Borough of Fort Lee, NJ Ambulance Corps

The quarterly stipend payment scale, which is predicated upon the total quarterly shifts worked by the individual member, shall be based upon the quarterly shifts and stipends for that attendance:

Quarterly Shifts	Quarterly Stipend Amount
0-15	$0.00
16-19	$712.79
20-23	$1,042.08
24-26	$1,431.56
27-29	$1,610.50
30-32	$1,789.45
33-37	$1,968.38
38 and above	$2,266.62

Any member that does not take any shifts for three consecutive months and fails to notify the Executive Council of his/her status will become ineligible for the stipend program until such time as the member notifies the Council of his/her status or intent to begin to take scheduled shifts.

If any member sustains a disabling injury or occupational illness as a result of his/her volunteer services while acting on behalf of the Borough (including Fort Lee Mutual Aid) that prohibits them from performing a significant portion of his/her duties as a member, which meets the eligibility requirements in accordance with and as determined under the New Jersey Workers' Compensation law, N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 et seq., and for which he/she is awarded benefits pursuant thereto, then he/she shall also continue to receive the stipend from the Borough pursuant to this article until either: 1) he/she has been awarded maximum compensation under Workers' Compensation in accordance with N.J.S.A. 34:15-75 as a result of said injury or occupational illness; or 2) until he/she has been receiving the stipend as granted under this article for a maximum of 12 months, whichever occurs first.

[Added 11-7-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-31]

§ 6-2 Backup shifts.

[Amended 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-48]

In order to encourage response to calls, for every three unscheduled backup calls answered, members will receive credit for one unscheduled backup shift.

Scheduled backup shifts take effect between the hours of 11:30 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. daily (11:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m. on weekends and holidays). Any member that is scheduled for a backup shift shall receive a stipend of $10 per shift and $15 for each call taken during a scheduled backup shift. Any member that responds to a backup call as a result of the scheduled member not responding will receive credit for the scheduled backup shift, including the $10 for the shift (provided that the member commits to the entire shift) and $15 for each call.

Any member that responds to an unscheduled backup call (regardless of the time of day) will receive two unscheduled backup credits.

§ 6-3 Credits for classes, training, drills and specialty events.

[Amended 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-48]

In order to encourage members of the Volunteer Ambulance Corps to continue education and training, each member shall receive credit for EMT CEU classes, Corps training and drills, as well as Corps specialty events, according to the following guidelines: Each individual member shall receive one unscheduled backup call credit for zero to two hours of training, two unscheduled backup call credits for two to four hours of training, and three unscheduled backup call credits for greater than four hours of training.

Additionally, should any EMT CEU classes, Corps training, and/or drill exceed one full eight-hour day, members will receive three unscheduled backup call credits for each additional day of the same class/training/drill, provided that the additional day exceeds four hours. A maximum of 10 unscheduled backup shifts may be accumulated yearly by taking EMT CEU classes and Corps training. Unscheduled backup credit accumulated through training will be documented on a separate backup card.

§ 6-4 Holiday shifts.

Any member covering a holiday shift, beyond the required two holiday shifts, will receive credit for two regular shifts for each additional holiday shift worked. An associate member is required to work one holiday shift before he/she is eligible to receive the extra holiday shift credit. Any member who has not fulfilled his/her holiday requirements from prior years will not be eligible for extra shift credit until he/she has made up the past year's shifts.

§ 6-5 Holdover credits.

Each member will be allowed to hold over up to 15 stipend credit shifts at any given time. Each member will additionally be able to hold over an unlimited number of unscheduled backup shift credits. Two weeks prior to the end of the quarter, members must notify the Deputy Chief, in writing, of their desire to utilize their stipend credit and/or unscheduled backup shift holdovers.

§ 6-6 Posting of additional crew members.

Members cannot place themselves on posted shifts as a third or fourth crew member simply to receive stipend credit. Members that wish to ride as a third or fourth crew member on any scheduled shift must get the approval of the scheduling officer.

§ 6-7 Applicability.

[Amended 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-48]

Members who were on the Fort Lee Volunteer Ambulance Corps rolls as of June 1, 2002, regardless of their membership status (i.e., regular, associate, youth corps), will be included in the stipend program. This will include those members who resided outside of the Borough of Fort Lee as of the aforementioned date.

Any Fort Lee Volunteer Ambulance Corps member who resided outside the Borough of Fort Lee at the time that he/she was accepted into the Corps will be eligible to receive the stipend after one year of active membership on the Corps. Said member must have been actively riding for 12 consecutive months, consistently and on a weekly basis, as a regular or youth corps member. At the completion of the twelve-month period, the Corps Council will review said member’s activity, and a recommendation will be made to the Corps’ membership to accept or reject said member for the stipend program. Additionally, the number of Corps members who are eligible for the stipend under the above-written rule will be limited to eight at any time.

