United States (New York) - The Amherst Town Board on Monday unanimously approved a policy change aimed at streamlining the process for compensating volunteer firefighters once they reach retirement age. Volunteer firefighters in Amherst don't get an hourly wage. However, at age 55, many become eligible for a partial payment in what is called the Length of Service Awards Program after only one year of service. The board on Monday agreed to increase the length of service before one becomes eligible for such payments to five years.

"Amherst is the only town in New York that had one-year vesting," Council Member Mark Manna said after the meeting.

Under the current policy, Manna said, the town is obligated to track down former volunteers and pay out as little as $4 a month to those who have put in just 12 months of service by the time they reach age 55.

"We're spending a lot of time and administrative costs giving a partial credit to some members [who work] for one year and they get a partial credit of $4. We're tracking them for 20 and 30 years to send them a $4 check after one year, [and] after two years [of service], an $8 check," Manna said.

Town and fire officials discussed the ramifications of continuing the current volunteer firefighter pension system and agreed that paying out partial service awards to short-time volunteers is an unnecessary drain on program administrators and the town's $7 million pension fund.

"The fire service is in complete support of this change, in fact. It will save the town probably $20,000 next year and even more as the years go on [by] going to a five-year vesting instead of a one-year vesting," Manna said.

The change will affect volunteers in five fire protection districts in the town: Ellicott Creek Fire Protection District No. 9; Getzville Fire Protection District No. 11; Main-Transit Fire Protection District No. 14; North Amherst Fire Protection District No. 10; and North Bailey Fire Protection District No. 18.

Residents in those districts will be required to ratify the policy change through a voter referendum scheduled for 10 a. m. to 7 p. m. Dec. 8, with the polling to take place at each of the corresponding fire halls.

Residents in Eggertsville, Snyder, Swormville and East Amherst will be excluded from voting because volunteers serving those areas belong to other pension plans, none of which allows payouts for firefighters with less than five years of service.

Written by The Buffalo News