MARCELLUS
VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT Serving the Town of Marcellus for more than 150 years
Spring 2012
Marcellus Town Board wants to retain volunteers by granting service awards
Left to right: Jessica Lingyak, Nick Edwards, Amy Kennedy, and Billy White
MVFD new recruits Congratulations to the members of the Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department who recently completed the Firefighting Standards 1 training course offered at Cayuga County Fire Training Center. The course introduces new recruits to basic firefighting techniques and equipment. Each recruit was required to complete a written and practical exam and received National Fire Protection Association 1001 Level I Standard certification. Volunteers need no prior experience to apply. We welcome and encourage transfers from other departments as well.
Who do you call for help in the Town of Marcellus? You may be surprised to learn that it actually is your neighbor or a friend who responds to your emergency call as part of a professionally trained, volunteer team of compassionate individuals—The Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department. “Volunteer fire departments have been the backbone of a community for decades,” said John Rossiter, Chief of the Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department. “Our sole purpose is to help the members of this community and keep them safe.”
“We greatly value the service of the members of our department. Their service is not only provided at great personal risk but requires a significant amount of training hours in order to be certified. ” -Town of Marcellus Board
HONORING MVFD FIREFIGHTERS
Chief James Rossiter, Larry Abrahamson, and Tim Chase together have provided a combined service total of 85+ years to the Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department.
But this long-time tradition of neighbors helping neighbors has had its struggles maintaining its ranks over the years. “Every person I serve with sacrifices time with their families not only to run into burning buildings and rescue people in car accidents, but to continually train to keep up with firefighting and emergency responder standards. It takes commitment and dedication,” said Rossiter. “These days, many people just
Marcellus Fire Department (315) 673-1818
don’t have that kind of time.” The Town Board of Marcellus wants to honor these dedicated individuals who have put in countless hours helping the community by implementing the New York State endorsed Length of Service Award program.
SERVICE AWARDS IMPORTANT DATES JULY 12
Marcellus Fire Dept. Open House & Information Night Marcellus Fire House, 7 p.m.
JULY 25
Town of Marcellus Public Hearing on Service Award Referendum Marcellus Fire House, 7 p.m.
AUGUST 21
Town of Marcellus Referendum Vote on Volunteer Fire Dept. Service Awards Marcellus Fire House Noon - 9 p.m. VOTER REQUIREMENTS:
Must be eligible to register to vote, 18+ years old, U.S. Citizen, and a Marcellus resident for more than 30 days Apply for absentee ballot by contacting Marcellus Town Clerk, Karen Pollard.
“We greatly value the service of the members of our department. Their service is not only provided at great personal risk but requires a significant amount of training hours in order to be certified. Their service protects our property 24/7, 365 days a year,” wrote the Marcellus Town Board in a letter to residents. CONTINUED INSIDE
Learn more at www.marcellusfd.com
Learn more at www.marcellusfd.com
Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department
To the Residents of the Marcellus Fire Protection District:
John Rossiter Chief
James Rossiter
1st Assistant Chief
Dave Card
2nd Assistant Chief
Jeff Isgar
3rd Assistant Chief
Jeff Berwald President
MEMBERSHIP
Larry Abrahamson Chuck Ames Robert Beamish Pat Bleakley Ranald Bleakley Timothy Chase William Cross Paul DeCapio Nicholas Edwards Jesse Faulkner Josh Fellows Keith A. Gates Mike Goebel John Gowing Brian Haney Owen Haney Barbara Hughes Larry Hughes Nick J. Hullihen Molly E. Kelly Amy Kennedy Kyle Kennedy Brenden F. Kirkpatrick Ken Leeb Steve Lilly Jessica Lingyak Robert Mahan Jr. Joshua McBride Joel McNally James E. Murphy Mary Myers William O’Connor Dave Perry Randy Pilot Debra Robb Patrick Rothery Alex Somerville Miguel Sotelo Colin Spencer Eugene Sweet Matt J. Thorpe Shane Todd Alexandra V. Tracy Colin Tracy Steven M. Wheeler Billy White Lee Williams Robert Woods
Do you recognize any of these firefighters? Let us know!
