Middletown Twp. Plans To Pay Volunteer Firefighters, EMS More

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — At their meeting this past Monday night, the Middletown Township Committee introduced this ordinance that increases the amount of money allocated into a savings account for qualified volunteers for Middletown Fire and Middletown EMS.

The ordinance also makes an important change to Middletown's Length of Service Awards Program (LOSAP).

LOSAP is a state-authorized program that allows towns in New Jersey to reward emergency volunteers by contributing money into a savings account intended for their retirement.

Middletown plans to increase the amount of money the town sets aside every year for fire and EMS volunteers. For instance, volunteers who have dedicated at least 11 years of service will see an increase of up to 30 percent, from $1,150 to $1,500. The last increase was in 2015, so it is a 30 percent increase over an eight-year period, going back to 2015.

Other tiers will increase by different percentages, but that is the largest increase.

There has not been a funding increase in Middletown's LOSAP program since 2015.

The Middletown Fire Department is the largest volunteer fire departments in the state.

"Middletown is incredibly fortunate to have such a large volume of selfless individuals who dedicate their free time to helping others," said Mayor Tony Perry. "Our fire department is the largest all-volunteer one in the world, with 11 different fire companies and our EMS has five all-volunteer first aid squads."

"Increasing the LOSAP rates is just a small token of the Township's immeasurable appreciation."

The increases were overwhelmingly supported by considering the volunteers’ collective years of service and the points that are accumulated by each based on how many calls they answer, meetings they attend, trainings they participate in, etc. The amount of money a volunteer can receive on an annual basis depends on how many years of service they have served.

The way Middletown's program currently works is it is divided into five tiers based on years of service: 0 through 2, 3 through 4, 5 through 6, 7 through 10, and 11 and over. The amount of allocated money increases and coincides with the years of service.

The ordinance proposed at Monday night's meeting splits one of the tiers into two, creating an entirely new level for volunteers who fall within the 9-10 years range. This change further rewards those first responders by fairly compensating them for their extra years of volunteerism.

The ordinance will be brought up again for public hearing at the next Middletown Township Committee meeting on Aug. 21.

Next Monday night, July 24 the Middletown Fire Dept. will host a Touch-A-Truck event in the parking lot of the old Mater Dei High School/St. Mary's, Mother of God Church in Middletown. 6-9 p.m. bring kids for fire trucks, food trucks, games and fire safety demonstrations. They will also use the event as a recruitment drive; they are always looking for more volunteer firefighters.

Middletown Fire Hosts Touch A Truck July 24 In Mater Dei Parking Lot