P-046 Volunteer Honorarium Program

Issued By: Volunteer Firefighters Council
Approved By: Doug Trussler, Fire Chief
Date of Issue:  October 1, 2015
Revision Date: April 28, 2015

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this policy is to establish the criteria for the administration of the honorarium program for all volunteer firefighters.

OBJECTIVE:

The objective of this policy is to clarify the administration of the honorarium program.

SCOPE:

This policy applies to volunteer firefighters.

DEFINITIONS:

•    Honorarium a monetary expression of appreciation for volunteer contribution and commitment to the municipality which offsets a portion of the expenses incurred.

POLICY:

Honorarium Program

•    Credit for each activity shall be weighted  (see Weighting of Points table)
•    Members are eligible to accumulate honorarium points as soon as they are accepted as a member and have successfully completed their Volunteer Physical Fitness test
•    Members with a partial year of service are entitled to an honorarium based on the credits earned during the time of service.
•    Members who leave Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency will receive the honorarium they earned during their time as a member, on condition that all Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency equipment, property, or clothing is returned and any outstanding funds owed to HRM are returned.

Officers:
•    Officers will be considered Fire Fighters within this system as they are compensated for their Officer roles by another system.

Weighting of Point

Zero Junior Firefighters are not eligible for Honorarium points.
0.5 Non Level 1 Trained Firefighter,  Support Members in Administration and In Station Roles and Volunteer Recruits
0.6 Qualified Support Drivers
1.0 Firefighter Level 1 Trained & Officers
1.1 Qualified Driver-Operator including Officers will receive 1.1 regardless of their role.
Activities Time Unit Credit per Time Unit
Emergency Response 1/2 Hour 1 Credit
Training (does not include travel time) 1 Hour 1 Credit
Fire Prevention 1 Hour 1 Credit
Public Education 1 Hour 1 Credit
Recruitment (to a maximum of two members) 1 Hour 1 Credit
Meeting 1 Hour 1 Credit
Non-Emergency Coverage   Non- Credited Event
Storm Coverage 1 Hour 1 Credit
Support-Administrative 1 Hour 1 Credit
Support- On Scene 1/2 Hour 1 Credit
Support- In Station 1 Hour 1 Credit
Volunteer Firefighters Council Events 1 Hour 1 Credit

All time past the first unit of time will be rounded up to the next unit of time (1/2 hour for emergency calls, 1 hour for all other activities).


Guidelines:


Emergency Response

Calls which are “toned out” by Dispatch Centre. The time frame shall be from the initial dispatch until release of personnel by the Chief Officer or designate. This includes emergency coverage of another station during an emergency incident.
For emergency responses that are cancelled before an apparatus responds, members who respond to the station will receive a ½ hour credit. Their attendance must be verified by the Officer/Senior Firefighter who completes the report.
Members will only receive credits for the portion of the call they have attended. Members who have not yet graduated from the Volunteer Training Program (VRT) cannot respond to calls.


Training
Members must actively participate in training to receive an honorarium credit. Lesson plans and rosters of attendance must be filed with the Training Division in order to have credits awarded for the session.


Training shall include:

•    In-house
•    Nova Scotia Firefighters School (NSFS)
•    Medical First Responders (MFR)
•    Blue Card
•    Continuing Education Modules
•    Volunteer Training Program (VRT) Credit for:
•    Blue Card (80 hours)
•    Continuing Education Modules (as per module)
•    MFR full program (40 hours) MFR Recertification (8 hours)
•    VRT (122 hours)

Will be awarded upon successful completion of the program at the rate of one credit per hour and will be entered at the station level.
 

Fire Prevention and Public Education

To be eligible for points, these events must be approved by the Division’s Board of Chiefs.

Meetings

All Operational meetings approved by the Board of Chiefs. Approved meetings for credit:

•    Operational monthly meetings
•    All station officer meetings (non-credited event)
•    Special committee meetings  as approved by the Volunteer Program Manager
•    Zone training meetings (non-credited event for Officers)

Non-Emergency Coverage is only credited as a Non-Credited event.


Storm Coverage

Only events covered by an official Environment Canada storm warning and approved by the Division Commander are eligible.
Storm crew staffing shall be based on a minimum of four personnel per engine and minimum of two personnel per tanker. If the crew is toned out, this event becomes an Emergency Response for its duration. The time spent on emergency calls shall not be compensated as storm coverage time.
 

Non-Credited Events:
Any event determined to be non-credited event must be approved by the Station Chief.

Implementation:

Honorarium Year - The “honorarium year” is October 1st - September 30th.

Timelines and Deadlines - These dates will be circulated and posted each year, with the deadline mid to late October and a goal for payout before Christmas.
 

Submissions - All information shall be entered in the “FDM module”.

Final Review – It is the responsibility of the Station Chief to review the Honorarium stats on a regular basis. The stats will be reviewed by the Board of Chiefs on a quarterly basis. Final submission of the Honorarium points will be reviewed by the Volunteer Program Manager and the Executive Officer.
 

RELATED POLICIES/ OPERATING GUIDELINES:

•    P-014 Employee Status Change Form
•    P-042 Leave of Absence-Volunteers
•    P-044 Participation Requirements for Active Memberships
•    P-043 Total Authorized Complement Stations 19-63
•    P-801 Volunteer Fire Fighter Support Positions

POLICY REVIEW:

This policy shall be reviewed when/if there are changes to the criteria for the administration of the volunteer honorarium program.