[Adopted 12-5-2022 by Ord. No. 2022-12[1]]
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance provided an effective date of 1-1-2023.
A. 
The Borough of Palmyra fully recognizes and is very concerned about the state of declining volunteerism across the country, affecting many organizations and all sectors of society including volunteer fire departments throughout the state and locally. In order to better address these issues and threat it poses to public safety, the Borough Council, in cooperation with the members of the all-volunteer Palmyra Fire Department, wish to establish a program that further incentivizes community volunteerism and rewards our dedicated volunteer fire fighters.
B. 
This program is specifically intended to better ensure a minimum response level and availability of these critical first-responders during times when many of our volunteer firefighters would normally be required to be at their regular place of employment.
The purpose of this article is to establish the policies, requirements and operating procedures for the Borough of Palmyra Fire Department Volunteer Participation and Stipend Program ("Program") in order to define the minimum participation requirements for volunteer participation through a defined stipend program.
This Program applies to all volunteer members of the Palmyra Fire Department and outlines the requirements to maintain active status as a volunteer member.
A. 
All members are required to meet the minimum Program participation requirements as defined under Subsection G below.
B. 
All volunteer members of the Palmyra Fire Department, as appointed by the mayor with the advice and consent of Borough Council, and meeting the minimum participation requirements, are eligible to participate in the Program.
C. 
Volunteer firefighters who are NJ DFS FFI certified and SCBA cleared will be eligible for the stipend amount.
D. 
Stipend checks will be issued every two weeks in conjunction with applicable Borough of Palmyra policies and coincident with the Borough's recognized payroll periods. All stipends will be paid via direct deposit. A W-2 tax status and appropriate withholdings will be made by the Finance/Payroll Department.
E. 
No member/participant in the Program may earn more than $9,600 annually.
F. 
All members will be required to clock in/out per the Borough's Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual Timekeeping policy utilizing the Borough's Time Trak time management system as provided. The Fire Chief and/or other designated Fire Department Officer, working in conjunction with the Borough Administrator and/or other Borough Official as designated by the Administrator, will be responsible to provide and certify accurate payroll records to the Finance/Payroll Department every two weeks.
G. 
Members will be held accountable for various service/shift requirements, including but not limited to:
(1) 
Reporting for shift on time and in uniform.
(2) 
Completing pre-shift and post-shift unit checks.
(3) 
Attending any drills or training during your shift.
(4) 
Completing all electronic incidents and other reports by the end of the shift.
(5) 
Cleaning stocking apparatus and equipment to ready state.
(6) 
General station housekeeping including removal of trash and common areas.
(7) 
Cleaning of duty and non-duty apparatus.
(8) 
Attendance at public events including Borough events.
(9) 
Other assignments as instructed by the Fire Chief and/or other designated Fire Department Officer or Borough Official.
H. 
Failure to complete electronic/paper reports completely and accurately or failure to adhere to any of the service requirements will result in the withholding of stipend payments and disciplinary action.
I. 
Members who do not complete annual mandatory training by the due date will not be eligible to receive the stipend and may be subject to departmental discipline. Members who do not complete annual mandatory training by the end of the calendar year will immediately be recommend for termination of volunteer membership.
A. 
All fire duty crew shifts will be staffed with not to exceed two NJDFS certified firefighters.
(1) 
Any crew staffed with less than two NJ-certified firefighters will require the permission of the Fire Chief or his/her designee.
(2) 
All members must be capable of donning an SCBA, including completing a respiratory fit test and SCBA Part 1 training annually.
B. 
Fire duty crew shifts will be scheduled by the Fire Chief or his/her designee to ensure that operational objectives are met. On each duty crew, two shifts will be "open" in the scheduling software, to allow members to sign up for open spots.
C. 
Fire duty crew shifts will be scheduled Monday to Friday only, from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. only.
D. 
Members will submit availability for all shifts via the designated scheduling program or request a recurring schedule.
E. 
Members must submit availability of shift hours for the following month by midnight on the 15th day of the preceding month. The Fire Chief or his/her designee will complete the schedule by 1800 hours on the 21st day of each month for the following month. Once the schedule is published, open shifts are available for any eligible member to sign up.
F. 
Members who do not receive their requested hours or a minimum number of shift hours are encouraged to pick up open shifts after the schedule has been published.
G. 
Members with an adverse number of callouts (five) or no shows for duty crews will be dismissed from membership, as such a pattern will cause service interruption.
(1) 
A callout is defined as anyone who "calls out" from their scheduled shift.
(2) 
Any member that finds eligible replacement coverage prior to calling out of their shift is not considered to have "called out."
(3) 
Members should make every attempt to find their own coverage for any shift for which they are scheduled; the member can give away their shift (shift must be picked up) or switch their shift with another member (if there is no pickup of the shift or no switch, the member will have to "call out" of their scheduled shift).
(4) 
Arriving late for a shift with no valid reason provided or prior notice given to the Fire Chief or his/her designee, will be considered a "call out" occurrence.
H. 
Members completing a full fire duty crew shift of eight hours as defined above under Fire Duty Crew, Subsection C, will receive a full stipend of $150, which may be amended by resolution of the Borough Council in future years.
I. 
Members completing only a portion of a full fire duty crew shift, meaning less than a full eight-hour shift, will receive a prorated portion of the full stipend amount.
A. 
The Fire Chief or his/her designee will record all activities/responses in the Time Trak time management system in conjunction with the Borough Official noted in Administration, § 21-24F, above.
B. 
All activities (public education events, incident reports) will be entered into the appropriate records management system by the duty crew officer on the crew and/or the acting OIC of the call.
C. 
Fire incident reports shall be completed by the end of the fire duty crew shift.
D. 
Training records will be maintained by the Department Training Officer (DTO) and entered into the appropriate recordkeeping system.
E. 
Fire duty crew tracking will be done with the electronic scheduling system. Any shift callouts, occurrences of lateness, and swaps will also be managed in this system.
F. 
Stipend calculations will be computed from the records management system, with duty crews, response back, training, and duty crew shifts being calculated for stipend payment.
G. 
Discrepancies will be detailed in writing and forwarded to the Fire Chief or his/her designee for investigation and resolution. If a discrepancy is found, amendments will be addressed in the next monthly stipend.
H. 
Any alteration or misuse of crew activity logs/time reporting will be considered fraudulent activity and will be investigated fully, and may result in loss of stipend, disciplinary action and/or criminal charges.