Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-02-12
F|REMEN'S FUND
TO REMAIN INTACT
Joint Committee Agrees Not to
Continue Plan to Merge
Pension Accounts.

Pension Accounts.
The subcommittee appointed by
Mayor Haussling to investigate the
conditions of the fire, police and
health departments pension fund.-
and to make recommendations
will report that it is inadvisable
to change the present control OF
the individual funds. This de-
cision was reached at meet
Ing of the subcommittee yesterday
with the following members present:
City Counsel James r. Nugent, John
| +. Reilly, chairman of the Common
Council finance committee; Fire Chiei
Paul j. Moore, Chief of Police Mi
chael It. Long and Health Officer
David Chandler.
Mr. Nugent opened the meeting OF
the committee by remarking that his
honor the mayor had been prevailed
upon to appoint the committee tc
inquire into the advisability Of merg-
ing the pension funds of the police
fire and health departments. The
city counsel stated that the police
and health departments had already
stated their positions in the matter
but that the fire department repre-
sentatives had not yet been heard
from, probably because their func
was In very flourishing condition.
Old and Young Dependents.
Chief Moore promptly entered q
, protest against any measures thai
would tend to disturb present con-
ditions. The chief traced the history
of the Firemen's Relief Association
from It's inception in 1887 until the
present time. 1t was shown thai
there are dependent upon the relief
association approximately 135 ageo
persons, among whom is one VINO
is ninety years old; fifteen more thar
eighty years old; thirty-nine more
than seventy; twenty over Sixty.
nine over fifty years of age and
two over forty years old, as we'll as
some children.
"These people, said the chief, "are
the charges of the relief association
Were the city to take over the man
agement of the pension funds OF the
municipal departments 1t would MOI
and could not take care of these per-
sons in the manner that its relief as
sociation does. Last year alone the
relief association paid out over $40
600 in benefits of this kind. The
money Is derived from the tax LEVIED
on foreign insurance companies dong
business in the State.
Continuing, the chief said:
I'm 1897 an act known as the Gled-
hill bin was passed, whereby the city
was required to pension retired mem
bers of the fire department. Up u
1902 about 1884, 900 was expended b,
the city in this way. In that year
1902, the firemen had law enacted
which established a pension FUND OF
a self-sustaining basis. Under 1T
provisions revenue Is derived from
various sources. one of the most I'M
portant of which is tax of two pei
cent levied on the total amount o.
premiums collected by foreign insur'
ance companies doing business in tbs
State. This was the result OF ar
agreement between the pension funo
and the State Firemen's Relief Asso
citation, which, prior to the law o.
1902, had received the full two pei
cent
Effect of Change in Law.
If. said the chief, anything il
done to change this law the insur'
ance companies will resist the pay
ment of this insurance tax; they will
object to contributing to departments
other than the one which keeps doWr
it's fire losses, and then what will
become of the dependents on the re-
lief association? With it's income
shut off, who will support these PEG
pie? The city can't, and who WIFI
Concluding, the chief stated:
at is better, gentlemen. to lei
things alone. Or, If you want to &C
it alone, do so, but don't bother with
the fire department pension fund"
Here Mr.. Nugent commented that
it could readily be seen that the firt
department fund labored under lif-
ferent situation than the police oil
Board OF Health funds.
At this point III. B. Thiele, of the
police department, supported by Sec
retary Cox, of the Police Board
attempted to show that the fire
department members. who received
in their fund the license fees OF
picture shows and circuses really
did very little work at these places
that the police department actually
did the bulk of the work, and that II
was done during the policemen's own
time. In this Chief Long concurred
Mr.. Thiele also asserted that 1t was
the police to whom the fire depart
ment appealed when attempting to
enforce theatre regulations.
The fire chief very quickly chal-
ly stating that the records would
show that the firemen on theatre de-
tail fulfill their duties without re-
sorting to this measure and that the
records could not be doubted.
No Time for Merging.
Chief Long, and also Mr.. Chandler
of the health department, then sug-
gested that perhaps the imposition OF
a per cent. assessment on the sala-
ries of department members might
help along the problem which the
police and Health department pen
sion funds were facing, and Fire
Chief Moore replied that this was q
matter of internal regulation of the
respective funds.
Mr.. Nugent then announced that ii
was quite apparent that this was moi
the time for a merger of the several
funds and suggested that the meet
ing adjourn, and Chairman Reilly so
report to the legislative conference
on Monday.
This action was taken and the
committee adjourned with the I'M
Outstanding that the incident was
closed.