Public Protection & Safety Standing Committee of the RTM Special Meeting & Public Hearing Materials (linked)

Statement of J. W. “Bill” Sheehan at Public Hearing 07212020
Regarding Volunteer Firefighter and Fire Police Incentive Program
I want to thank the Committee for their hard work thus far in developing this proposed
ordinance. Through the efforts of the Town Attorney, the Town Labor Attorney and the Human
Resources Director, I am sure this ordinance meets the criteria of the Federal Fair Labor
Standard Act (FLSA).
However, I believe that the ordinance has some weaknesses regarding information necessary to
permit the key elected boards (Board of Selectman, Board of Finance, and Representative Town
Meeting) to properly monitor this program.
The only reports mentioned in the Draft Ordinance are an Incident Report for every dispatched
incident addressed to the Director of Fire Services and a quarterly report by the Director of Fire
Services that provides information regarding who gets paid the stipend. I assume the quarterly
report goes to the HR Director although there is no mention as to who receives the report.
I recommend that the Committee include a requirement that the Fire Services Director report to
the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, and Representative Town Meeting on the number of
recipients of the stipend and the total amount expended each quarter along with a statement
regarding the effectiveness of the program in incentivizing volunteer firefighters and fire police.
The elected boards do not need to know any names, just numbers and dollars expended and
success or failure of the incentive program.
I don’t know if the recent agreement with the Waterford Ambulance Service (WAS) and the
change in who responds to EMS Calls impacts this comment. Basically, the question is — Are
any volunteer firefighters also employees of the WAS? If so, there needs to be a mechanism to
ensure that a Volunteer does not get incentive credit as well as payment from the WAS. I do not
see any such safeguard in the proposed ordinance,
In summary, I recommend outlining a safeguard procedure to prevent any incentive credit for a
call that was also paid for by the Waterford Ambulance Service and providing a summary report
to the elected boards on the status and success or not of the incentive program at a specifically
defined interval (either quarterly or semiannually).
Thank you for your attention.