New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 2 - DEPARTMENT OF AUDIT AND CONTROL › Chapter IV - Miscellaneous Rules › Part 154 - State-administered Defined Contribution Service Award Programs For Volunteer Firefighters › Section 154.6 - Service credit and payment of contributions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) Each volunteer fire company or volunteer
				fire department for which a State-administered defined contribution volunteer
				firefighter service award program is in effect shall maintain at all times for
				each volunteer firefighter of the volunteer fire company or volunteer fire
				department, whether or not such volunteer firefighter is a participant in the
				State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award
				program, a record of the activities performed and points granted toward a year
				of firefighting service. The administrator may prescribe the form and manner of
				compiling and maintaining such records.
(b) On or before March 31st of each year,
				each volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department for which a
				State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award
				program is adopted shall prepare and submit to the governing board of the
				sponsor a list of all the volunteer firefighters of the volunteer fire company
				or volunteer fire department which identifies all those who have qualified for
				credit for a year of firefighting service during the preceding calendar year.
				Such list shall be certified under oath by the president, secretary and chief
				or comparable officers of the volunteer fire company or volunteer fire
				department and shall be accompanied by such membership records or records of
				point accumulations as the governing board may require to substantiate the
				accuracy of the list. Such list shall also identify those volunteer
				firefighters who have waived participation in the State-administered defined
				contribution volunteer firefighter service award program as provided in
				subdivision (f) of this section.
(c) On or before May 1st of each year, the
				governing board of the sponsor shall review each such certified list and may
				delete the name of any person who was not a volunteer firefighter during the
				preceding calendar year or disallow the service credit of any volunteer
				firefighter who did not earn or otherwise receive 50 points during the
				preceding calendar year or whose point accumulation has not been adequately
				documented. Thereafter, the governing board shall approve each such certified
				list of volunteer firefighters and each volunteer firefighter named thereon
				shall be credited with a year of firefighting service. Upon approval, the
				governing board shall cause a copy of each list to be returned to the
				appropriate volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department and each
				volunteer fire company or volunteer fire department shall, immediately upon
				receipt, post the list in a conspicuous place at its principal headquarters for
				at least 30 days and maintain a record of the date on which the list is posted;
				provided, however, that no personal identifying information shall be included
				in the list that is posted except the names of the firefighters credited with a
				year of firefighting service.
(d)
				Not later than 30 days after the approved list is posted by the volunteer fire
				company or volunteer fire department, any volunteer firefighter whose name does
				not appear on the list as having qualified for credit for a year of
				firefighting service may appeal to the governing board of the sponsor to have
				his or her name added to the list. The appeal shall be in writing and mailed to
				the clerk or secretary of the governing board of the sponsor. The governing
				board shall investigate all appeals and upon finding that such a volunteer
				firefighter has qualified for a year of firefighting service for the preceding
				calendar year, shall order the volunteer firefighter's name to be added to the
				approved list.
(e) On or before
				July 1st of each year, the governing board of the sponsor shall cause a
				certified copy of the approved list to be filed with the
				administrator.
(f) Any volunteer
				firefighter not wishing to participate in the State-administered defined
				contribution volunteer firefighter service award program may waive
				participation by filing with the chief executive officer of the volunteer fire
				company or volunteer fire department, the chief executive officer of the
				political subdivision and the administrator a written notice of waiver of
				participation. Such waiver shall remain effective until withdrawn in the same
				manner. During the period such a waiver remains effective, a volunteer
				firefighter shall not earn service credit, nor be entitled to a distribution
				from the State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service
				award program.
