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SEVERE WEATHER EVENTS IMPACTING POINTS FOR DEPARTMENT RESPONSES

November 23, 2022

When severe weather impacts a region, we know that is when communities step up to help neighbors in need. Sometimes these efforts reach the news, like recently when Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen needed help clearing his driveway so he could catch a plane to Detroit for the game. But most times, it is what…

A FIREFLY PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE LOSAP STATUTE

October 25, 2022

Over the years, we have fielded many questions that begin with “Can we” Most of the time, these “can we” questions are about awarding points for certain activities. We decided to create a Memorandum outlining four amendments to Section 217 of the General Municipal Law that would address the most frequent “can we” questions. In…

DUTY CREWS

September 30, 2022

With greater frequency we are handling questions about a fire department wanting to implement duty crews to ensure they have adequate staffing to respond to emergencies. This is a common practice with ambulance squads, but I’m sure anyone reading this blog doesn’t need us to explain how operationally different an ambulance call is vs a…

ROLLOVER ALTERNATIVES FOR LOSAP

August 31, 2022

In a post from May 20, 2019, we discussed why a LOSAP benefit cannot be rolled over to a qualified plan. You can read that article HERE. Additionally, since a LOSAP benefit is not earned income (for Firefly clients, the income is reported on a 1099-MISC in Box 3), it cannot be deposited into an IRA. …

IN NY STATE, A LOSAP CAN BE “ABOLISHED”

June 30, 2022

In our last post we reviewed Section 215 of the New York State General Municipal Law (GML), which is entitled “Purpose”. We saw that this section of the statute states that a LOSAP is not guaranteed by the State constitution like the retirement system. The benefits provided by the retirement system are constitutionally guaranteed, which is why the tier…

STATED PURPOSE OF LOSAP IN NYS LAW (IT IS NOT GUARANTEED)

May 31, 2022

Volunteer firefighter LOSAPs in New York are governed by the General Municipal Law (GML). Article 11-A of the GML contain the relevant sections (214 through 219-a) that authorize volunteer firefighter LOSAPs. Most attention is paid to the sections that provide the detail on establishing a plan, the point system, and the benefits that can be…

EARNING SERVICE CREDIT – 50 POINTS IS THE ONLY REQUIREMENT

April 29, 2022

Long before there was LOSAP, fire departments had by-laws that outline membership requirements. 50 years ago, those by-laws were usually strictly enforced, because there was often a waiting list of people waiting to become a member. So firefighters had incentives to meet those requirements, otherwise risk being dropped as an active member. That is also…

LOSAP PAYMENTS IN NEW YORK DO NOT QUALIFY FOR FEDERAL TAX EXEMPTON UNDER VRIPA

March 31, 2022

It has just recently come to our attention that the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) sought clarification from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about the application of the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Act (VRIPA) to LOSAP. Here is a link to the article on the NVFC website, which summarizes the response, as well as a…

FIREFLY ADDS NEW MEMBER TO THE TEAM

February 21, 2022

Firefly Admin Inc. is guided by six core principles – serve, trust, value, teach, collaborate, and grow. You can read more about what these mean to us at www.fireflyadmin.com/core-principles/ This past week Firefly has grown with the addition of Connie Tyrrell to the Firefly team! Not only have we grown in number but in knowledge and expertise.…

AWARDING POINTS FOR COMMITTEES

January 28, 2022

A common question and topic of conversation when discussing point systems is how to award points to committee members and for committee meetings. The two most common mistakes we see in point systems are: Both, in our opinion, are incorrect. A committee member, or the committee chairperson, is not an Elected or Appointed Position as…

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