100% volunteer for more than 150 years For more than 150 years, it’s been a neighbor or a friend that has responded to the emergency needs of Marcellus’ citizens. According to Marcellus historian John Curtain, the first reference regarding the election of fire wardens to enforce the fire laws occurred a year after the incorporation of the Village of Marcellus in 1853. A series of serious church fires in the 1870’s convinced the village residents to start raising money to fuel fire protection services. On September 10, 1884, the Union Fire Department of Marcellus was officially organized. By 1887, the Marcellus Village Board created the Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department, appointing a chief and an assistant
On August 21st a public referendum will be held on the subject of the establishment of a Service Award Program for qualifying members of the Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department. Over the past six months, the town board and the fire department representatives have been discussing the terms of the program and believe we can accomplish the goals of member recruitment and retention through the proposed program. We greatly value the service of the members of our department. Their service is not only provided at great personal risk but requires a significant amount of training hours in order to be certified. Their service protects our property 24/7, 365 days a year. Many other departments in our area have successfully used similar programs to increase membership and increase participation of existing members. This allows those departments to protect their residents without moving to paid employees. The public referendum is your opportunity to be heard on this issue. Please take time to study the facts regarding this program and vote on August 21st. —The Marcellus Town Board
chief to replace fire wardens. A year later, residents endorsed village resolution to create a building to house fire equipment on Slocombe Avenue. In 1937, the Marcellus Fire District was established and with financial support of the Marcellus Town Board, the fire department began to answer emergencies within the town limits.
In 1965, it was decided to purchase land and build another fire house on Lee Mulroy Road to improve the department’s response time to areas in the town. The Marcellus Ladies Auxiliary was organized in the 1960’s to prove critical support services. Watch for more articles on MVFD’s history in upcoming issues or visit our website at www.marcellusfd.com.
MVFD makes a difference in the community The Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department is constantly on the move even when there are no emergencies. Every year they send trained volunteers to visit each classroom in both the Marcellus Central Schools’ elementary and middle schools to teach fire prevention and safety skills. This year, the volunteers staffed an information booth at Marcellus High School’s first annual Volunteer Fair. “We were able to make contact with plenty of students to explain how the volunteer fire service works,” said Patricia Bleakley, the department’s secretary and a member of the company’s Fire Police squad. “We attend
Marcellus Volunteer Firefighter Nick Edwards explains to children at the Marcellus Parent Nursery School how the gear a firefighter wears works and lets them get familiar with it so they won’t be scared if they see a firefighter in an emergency. festivals in the area so kids can explore the fire apparatus, march in all the parades and
of course we deliver Santa each year for the annual tree lighting in the village.”
100% volunteer staffed, serving the Town of Marcellus for more than 150 years
Marcellus Fire Department (315) 673-1818
Service awards... As far back as 1989, New York State legislators recognized the need to create a program to help recruit and retain volunteer firefighters across the state by passing legislation to allow local municipalities to establish and sponsor a pension-like program to reward volunteer firefighters based on their length of service to the community. Today, more than 500 local governments across the state have put the Length of Service Award program in place. “We’re really one of the last departments in Onondaga County, especially in the immediate surrounding area, to implement the Service Award program,” said Rossiter. “We feel honored that the Marcellus Town Board has decided
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to ask residents to do this for us.” Chief Dave Card has worked intensively for more than six months with Town Supervisor Dan Ross to come up with the details of the measure. “We’re happy to answer the public’s questions about the program. You can learn more at our website www.marcellusfd.com.” The Length of Service Award Program is based on a points system. Each firefighter who earns 50 points per year of volunteer service will qualify for a $700 yearly stipend when the individual reaches the age of 65. The points are awarded based on the type of volunteer service from responding to fire calls, hours of training, performing public education or
SERVICE AWARD COST ESTIMATE Annual Charge per Volunteer (minimum 50 points) Administration and Fund Management
$700 $2,000/yr.
