[Ord. of 7-13-1992]
A special Town fund is hereby created and shall be designated
as the "Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Personnel Compensation Fund,"
which fund shall be nonlapsing and shall be kept separate and apart
from all other funds of the town. There shall be deposited into said
fund such sums as may be appropriated in accordance with the requirement
of law. Upon appropriation made in accordance with the requirements
of law, the moneys in the fund and any interest earned or accruing
thereon shall be used for the purpose of compensating any member of
a volunteer fire company located within the Town and any member of
the New Milford Community Ambulance Corporation for time he or she
is required to spend away from his or her place of employment testifying
pursuant to subpoena in any court proceeding arising out of a fire,
ambulance call or other emergency to which said member responded.
[Ord. of 7-13-1992]
Any said member who desires to receive compensation from the
fund shall submit a request therefor to his or her volunteer fire
company or the New Milford Community Ambulance Corporation, as the
case may be, together with proof from his or her employer of the hourly
wage which the member was earning at the time of the emergency to
which her or she responded; the total hours spent away from work pursuant
to subpoena; a copy of the subpoena; and proof from the employer that
the member was not compensated or only partially compensated for said
time spent away from work. Upon receipt of the member's request
and the required proof, the volunteer fire company or the New Milford
Community Ambulance Corporation, as the case may be, shall submit
the request and said proof to the Mayor. The Mayor shall review the
request and, if satisfied that it complies with the requirements of
this section, shall seek an appropriation from the fund to compensate
the member as provided herein. The compensation to be paid from the
fund shall be at the rate of $15 per hour, or the normal hourly wage
rate of the member, whichever is greater, for each hour spent away
from work for the purposes of testifying, less any statutory fees
which the member receives for testifying, and less any actual compensation
received by the member from his or her employer for the time so spent
away from work. Compensation shall be available from the fund at the
$15 per hour rate to those members of the volunteer fire companies
or of the New Milford Community Ambulance Corporation who are self-employed.
