§ 219-L — Authorization to adopt service award programs

§ 219-l. Authorization to adopt service award programs. 1. No\npolitical subdivision shall be required to adopt a service award\nprogram. Any service award program adopted pursuant to this section\nshall be governed by the provisions of this article.\n 2. A political subdivision may adopt a service award program for the\nvolunteer ambulance workers of ambulance companies which are either:\n (a) a municipal ambulance service of the political subdivision; or\n (b) a voluntary ambulance service which provides service to the\npolitical subdivision under contract with the governing board thereof\nand has its principal headquarters in the political subdivision.\n 3. The governing board of a political subdivision which intends to\nadopt a service award program shall engage the services of the program\nactuary designated by the comptroller for the purpose of determining the\nestimated annual cost of the program. The program actuary shall\ndetermine estimated annual cost of the program on the basis of an\ninterest rate, mortality tables and other appropriate assumptions and\nmethods selected by the actuary. The cost of obtaining such estimate\nshall be a charge against the political subdivision, provided, that if\nthe political subdivision is an ambulance district or a fire protection\ndistrict, the town in which the district is located may temporarily\nadvance moneys from its general fund to pay for the services of the\nactuary and the district shall reimburse the town with interest from\nmoneys raised for that purpose in the district's next succeeding fiscal\nyear.\n 4. Following such determination of the estimated annual cost of a\nservice award program, the program may be adopted only by resolution of\nthe governing board of a political subdivision receiving the affirmative\nvote of at least sixty percent of the governing board and the approval\nof a proposition authorizing the adoption of the program at a referendum\nof the electors of the political subdivision.\n 5. The resolution authorizing adoption of a service award program\nshall state:\n (a) the name of each volunteer ambulance company having volunteer\nambulance workers who are potential participants in the program;\n (b) the activities for which points shall be granted toward a year of\nambulance service;\n (c) the amount of the benefit provided under the program;\n (d) whether the program provides credit for years of ambulance service\nrendered by a participant during the five calendar years immediately\npreceding the adoption of the program;\n (e) in the case of a service award program which provides credit for\nyears of ambulance service rendered by a participant during the five\ncalendar years immediately preceding the adoption of the program, the\ntiming and method of financing the cost of providing such credit;\n (f) the date as of which the program shall take effect;\n (g) in the case of a service award program to take effect on a day\nother than the first day of January, whether points toward a year of\nambulance service shall be granted for activities performed prior to the\neffective date of the program and on or after the immediately preceding\nfirst day of January; and\n (h) the date on which the proposition authorizing the adoption of the\nprogram shall be submitted to referendum; and\n (i) entitlement age- the age at which volunteers are eligible to begin\nreceiving service awards.\n 6. The proposition authorizing adoption of the service award program\nshall be submitted to referendum not less than thirty days and not more\nthan ninety days after the governing board votes to authorize the\nadoption of the program. Notice of the referendum shall be published at\nleast once, not less than fourteen days prior to the date of the\nreferendum, in the official newspaper of the political subdivision or,\nif the political subdivision does not have an official newspaper, in one\nor more newspapers having general circulation in the political\nsubdivision. The referendum shall be conducted and the cost thereof\ncharged in the same manner as other referenda held by the political\nsubdivision.\n 7. The proposition shall state:\n (a) the estimated annual cost of the service award program;\n (b) the portion of the estimated annual cost of the program, if any,\nto be paid by one or more other political subdivisions;\n (c) the estimated annual cost per participant;\n (d) the estimated annual administration fee;\n (e) whether the program provides credit for years of ambulance service\nrendered by a participant during the five calendar years immediately\npreceding the adoption of the program and the estimated cost of\nproviding such credit; and\n (f) in the case of a service award program to take effect on a day\nother than the first day of January, whether points toward a year of\nambulance service shall be granted for activities performed prior to the\neffective date of the program and on or after the immediately preceding\nfirst day of January.\n 8. Upon approval of the proposition, the service award program shall\nbe deemed adopted by the political subdivision in accordance with the\nterms of the resolution adopted by the governing board.\n 9. (a) Once a service award program has been adopted, participation\ntherein by the sponsor may be terminated, or the benefits under the\nprogram may be changed, or the program may be amended to provide credit\nfor years of ambulance service rendered by a participant during the five\ncalendar years immediately preceding the adoption of the program, by\nresolution of the governing board of the sponsor receiving the\naffirmative vote of at least sixty percent of the governing board and\nthe approval of a proposition at a referendum of the electors of the\nsponsor.\n (b) The activities for which points shall be granted toward a year of\nambulance service may be changed by resolution adopted by the\naffirmative vote of at least sixty percent of the governing board of the\nsponsor without referendum; provided, that, consistent with the\nprovisions of subdivision three of section two hundred nineteen-m of\nthis article, if the effect of the amendment is to increase the number\nof points granted for the performance of the activity, decrease the\namount of an activity required to earn the points granted for the\nperformance of the activity, or both, such amendment shall be subject to\na mandatory referendum. Any amendment to a service award program shall\nonly take effect as of the first of January next succeeding completion\nof the proceedings required for adoption of the amendment and shall only\napply prospectively.\n (c) The sponsor's participation in a service award program adopted for\nthe volunteer ambulance workers of one or more ambulance companies\ndescribed in paragraph (b) of subdivision two of this section shall be\nsuspended to the extent that service credit shall not be granted for\nactivities performed by the volunteer ambulance workers of any such\nambulance company during any period in which the company ceases to\nprovide service to the sponsor under contract with the governing board\nthereof.\n