More time needed to assess
long-term impact of LOSAP

The Monmouth Beach Commission has wisely taken the go-slow approach to adopting a Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP) for the borough’s volunteer firemen and first aid squad members.

Volunteers who unselfishly give of their time — gratis — to respond, day or night, 24/7, to the calls for help from their neighbors deserve the thanks of the townspeople. But just what form those thanks should take when it comes to paying them a pension takes some careful thought.

The commission rightfully is concerned about the impact the borough’s contribution to those pensions will have on the taxpayers. In a small town like Monmouth Beach, every little blip on the borough’s ledger books translates into a very real pinch in the pocketbook.

All three commissioners want more time to look into the point system to qualify for a pension put forth by the borough’s emergency services and those adopted by other municipalities.

It may come as a surprise that someone can qualify for a pension even if they never ride on a fire truck or follow an ambulance down the street, its siren screaming, to those in need of help — if the point system a town adopts allows that. Some towns, which have LOSAP programs in place have tied their annual contributions for volunteers to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), as allowed by state law, which means the amount of the contribution goes up automatically each year.

The Monmouth Beach firemen and first aid members have asked for a CPI tie-in and maintain that a member doesn’t have to respond to emergency calls to provide a valuable service.

All of that may be well and good, but it takes some study to determine if that is so.

As Monmouth Beach Mayor James P. McConville said at a contentious commission meeting on Aug. 10 with a room full of volunteer firemen and first aid members demanding that LOSAP be put on the ballot this Nov. 2, the decision the three members make is going to affect the borough for years to come. And as Commissioner William C. Barham said, he doesn’t want to rush through an ill-thought-out ordinance now and "tweak" it later. He wants to do it once and do it right. Commissioner James F. Cunniff said this may not be the best time for a vote on LOSAP, given that it’s a presidential election year and that the borough is in the midst of a revaluation, which is bound to make a lot of taxpayers in town unhappy.

They are all good reasons for the commission to take its time. All three commissioners have said they support LOSAP. The volunteers should give them the breathing room to do their job.