FIRST YEAR COST 5 Year Buy-Back 79 years of qualified service $55,300 Administration and Fund Management $ 2,000 Annual Cost (30 volunteers) $21,000 $78,300 Less: Service Awards Reserve $23,200 Contingency Fund $20,000 $43,200
Total First Year Net Cost
$35,100
SECOND YEAR COST Annual Cost (Est. 33 volunteers) Administration and Fund Management Total Second Year Net Cost
$23,100 $ 2,000 $25,100
THIRD YEAR COST Annual Cost (Est. 35 volunteers) Administration and Fund Management Total Third Year Net Cost
$24,500 $ 2,000 $26,500
ESTIMATED COST PER HOUSEHOLD ($100,000 AVERAGE PROPERTY VALUE) TOTAL ASSESSED VALUE $400,000,000 $408,000,000 $416,000,000
PROGRAM COST RATE PER $1,000 OF VALUE $35,100 .08775 $25,100 .06152 $26,500 .06370
ANNUAL COST 8.78 6.15 6.37
serving as an elected or appointed officer of the department. There are limits on how many points can be earned in each area assuring that the active volunteer is well-rounded and participates across the board in the department. Each member is vested in the program after five years of qualified service in the program. The cost to taxpayers will be less than $9.00 per $100,000 assessed home value per year. As part of the cost, the Marcellus Service Award program includes paying qualified volunteers retroactively for the past five years. “I think they’ve given their service and their time for a number of years for our safety, they definitely deserve it,” said Mark Moncavage of Marcellus. “Any public servant should be taken care of after their service,” said Dan Balman of Marcellus. “Absolutely, I would give it to them,” said Mary Desso of Marcellus. For the Marcellus Town Board to adopt the Length of Service Award program for Marcellus’ volunteer firefighters, the public needs to approve the measure. A referendum vote will be held on Tuesday, August 21st at the Marcellus Fire House on Slate Hill Road from noon to 9 p.m. The public will be given an opportunity to find out more information about the Length of Service Award program and ask questions at a Marcellus Town public hearing scheduled for Wednesday, July 25th at the Marcellus Fire House on Slate Hill Road at 7 p.m. The community is also invited to an open house/information meeting hosted by the Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department on Thursday, July 12th beginning at 7 p.m. “We’re inviting the community to come over, climb on the trucks, ask us questions and find out what being a volunteer firefighter is all about,” said Rossiter. “We can also set you up with an application if you’d like to join.”
Marcellus Fire & Rescue Alarms 2012 126 to date 2011 322 2010 312 2009 193 TRAINING
618 hours
DRILLS
246 hours
MEETINGS 534 hours
AVERAGE HOURS PER ACTIVE FIREFIGHTER 147.38 hours
MVFD IMPORTANT DATES July 12
Marcellus Fire Dept. Open House & Information Night Marcellus Fire House 7 p.m.
July 25
Town of Marcellus Public Hearing on Service Award Referendum Marcellus Fire House 7 p.m.
August 21
Town of Marcellus Referendum Vote on Volunteer Fire Dept. Service Awards Marcellus Fire House Noon - 9 p.m.
VOTER REQUIREMENTS:
Must be eligible to register to vote, 18+ years old, U.S. Citizen, and a Marcellus resident for more than 30 days Apply for absentee ballot by contacting Marcellus Town Clerk, Karen Pollard.
Learn more at www.marcellusfd.com
100% Volunteer, serving the Town of Marcellus for more than 150 years NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Marcellus, NY 13108 Permit No.
Marcellus Fire Department 4242 Slate Hill Road Marcellus NY 13108 Station #33 (315) 673-1818
SERVICE AWARDS IMPORTANT DATES JULY 12
Marcellus Fire Dept. Open House & Information Night 7 p.m.
JULY 25
Town of Marcellus Public Hearing on Service Award Referendum Marcellus Fire House 7 p.m.
AUGUST 21
The Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department Serving the Town of Marcellus for more than 150 years—JOIN US! Marcellus Fire Department (315) 673-1818
Town of Marcellus Referendum Vote on Volunteer Fire Dept. Service Awards Marcellus Fire House Noon - 9 p.m.
Learn more at www.marcellusfd.com