(g) Notwithstanding
				the provisions of subdivisions (b) through (e) of this section, if, as of the
				effective date of the conversion of the locally-administered defined
				contribution volunteer firefighter service award program into a
				State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter service award
				program, the governing board of a sponsor has approved a certified list of
				volunteer firefighters qualified for credit for a year of firefighting service
				rendered during the preceding calendar year in substantial compliance with the
				procedures set forth in subdivisions (b) through (d) of this section, excepting
				the dates set forth therein, the governing board shall comply with the filing
				requirement of subdivision (e) of this section no later than 30 days after the
				chief executive officer of the sponsor files a completed and executed copy of
				the adoption or transfer agreement with the administrator pursuant to section
				154.4 
				of this Part.
(h)
(1) Commencing on November 15th of the year
				in which State administration begins, and each November 15th thereafter, the
				administrator shall estimate the amount that each sponsor is required to
				contribute to a State-administered defined contribution volunteer firefighter
				service award program for the current calendar year, including any prior
				service contributions required to be paid in such year pursuant to section
				154.7 
				of this Part, and any additional amounts determined by the administrator to be
				necessary to fully finance all existing obligations of such program. The
				administrator shall submit to the fiscal officer of each sponsor a statement of
				the amount so payable, plus any administrative costs payable by the sponsor.
				For good cause shown, the administrator may recalculate the contribution and
				issue a corrected statement. If, as a result of the amount determined to be
				paid for any calendar year, a sponsor overpaid its actual obligation for that
				year, the amount to be determined by the administrator for the next succeeding
				November 15th shall reflect the amount of the overpayment, plus interest, as a
				reduction in the amount otherwise required to be paid by such
				sponsor.
(2) Within 60 days after
				the date of a statement issued pursuant to paragraph (1) if this subdivision,
				the sponsor shall pay to the administrator the total amount due as shown on
				such statement.
(3) Interest shall
				accrue and be paid by the sponsor on all amounts due, but not received by the
				administrator within 60 days after the date of the statement issued pursuant to
				paragraph (1) of this subdivision. The interest rate or rates used to calculate
				such interest shall be the actual investment return rate earned by the
				volunteer firefighters' defined contribution service award program trust fund
				during the calendar year (or years) in which such unpaid contributions were due
				to be paid.
(4) The administrator
				shall notify the Comptroller of any amounts remaining unpaid more than 90 days
				after the date of the statement issued pursuant to subdivision (a) of this
				section.
(5) In the event that a
				sponsor does not submit to the administrator an approved list in accordance
				with subdivision (e) or (g) of this section, the administrator shall bill the
				sponsor for the contribution due for the calendar year in which the list should
				have been submitted in an amount calculated by the administrator equal to the
				estimated contribution due during such year. Such estimated contribution shall
				be calculated by the administrator as if all volunteer firefighters named on
				the latest year's approved list received by the administrator continued to be
				volunteer firefighters and all such persons earned a year of service credit
				during the calendar year for which the list should have been prepared in
				accordance with subdivision (e) or (g) of this section. Payment of such
				estimated contribution shall be made in accordance with paragraphs (1) through
				(3) of this subdivision as if the administrator's estimate was based upon the
				actual approved lists prepared in accordance with subdivisions (a) through (e)
				of this section. Upon receipt by the administrator of the actual approved list
				prepared in accordance with subdivisions (a) through (e) of this section, the
				administrator shall recompute the contributions due for such calendar year. In
				the event that additional contributions are owed by the sponsor (including any
				additional administration costs), the administrator shall bill the sponsor for
				such additional amounts. Interest shall be paid by the sponsor on all
				additional amounts owed and shall accrue from the due date of the payment of
				the estimated contribution billed to the sponsor by the administrator with such
				interest calculated in accordance with paragraph (3) of this subdivision. Any
				excess of the estimated contributions over the actual contributions shall be
				treated as an overpayment by the sponsor in the manner provided in subdivision
				(a) of this section. The amount of such overpayment shall be reduced by any
				related additional administration costs charged by the administrator. The
				assessment of any extra additional administration charges payable by the
				sponsor to the administrator because of the failure to comply with subdivisions
				(a) through (e) of this section shall be in accordance with the contract
				between the Comptroller and the administrator.