Commission debates volunteer incentive policy: hours, tracking and fairness remain unresolved

Montgomery County fire chiefs, rescue leaders and county staff spent the bulk of the January Fire and Rescue Commission meeting hashing out a proposed volunteer-incentive policy intended to recruit and retain paid-call volunteers.

Staff presented a draft policy as a discussion starter and emphasized it was not final. Participants raised three core questions: how to count "on-call" time, who certifies hours for reimbursement, and whether eligibility should be measured by flat annual hours, a percentage of calls or a weighted hybrid. Several chiefs warned that counting on-call time as continuous 24/7 availability would artificially inflate hours; others said some credit for on-call availability should apply but with a reasonable cap.

Discussion covered specific tracking and audit needs. One staff presenter said the county could require chiefs to certify eligible hours and that departments must retain records in case of audit; the commission discussed using a standardized logging tool or off-the-shelf mobile apps to let volunteers log calls, training and other activities for central review.

Members debated what activities should count: response to calls (an example of 2 hours per call was suggested), business meetings, trainings, vehicle maintenance, public-education events and other administrative tasks. Several larger departments said meeting and training hours alone could allow many volunteers to reach proposed thresholds quickly; smaller or low-call-volume departments preferred a hybrid or percentage approach to avoid excluding administrative-only volunteers.

A working consensus emerged around a countywide minimum baseline rather than a single one-size-fits-all measure. Several participants suggested 200 hours per year as an initial baseline to test in the budget, with chiefs retaining authority to set higher local requirements. Staff asked chiefs to review the activity list, propose a local minimum number of hours and submit year-end call totals and other data before the February meeting so the county can finalize criteria in time for the FY27 budget process.

The discussion did not produce a final, vote-ready policy. Commissioners and staff stressed they would return with more data and proposed thresholds for a subsequent vote.