department
shall each hold office for a period of three years. Said terms of
office shall not be staggered, but shall run consecutively.
The other offices of Assistant Chief, Captain, Lieutenant
and Assistant Fire Marshal shall be for one-year terms. The office
of Fire Marshal shall be for a three-year term.
All officers shall be appointed to their positions
by the Council at the annual reorganization meeting in January of
each year or as soon thereafter as possible. In any event, any three-year
term of office shall terminate at the end of the third calendar year
commencing with the calendar year of selection to said office. In
like manner, any one-year term of office shall terminate at the end
of the calendar year in which the selection for said office was made.
Every candidate for an officer position and every
officer shall be and must remain a member in good standing of his
or her respective recognized Fire Company.
All officer candidates must meet the general qualifications
for members listed under N.J.S.A. 40A:14-9, as amended, and such other
priorities or requirements of eligibility as may be established herein
and by the City Fire Department rules and regulations.
In order to be eligible for an officer position, an
individual must have served as an active fire fighter for at least
three years next preceding his or her selection as an officer or hold
the status at such time as an exempt fire fighter. Such prerequisites
of service or status must have been with a recognized Fire Company
in the City of Somers Point or a Fire Company in some other jurisdiction
or municipality. All officers of the City Fire Department shall be
21 years of age or more at the time of selection to the officer position.
No member of the City Fire Department shall be eligible
for selection to the office of Chief or Deputy Chief unless that member
is available for fire duty the major portion of each twenty-four-hour
day.
No member of the City Fire Department shall
be eligible for the officer position of Chief unless he or she has
held the office of Deputy Chief of the City Fire Department for at
least one year.
No member of the City Fire Department shall
be eligible for the officer position of Deputy Chief unless he or
she has held the office of Assistant Chief of the City Fire Department.
No member of the City Fire Department shall be eligible for the officer
position of Assistant Chief unless he or she has held the position
of Captain of the City Fire Department. No member of the City Fire
Department shall be eligible for the officer position of Captain unless
he or she has held the officer position of Lieutenant of the City
Fire Department. The Council reserves the right, in its discretion,
to accept equivalent qualifications of an individual who has served
in an officer position of a fire company in some other jurisdiction
or municipality.
In the event that the eligibility requirements for
any officer position of the City Fire Department cannot be met by
members of the City Fire Department, the Council shall consult with
the City Fire Department and select the best qualified person or persons
to fill officer positions.
The Council may select a current Chief or any other
current officer for a one-year holdover term or until his or her successor
shall be selected by the Council, whichever shall first occur.
The Council, by and through the designated Council
representative to the City Fire Department, shall be responsible for
the general fire protection policy of the city and for expenditures
pertaining thereto.
The care and maintenance of any constructive trust
portion of any firehouse shall be the responsibility of the Council,
by and through the designated Council representative to the City Fire
Department, in cooperation with the respective recognized Fire Company.
All reports made to the designated Council representative
to the City Fire Department shall be reported by that designated Council
representative to the Council.