Board committee backs higher retirement benefit and hours-based tracking for volunteer firefighters

The Finance, Government, Operations and Economic Development Committee voted 4-0-1 on Feb. 11 to recommend that the Board of Supervisors endorse amendments to Loudoun County’s Length of Service Award Program (LOSAP) for volunteer fire and rescue members.

The committee’s recommendation would (a) convert LOSAP activity tracking from a points-based system to an hours-based system and (b) raise the monthly benefit used in the plan from $12 to $18, increasing the maximum monthly payout from $300 to $450 for fully vested participants.

Nikki Spate, assistant director in Management and Budget, presented the county administrator’s materials earlier in the meeting; Deputy Chief Todd Lupton of Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue and Chief Johnson (Loudoun County Combined Fire and Rescue) detailed the LOSAP proposals for volunteers. Lupton said the change to hours is primarily administrative and “will allow us to be able to enhance our tracking system,” and that the conversion is intended to be revenue-neutral for an individual volunteer’s expectations (the committee used a conversion target of 80 points = 120 hours).

The presentation said the administrative cost to move from points to hours is small — roughly $13,000 — and that the proposed benefit increase has a larger fiscal effect. Staff estimated a total plan cost increase in the range of about $860,000 to $1,000,000 annually, with an illustrative projection that LOSAP contributions could rise from the currently budgeted roughly $1.5 million to an estimated $2.5 million by FY28 once actuarial true-ups are complete. Firefly, the county’s LOSAP plan administrator, will deliver the formal actuarial valuation and recommended contribution schedule in future budget work.

Deputy Chief Lupton told the committee the changes were volunteer-led: “These two proposals…were led by our volunteers,” and several volunteers served on the development committees. The committee also heard that the proposed change would keep existing years of service earned under the points system intact and make a clean transition so that prior service continues to count toward vesting and benefits.

Chair Randall moved the committee recommendation; Supervisor Umstead seconded. The committee voted to recommend the Board endorse the amendments, with the tally recorded as 4 in favor, 0 opposed and 1 absent (Supervisor LeTourneau).

What happens next: If the Board of Supervisors endorses the recommendations, staff will complete the actuarial valuation and incorporate the updated LOSAP contribution requirement into future fiscal-year budget materials. The presenters told the committee the planned effective date for the administrative conversion is the start of the LOSAP plan year on Nov. 1, 2025 (plan year ’26), and that payments reflecting the higher benefit level would begin after the actuarial true-up and the required plan-administration steps.

Committee members thanked volunteers and staff for the work on the proposal and emphasized continuing regular reviews: the presentation noted an amendment language to consider LOSAP adjustments on a triennial basis going forward.

Notes: The committee discussion and recommendation were recorded in the Finance Committee action minutes for Feb. 11, 2025.