2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 11-A - Service Award Programs › 219-A - Administration, Reporting and Disclosure.

§  219-a.  Administration, reporting and disclosure. 1. The sponsor or
the designated program administrator shall provide each active volunteer
firefighter who participates in a service award program maintained under
this article with a summary of the program's provisions,  including  the
program's  provisions  relating  to  the participation requirements, the
rate at which a nonforfeitable interest in  program  benefits  increases
and the program's service awards formula. This summary shall be provided
to  each  service  award  program participant within six months from the
date the program participation  commences.  In  addition,  any  material
modification to such program provisions shall be communicated in writing
to  each  participant  within  six  months  after  the later of the date
modification is adopted or the date  it  is  effective.  The  designated
program  administrator  shall  cause  a statement of contributions to be
provided to sponsors at least once annually. A copy of this program, the
summary of  the  program,  and  documents  related  to  the  funding  or
investment  of  the  assets  of  the  program  and  of  any contracts or
agreements with service providers to the program shall  be  provided  to
participants  annually and a copy shall be made available for inspection
or copying by a program participant or beneficiary at the sponsor's main
office. The plan document and the summary of the plan document shall  be
made available for public inspection and copying.
2.   (a)   This  program  shall  be  administered  by  such  political
subdivisions in accordance with standards and procedures established  by
them.   Payment   shall   be  made  when  certified  by  such  political
subdivisions;   provided,   however,   that   in   the   case    of    a
state-administered   program,  the  procedures  for  administration  and
payment shall be consistent with the rules and regulations governing the
state-administered program.
(b) It shall be the responsibility  of  each  participating  volunteer
fire company to maintain all required records on forms prescribed by the
governing  board  of  such political subdivision of the state; provided,
however,  that  in  the  case  of  a  state-administered  program,  each
participating  fire company shall compile and maintain such records in a
manner  consistent  with  the  rules  and  regulations   governing   the
state-administered program.
(c)  Each  volunteer fire company shall furnish to the governing board
of such political subdivision a list of all volunteer members, certified
under  oath,  and  shall  identify  those  volunteer  members  who  have
qualified for credit under the award program for the previous year. Such
list  shall  be submitted annually by March thirty-first. In the case of
state-administered plans, such list shall be submitted annually by March
thirty-first or otherwise as  provided  in  the  rules  and  regulations
governing the state-administered program. Notwithstanding the provisions
of  this  paragraph a volunteer firefighter may request that his name be
deleted from said list as a "participant" in said "defined benefit plan"
or "defined contribution plan". Such request for deletion  shall  be  in
writing and shall remain effective until withdrawn in the same manner.
(d)  The  governing  board  of  each  such political subdivision shall
review the list of each volunteer fire company  and  approve  the  final
annual  certification. The approved list of certified members shall then
be returned to each company and posted for  at  least  thirty  days  for
review by members.
3.  The  sponsor  or  designated program administrator shall obtain an
annual  audit  of  its  records  by  an  independent  certified   public
accountant or an independent public accountant. Such audit shall examine
the  program's  financial  conditions,  actuarial assumptions, fiduciary
investment and control, and asset allocations, including whether current
assets are adequate to fund future liabilities.  A  copy  of  the  audit

shall  be  presented to the program sponsor and to the state comptroller
by such accountant. Copies of the audit shall also be made available for
public inspection and copying. The audit must be  completed  within  two
hundred seventy days of the program sponsor's fiscal year.