By Mike Pettinella
For Video News Service
The Batavia Town Board is supporting the Town of Batavia Fire Department in its effort to provide financial incentives in the recruitment and retention of volunteer firefighters.
In a unanimous vote at a special meeting on April 9th, the board passed a resolution granting the fire department permission “to investigate and perform a comprehensive financial analysis of (a proposed) Length of Service Award Program to be conducted by a third-party provided named PENFLEX” that will also manage the LOSAP if it becomes a reality.
The resolution also states that the Town of Batavia would incur no cost at this time, with the fire department picking up the $2,000 fee to conduct such an analysis and study.
Directors Jim Ward and Paul Barrett said that a LOSAP for firefighters in the town – and throughout Genesee County – is long overdue. Only one volunteer fire company, Pavilion, currently offers a program where their firefighters are monetarily rewarded upon retirement after many years of service.
Ward said the program was discussed years ago but wasn’t pursued. It’s even more difficult now, he added, to recruit volunteers.
“Across New York State and across the county, volunteer fire service is having an extremely tough time,” Ward said. “Number one, because the kids that are coming up just don’t want to put their time in anymore; they have different priorities. Number two, the training for volunteer firemen now has significantly increased … from 25 years ago.
“People come into the fire department (and) they think they’re going to be running lights and sirens and doing all this really fun stuff right away. But that’s not the case because by time you get all your training done, you’re about a year into it, and you really haven’t done anything other than train.”
Ward said the fire department is looking to “get creative,” mirroring what fire departments in Erie County have done for years.
The duo said they’re taking this step-by-step, starting with selecting PENFLEX as the third-party administrator.
“We chose PENFLEX because they do all the New York State retirements for everybody throughout New York State, for state employees,” they reported. “Our first step was to present it to the town supervisor and the board to see if we can at least look at the financials and present the financials to the town to let them see the different options that PENFLEX is going to put together for them.”
Fire department board members made a presentation to the board in late March, introducing lawmakers to LOSAP, a retirement-style benefits initiative specifically designed for volunteer firefighters. Goals are to encourage recruitment, improve retention and recognize service.
Key aspects of the program are as follows:
— Participation and eligibility: Volunteers earn service credit (points) through active participation in department activities, including emergency responses, drills, training sessions and community outreach.
— Service credits accumulation: For each year of qualifying service, volunteers accumulate service credits toward future financial benefits upon reaching to be determined eligibility milestones.
— Financial benefits: After reaching milestones, volunteers become eligible for awards structured similarly to retirement benefits.
— Program administration: PENFLEX would manage the program, ensuring transparency, compliance and efficient oversight.
Pending approval by the Town Board, the fire department then would pay a one-time implementation fee of $2,000 to formally initiate the program setup. Then the matter would go up for a vote by town residents via a public referendum in November of this year. The referendum will only involve residents in the Town of Batavia fire district, not the entire shared service area.
Ward and Barrett, a firefighter for 40 years, said the program would be launched in 2026 and the first financial contributions from the town would commence in 2027, beginning the commitment to recognizing volunteer service.