§ 6-8 Officers, acting officers and engineers.

[Amended 12-18-2008 by Ord. No. 2008-48; 9-12-2019 by Ord. No. 2019-22]

All officers and acting officers will receive an additional quarterly stipend, payable each quarter of the calendar year, provided they are fulfilling the responsibilities of their assigned positions. The stipends paid to each officer shall break down as follows:

Officer Position	Stipend Shift Level
Chief	30-32 shifts
Deputy Chief	27-29 shifts
Scheduling Officer	24-26 shifts
Treasurer	20-23 shifts
Supply Officer	20-23 shifts
Secretary	20-23 shifts

The engineer of the Corps will receive an additional quarterly stipend (rated at the 20-23 shift level), payable each quarter of the calendar year, provided he/she is fulfilling the responsibilities of the assigned position. If the Chief of the Corps assigns an assistant engineer, that assistant engineer will receive two regular stipend shifts per month, provided he/she is fulfilling the responsibilities of the assistant engineer.

The Chief of the Corps will be responsible for determining if Corps officers and engineer(s) are fulfilling their responsibilities. Additionally, the Corps Council will be responsible for determining if the Chief is fulfilling his/her responsibilities. Any officer who takes a leave of absence (LOA) during his/her term of office will be subject to a monthly review by the Chief (or the Corps Council, if the review is of the Chief's duties) for the duration of the LOA, to ensure that he/she is fulfilling his/her responsibilities and qualifies for the officer's stipend, while on said LOA.

§ 6-9 Forfeiture of shift not required for certain members.

Any member who has taken the same shift for a period of six or more months, and has been riding on a consistent and weekly basis, will not have to give up his/her shift to any other members, unless he/she voluntarily submits it in writing to the scheduling officer.

§ 6-10 Logging in and out.

All members will use the Keri System Time Clock to log in and out of the building for their stipend shifts. No member may log in or out for another member.

§ 6-11 Missing scheduled shift without coverage.

If a member misses a regularly scheduled shift without proper coverage, he/she shall be subject to a suspension and shall not receive credit for the shift.

§ 6-12 Overnights.

Members taking three or more overnights per week shall receive an additional $15 for each overnight beyond the second overnight for that week. If a member is currently taking more than two overnight shifts per week, he/she cannot refuse to give up one or more of the shifts to another member just to continue receiving the $15. The member taking more than two overnight shifts per week would have a choice as to which additional shift(s) he/she would like to give up.

§ 6-13 Annual raise.

[Amended 7-6-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-18]

The Fort Lee Ambulance Corps will receive the yearly raise in accordance with the White-Collar Union Employees.

§ 6-14 End of service payment.

[Added 4-14-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-13]

Preamble. The Mayor and Council of the Borough wish to provide qualified Ambulance Corps members who shall have permanently ended their service to the Borough with a service-based payment (hereinafter "qualified service payment").

Qualifications for eligibility.

(1)

Ending service after a minimum of 25 years of Ambulance Corps service in Fort Lee.

(2)

Member must be in good standing as determined by the Borough in its reasonable discretion.

Rate of qualified service payment. The sum of $1,000 per year shall be paid to a member entitled to the qualified service payment, to be fixed at the date of the end of service. Each individual's yearly qualifying service payment, once fixed at the date of end of service, shall not be thereafter increased, irrespective of any subsequent increases thereafter authorized by any subsequent ordinance. The qualified service payment shall be considered deferred compensation, except for the limitation contained in Subsection B(2) above, and shall have no effect whatsoever on any other benefits, and in the event that the Ambulance Corps member is a Borough employee, the qualified service payment paid herein shall have no effect on such employment or retirement benefits otherwise payable to the employee.

§ 6-15 Warden duty.

[Added 7-6-2023 by Ord. No. 2023-18]

"Ambulance Warden duty" is defined as an on-duty temporary measure ordered by the Ambulance Chief, or, in his absence, the Deputy Chief, or, in their absence, their designee, or the senior officer present, intended to ensure the readiness and response of Fort Lee Ambulance Corps members and ambulances, and to protect life and render emergency medical care under special circumstances. Such special circumstances include, but are not limited to, severe weather events, heavy traffic, festivals, special details, events, and those other circumstances deemed appropriate for Ambulance Warden duty by the Ambulance Chief.

Individuals who qualify to serve as Ambulance Wardens shall be active members of the Ambulance Corps. Any qualified individuals serving as Ambulance Wardens shall report directly to the Ambulance Chief, or, in his absence, the Deputy Chief, or, in his absence, their designee, or the senior officer present. Persons serving as Ambulance Wardens shall be subject to all Borough ordinances, rules, and regulations.

Ambulance Wardens shall be paid at the current rate of $23.66 per hour, which rate may be, from time to time, amended in accordance with the Borough budget.