Village Board
Changes to 'pension' plan heat up special meeting
by JILL SCHMELZER Reporter

Williamsville Fire Chief Jim Zymanek called in reinforcements upon learning that the Williamsville Village Board was proposing changing the entitlement age of the Fire Service Award Program.

(See editorial on page four)

The program, similar to a pension, is intended to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters, Zymanek said. After five years of service, $20 every month is placed in a compensation plan for each active member for time served.

To be an active member, each firefighter must accrue 50 points annually, which depends on the number of calls and training sessions he or she attends.

At the age of 55, regardless of whether firefighters remain active members, they receive the total amount of money they have accrued during their years of service.

Due to two age discrimination lawsuits in New York State, the Village Board proposed eliminating the entitlement age, meaning firefighters can continue to accrue money annually as long as they are active members, reaching the 50-point limit.

The board held the special meeting Thursday so the proposed referendum could be placed on the November ballot.

Zymanek had been informed of this resolution, but he thought the board was acting on the matter prematurely. He, the board and its attorneys met recently to discuss eliminating the entitlement age. But talk of changing the way the program is set up has been ongoing since its inception in 1991.

The board then proposed a second resolution to raise the entitlement age to 60, meaning those turning 55 would have to wait another five years to start receiving the money they earned.

Zymanek did not know this resolution would be placed on the agenda.

"We were basically blindsided," Zymanek said.

After he received the agenda, he called some of the affected members. They left a fire company gathering to come to the meeting, which was supposed to start at 5:30 p.m. It did not begin until 5:50 p.m. In fact, board members said they were meeting behind closed doors about the wording of the resolutions.

After the fire chief asked board members to hold their meeting in public, which they are required to do, the trustees arrived to a room of angry firefighters.

When told by firefighter Rick Andrews that they were meeting illegally, Trustee Richard Sweeney replied, "What are you going to do about it?"

The meeting then opened for public comment.

Former Village of Williamsville trustee and active firefighter Joe Frese is three years away from collecting his service award. He said raising the age to 60 is also grounds for an age discrimination lawsuit.

None of the village attorneys were present to answer the firefighters' questions, and board members were unable to answer many of them as well.

"There is nothing required by state law yet. You people are jumping to accommodate yourselves with this mill," said Frese, referring to the village's purchase of the Williamsville Water Mill.

The board received an estimated savings from Penflex, the specialist in the administration of volunteer firefighters' and volunteer ambulance workers' length of service award programs.

The statement noted that by eliminating the entitlement age, the estimated annual cost increases from $94,600 to $118,750. Therefore, the board proposed the second resolution to raise the entitlement age to 60, which would decrease the estimated annual cost from $118,750 to $95,751. This represents an estimated cost of $1,300 per participant, which includes an estimated annual administrative fee of $3,750.

The estimated costs are based on the chance that every firefighter will reach 40 years of service, which is the maximum number of years they can accrue service award money. As the plan sits now, no member

will reach the maximum age, Zymanek said. If a firefighter joined at the age of 18 and stayed an active member until he turned 55, it only equals 37 years of service.

"There is nothing from the state saying the Village of Williamsville has to change this right now," said Andrews. "It only saves money if everyone maxed out, and the percentage is miniscule for those who could max out."

He noted that it is rare to see a firefighter active for 40 years.

"The figure (Penflex gave) is erroneous," Andrews added. "People will see it and think they are saving tax money."

Zymanek proposed waiting until the June election for a referendum to be placed on the ballot.

"What's the rush?" he asked. "We question these figures. We haven't even been included in the discussions, and we are the ones who are affected by this."

Jim Oliveri, a former chief and current active member, said he doesn't want to start a fight now between the board and the firefighters.

Al Weisser, an active member who has passed the current entitlement age, said if those attending have to take this resolution back to the members, they will not be happy.

Frese said he is astonished that Zymanek was not consulted about the second resolution.

"I don't recall ever doing anything like that," he said. "Not one of you know what this fire department is made of."

The board did not discuss the proposed referendum with Tom Jones, attorney for the Town of Amherst, which funds 54 percent of the department's budget.

"The resolution was crafted by our (village) attorneys due to the successful lawsuits initiated by two fire departments that charged age discrimination because members were not permitted to (accrue) credits after reaching the age of 55," said Mayor Mary Lowther. "We originally thought we had to submit any proposition to the county 30 days prior to the election and at the last minute found out it was 60 days."

She noted that it appeared the board was ill-advised to place a rush on the proposition and that additional dialogue with the fire department should have occurred.

The board unanimously voted to table the resolution until the June election.

"I'm feeling a tension between the board and the fire department," said Lowther. "And I am uncomfortable with the way this is progressing. I'm not clear where it came from, but it's building."

She noted that she did not want to see bad feelings develop.

"They are too valuable a group to the village and too important to everyone," Lowther stated. "It's my hope that we will be able to sit down and work through a solution to the problem. I understand the emotion and issues behind the fire department."

She noted their opposition to the change but said she had to take into account the legal ramifications that are part of the situation and the financial impact on all village residents.

"I am confident that we can come up with a solution by working together," Lowther said.