The Spotsylvania County board of Supervisors established the Fire and Rescue Volunteer (LOSAP) Length of Service Awards Plan in 2000 to formally recognize and reward the service of the County’s volunteer fire and emergency services as well as to provide an incentive for the continued work of the volunteers and to be used as a recruitment tool for new volunteers. Approximately $147,000 is budgeted for this program annually, to provide funds for investment for future benefit payments, to provide a life insurance policy for each volunteer, and to pay for the cost of the third-party plan management vendor. The program was initially established with a system of points required for eligibility in the program. The point system, which lacked defined specific hourly criteria for the earning of points, resulted in a difference in interpretation among each volunteer agency. These discrepancies have resulted in the application of benefits in a non-uniform manner, requiring some members to contribute more or less time than others for eligibility. Another gap identified in the program was that it lacked inclusion of the Auxiliaries, which contribute greatly to the overall Spotsylvania Fire, Rescue & Emergency Management system. Additionally, the program focused on areas of activity for operational call running personnel, such as fundraising, meeting attendance, and work details, that are not as relevant to the functions of the volunteer agencies now as they were at the time of implementation. Finally, through the course of discussions with the leadership of the volunteer agencies over the last 18 months, it is the consensus that the LOSAP program no longer serves as a useful incentive for recruitment and retention to the volunteer agencies.

Therefore, staff is recommending the approval of the proposed update to the LOSAP program, which establishes hourly requirements for eligibility in the program, provides clarification regarding credits earned during leaves of absence, and eliminates the requirement of ancillary duties for operational call running members and instead focuses on staffing requirements. The proposed update also provides the ability to add Auxiliary members, and a mechanism to recognize their past contributions. Finally, due to the ineffectiveness of the program as a useful recruitment and retention tool, the proposed update also limits participation in the program to those individuals who have established membership with one of the volunteer fire and rescue agencies prior to July 1, 2019. This restriction on adding participants in the program is intended to use the majority of the funds committed annually to the program, approximately $100,000, to other incentive programs that may have more positive effect on volunteerism.

Jay Cullinan, Fire Chief

Jason Irby, Deputy Fire Chief